(DF) COMPOSTING TOILET UPDATE!!

Before I get into the actual update, a little background might be in order.  Hopefully, this will bring those of you who haven't read my original post on the subject up to speed, while refreshing the memory of those who, like most of us, have plenty of other things to think of and may not fully remember.

The recently past summer was a hot, dry one here in the central U.S., including the part of Oklahoma where I live.  The near record drought led to increased water usage, which in turn led to decreased water availability in my two wells, making the need for conservation absolutely necessary.

Thinking of ways to save water reminded me of a book which a friend had recommended years ago, "The Humanure Handbook".  This particular work is an excellent source of information on the environmental hazards of conventional sewage systems, composting toilet systems, gray water systems and composting in general.  A must read, in my opinion.

I, being a natural born skeptic, decided to test the simplest of the composting toilet systems described.  Simply put, it consists of a bucket, seat and cover material (saw dust is preferred but I chose dry leaves).  The reason for this choice of cover material is because I live in the woods and leaves are always available.  Sawdust, on the other hand is not as readily available and isn't always free (remember, I AM a tightwad).

Deciding to do early testing outside, I used a portable camp toilet.  It is the type that consists of a bucket which sits in a slightly larger container with a seat and lid, and while being designed for use with a bag and chemicals, it served my purposes nicely.

A point to remember is that this was done in extreme summer heat.  If anything is going to stink and draw flies, it will be in summer heat, right?  Well, believe it or not, there was very little smell and to my amazement, the kitchen scrap bucket drew far more flies than the toilet.

When the bucket was dumped in the compost pile, it did smell bad, but only until covered with more leaves.  Within a couple of days, the composting process had produced temperatures high enough to kill any pathogens that might have been present.

I continued through the rest of the summer with this system, looking for some down side.  The only one I could find was the trips to the compost pile.  This would only be a down side if I wasn't already making those trips with kitchen scraps and such anyway.

By the time cold weather arrived, I had confirmed another up side in addition to water savings, environmental benefits and the prospect of rich compost for the garden.  The well pump kicks on every time the toilet is flushed, using electricity.  The savings on the electric bill was about nine dollars per month.  Nice bonus.

With cold weather, I made a plywood seat with a hole in it for an old dining chair and placed a five gallon bucket under it, and yes, I placed it in the bathroom beside the flush toilet.  Behind the bathroom door, I placed a garbage can full of leaves for use as cover material.  In an enclosed area, I fully expected the stench to be horrible and was prepared to remove the bathroom's new addition.  To my pleasant surprise. there was no more smell than with a flush toilet, and much of the smell is from the leaves (a smell I find pleasant).

With considerations of added high nutrient compost, and the savings of water and energy, it seems more than worthwhile.  Add to this savings the environmental benefits, and it seems to me a most excellent addition to our self-sufficient lifestyle.

Please let me know your thoughts, opinions and experiences.  Even with the best of things, there is room for improvement.

(DF) DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME.....a good thing?????

Well, it is that time of year again, all the clocks in most of America have sprung forward (with the exception of a few states that put it to a vote). For me it is always a time of adjustment and leaves me with an hour a day less sleep until it changes back.

The official reasoning for daylight savings time is that it saves energy and I suppose there could be some merit for that, in some cases. For instance, if I lived in a small apartment with nothing to do at home but watch tv, worked a job with regular hours in walking distance of home, and had no hobbies, I would be bored enough to turn off the lights and go to bed at sundown, thus burning less energy. This, however, is not my reality.

Reality on the farm leads one (under normal time circumstances) to rise with the sun, work outside until the sun goes down, then spend time inside after dark, which means lights on no matter what time of year or what the clock says. With everyone running on daylight savings time, businesses no longer close in the evening but an hour earlier, in the middle of the day, so I have to get up earlier and do anything that may lead to a trip to town later in the day, and since farm work doesn't go by the clock, it is frustrating to have to wait til tomorrow because everything is closed this afternoon. Driving, running tractors, welding and numerous other things done on the farm use the same amount of energy whatever time of day, so with an hour longer before dark, there is more time to burn that energy. Dark an hour later doesn't mean I can go in and go to sleep with all the chores done, it simply means I turn the lights on an hour later and still spend the same amount of time up and running. In short, I burn about the same electricity and more fuel with daylight savings time. Who knows, with fewer farmers than there were, maybe it all averages out, or maybe not.

Energy savings or not, the news for a few days has been filled with reports of studies showing that daylight savings time increases health risks, accidents and violent crime while lowering productivity. Of course, I haven't personally seen the studies, and with a background in research, I know that how a study is interpreted can be much different than it really is. The news media also take liberties with context to make things appear however they need them to for ratings. What I do know for sure is that I personally loose an hour of sleep every day until it changes back, that it takes me a few weeks to adjust to the shift, and that I am personally more irritable and less productive until that adjustment is made. I am willing to bet I'm not alone in this. When you think about what the time shift actually does, it is like going to sleep in one time zone and waking up in another ........... sounds like jet lag to me, and feels like it too, though many people don't really suffer that much from jet lag unless they jump several zones.

Setting all the social, economical, and health factors aside, everyone I have talked to about this over the past few years, whether they like daylight savings time or not, can agree on one thing. They would rather pick one and stay with it than switch back and forth.

With all of this and other factors I am sure to have overlooked, why do you suppose we, as a society, continue to do this to ourselves? Please share your thoughts and comments on this subject, and any ideas on how to ease the inconvenience it brings.