I remember as a kid being reminded by my parents not to use too much water for my bath and to turn the tap off while brushing my teeth and such. As Barney says it so well these days “While I’m brushing my teeth and having so much fun, I never let the water run. No, I never let the water run.” I know some of you can sing right along!
However, I have never been so conscious of the use and conservation of water as I am now in this stage of my life. Living in the edge of the Sahara where water will sometimes flow and sometimes not has caused me to appreciate the essentiality of life sustaining water. I have also thought many times about the day to day life of people who survive with far less water than I have.
I thought it might be interesting to some of you for me to share some of our daily life experiences which are sometimes eye-opening, sometimes mundane and sometimes funny. First you should understand that because of our African culture and way of life and because of the design of our house, outside elements are very much a part of our indoor life as well. Wind, dust, rain, gardens, flowers and trees all come inside. And water is almost always used for multiple tasks before being poured out.
We have several courtyards in the center of our house. Two adjoining courtyards are just outside our children’s bedroom doors and each kitchen (I have two) has a small courtyard for outdoor cooking and cleaning grains and various food preparation tasks. In these courtyards we are growing trees, flowers, tomatoes and beans. This is most often the place our water ends up after all its other purposes have been exhausted.
When our children were a little younger I would set a large basin in the courtyard and bathe all three of them there, in the same water, of course, before pouring the water on the plants. Now that our kids are a little older I turn on the shower and tell them to run inside simply because this is easier and less work for me. But I do feel guilty about all that water going down the drain.
One day I was washing Musa’s bottles in a basin of water. When I finished I noticed how dirty my feet were so instead of wasting the water, I sat down and gave my feet a good scrubbing. After all, I hear milk baths are great for the skin! Then onto the flowers it went.
Our bathtub drain is set up so that it runs into the yard instead of into the suckerwell. To take advantage of this we have planted shrubs outside of our bathroom and channeled the water to reach them all. We pour a few buckets of water down the toilet each time we bathe since our water pressure is not strong and the toilet doesn’t flush with much force. If I notice our bathroom floor needs mopped I will do this with my bathwater as I get out of the tub. I will also sometimes carry buckets of bathwater to other thirsty plants in the house or yard.
If our water level is especially low we are in the habit of taking bucket baths. What that means is you have one bucket of water and a small dish. You use the dish for pouring water on yourself, soap up and rinse off. You get real good at estimating just how many dishes of water you can use to wet down and rinse off so that you aren’t left standing all soapy with an empty bucket.
We wash dishes in basins. One for washing and one for rinsing. Once the wash water is too dirty it goes onto the plants or onto the compost pile. Then the rinse water becomes the wash water and the cycle continues. A basin of water can start out as rinse water for dishes, become washing water for dishes, then be used to wash feet, move on to the mop bucket and finally end up as a flush for the toilet. We are not casual about water here.
I often think of the words to a song of which I cannot remember the name. “If just a cup of water I place within your hand, then just a cup of water is all that I demand.” A cup of cool, clean drinking water in this place is no small deal. And even if one cup of water is all you have, if your neighbor comes asking, you do not deny him. That is the heart of hospitality here. In fact, even as I write this I have sent our girls out with buckets on their heads in search of water from a neighbor who may be fortunate enough to have some.
I am grateful to have these experiences so that my heart is full of appreciation for God’s abundant blessings.
I love you all, Jen
However, I have never been so conscious of the use and conservation of water as I am now in this stage of my life. Living in the edge of the Sahara where water will sometimes flow and sometimes not has caused me to appreciate the essentiality of life sustaining water. I have also thought many times about the day to day life of people who survive with far less water than I have.
I thought it might be interesting to some of you for me to share some of our daily life experiences which are sometimes eye-opening, sometimes mundane and sometimes funny. First you should understand that because of our African culture and way of life and because of the design of our house, outside elements are very much a part of our indoor life as well. Wind, dust, rain, gardens, flowers and trees all come inside. And water is almost always used for multiple tasks before being poured out.
We have several courtyards in the center of our house. Two adjoining courtyards are just outside our children’s bedroom doors and each kitchen (I have two) has a small courtyard for outdoor cooking and cleaning grains and various food preparation tasks. In these courtyards we are growing trees, flowers, tomatoes and beans. This is most often the place our water ends up after all its other purposes have been exhausted.
When our children were a little younger I would set a large basin in the courtyard and bathe all three of them there, in the same water, of course, before pouring the water on the plants. Now that our kids are a little older I turn on the shower and tell them to run inside simply because this is easier and less work for me. But I do feel guilty about all that water going down the drain.
One day I was washing Musa’s bottles in a basin of water. When I finished I noticed how dirty my feet were so instead of wasting the water, I sat down and gave my feet a good scrubbing. After all, I hear milk baths are great for the skin! Then onto the flowers it went.
Our bathtub drain is set up so that it runs into the yard instead of into the suckerwell. To take advantage of this we have planted shrubs outside of our bathroom and channeled the water to reach them all. We pour a few buckets of water down the toilet each time we bathe since our water pressure is not strong and the toilet doesn’t flush with much force. If I notice our bathroom floor needs mopped I will do this with my bathwater as I get out of the tub. I will also sometimes carry buckets of bathwater to other thirsty plants in the house or yard.
If our water level is especially low we are in the habit of taking bucket baths. What that means is you have one bucket of water and a small dish. You use the dish for pouring water on yourself, soap up and rinse off. You get real good at estimating just how many dishes of water you can use to wet down and rinse off so that you aren’t left standing all soapy with an empty bucket.
We wash dishes in basins. One for washing and one for rinsing. Once the wash water is too dirty it goes onto the plants or onto the compost pile. Then the rinse water becomes the wash water and the cycle continues. A basin of water can start out as rinse water for dishes, become washing water for dishes, then be used to wash feet, move on to the mop bucket and finally end up as a flush for the toilet. We are not casual about water here.
I often think of the words to a song of which I cannot remember the name. “If just a cup of water I place within your hand, then just a cup of water is all that I demand.” A cup of cool, clean drinking water in this place is no small deal. And even if one cup of water is all you have, if your neighbor comes asking, you do not deny him. That is the heart of hospitality here. In fact, even as I write this I have sent our girls out with buckets on their heads in search of water from a neighbor who may be fortunate enough to have some.
I am grateful to have these experiences so that my heart is full of appreciation for God’s abundant blessings.
I love you all, Jen
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