The Outhouse
Living off the grid requires that you be your own sanitation department. Ours is located about 50 feet east of the cottage and is an example of the latest in sustainable sewage disposal technology. This is not your typical outhouse with its dreaded opening, the sights and smells of which can put you off your lunch. This fine example of the outhouse craft is a board and batten structure complete with RV style toilet bowl designed to separate you from that which you come to leave behind.
Moreover, this is a flushable toilet bowl. Now this would represent a wasteful extravagance were we connected to the municipal water system but our water source is of the most sustainable kind...rainwater. To supply our flusher we built a wooden eavestrough and downspout at the back of the outhouse that direct rainwater into a pail mounted on a shelf. One good downpour filled it to overflowing in a day. A hose connect the pail to the bowl with a lever to turn the water on and off. A separate lever beside the bowl empties the bowl. It looks a bit like a gearshift. I'm going to put a sign beside it that says, 'take it easy on the corners!'.
When the hole under the outhouse fills up we'll drag it to a new location with the Argo. That's how we do a sustainable sewage system out here beyond the grid.
Abit cold in the winter
I hope there is a lighted path in the dark.
Do you have to shovel alot in the winter to get there?
yes, no and yes
We haven't actually spent a winter here yet but the nights are pretty cold already and so is the outhouse in the morning. If you have to make the trek at night you do it by moonlight...where is the ambient light when you need it? As for shoveling, the outhouse is about 50 feet away so you get your morning exercise on the way. The rigor of your workout is directly proportional to how urgent is your need to make it there.