Getting clean

Hampton, Ga.--Boondocking requires conservation.

Electricity is not a problem. We have some solar panels, so on a sunny day, we can keep our house batteries pretty well charged and don't have to run the generator to make coffee or use the microwave. We run the generator when we watch TV, but that's about the only time.

Water (fresh and waste) is another issue. Short navy showers (get wet, lather up, rinse off) are a must. Paper plates are highly recommended.  Some people trek down to public showers to clean up, but I'd rather not do that. I've even seen people walking out to the port-o-potties to avoid filling their own black (waste) tanks.

We've done well. One more night here, but we have not had to call for the "honey wagon" to dump, nor the fresh water wagon to refill our potable water.

I don't like the combo washer-dryer unit we have in this RV; I much prefer the stacked washer-dryer (just like those found frequently in apartments). The stacked unit allowed for bigger loads and was faster. However, the combo unit is what we have. Unfortunately, it can take about 1.5 hours to wash and dry a very small load of clothes. Instead of doing laundry once a week, as I do at home, using the combo requires doing a small load each night.

However, when you are dry camping, you cannot use your washer-dryer. The water would be gone in a jiffy, and the holding tank would fill up quickly.

After a week of camping, our clothes hamper was overfilled. So, this morning I found a laundromat.

The cost of using a laundromat's washer's has increased considerably over the years. It is no longer 50 or 75 cents. The big front loader (I put in two loads) cost $5.50. The small front loader (one load) was $3.75. (This laundry did not have top-loading machines.) Drying cost an additional $1.50 for all loads. That's $10.75 to wash and dry the equivalent of three loads of clothes!

Oh, well. The laundromat was just down the road; it was relatively clean; and now we have enough clean clothes to finish out our trip. However, if we stay in a campground with full hookups, I'll be doing small loads each night.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda