Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:55:35 -0400
Reply-To: Bill Glenn <idahobill@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bill Glenn <idahobill@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: [NVC] Dept. of Wishful Thinking: Camping gadget for doing
laundry
Almost forty years ago my family were camped at a reservoir in Colorado,
and in the adjacent campsite was a fellow who was driving a step-side
pickup, and pulling a small trailer, about eight or ten feet in length. He
was traveling around, camping full-time for the summer, and he had a number
of practical solutions to his basic needs. Mind you, this was long before
anyone thought it necessary to take the entire house along, including the
kitchen sink.
To wash his clothes, he had a galvanized milk can strapped in the step-side
recess. When he knew he would be driving that day, he would put his dirty
clothes in the can with a bit of soap, fill it 2/3 full with water, and put
the lid on. The 1/3 void in the can allowed the water to slosh around as
he drove, providing all the agitation needed to wash the clothes.
Later in the day he would stop where water was conveniently available, pull
out the clothes and wring them out, dump the wash water and refill the milk
can with fresh water, put the clothes back in and continue on his way. At
his final destination for the day he would rig a small clothesline, again
wring out the clothes, and hang them up to dry. This routine took little
time and effort.
When not being used for laundry, the milk can was perfectly suited to
either carrying water around full-time, or hauling water into camp only as
necessary, and could also be used for weather-proof storage.
A five-gallon plastic bucket with a snap-on plastic lid, more readily
available today than a milk can, can be similarly used, and is even more
versatile. It is used to scoop water from the stream, and in an arid, fire-
prone area such as southern Idaho where I live, a campfire should never be
lit without first having a bucket or two of water present.
The buckets I carry are black, and in warm weather I often fill one with
water and set it out in the sun for the day. As the day cools, I may wrap
the bucket in a small blanket, rather like a beer can cozy. The warm,
often very warm water is then available for washing dishes, and showering,
by pouring some of the water into a solar shower bag. If needed, the warm
water can be augmented with hot water heated on a campfire, or on the
stove, but otherwise, the propane supply in conserved.
The buckets also double as a small table, or a stool, and when empty of
water, can be used to isolate the bag of charcoal, or for weather-proof
storage. They can be used for collecting bits of firewood, and filled with
sand or rocks, they can be used to tether an awning or windbreak in mildly
windy conditions. Anyway, you get the idea, these buckets are among the
most useful things I carry, whether I do laundry in them or not.
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