What are you going to Wipe you butt with??

That title brought to mind a a couple of problems that some friends of mine had with poison ivy which is related to the topic at hand.
.
A young couple of boys decided to join a commune of sorts in Arkansas. Their first jobs were to clear a wooded areas. They were from the dryer areas of Texas and never knew about poison ivy growing thick in the undergrowth. But two days later both were in the hospital literally covered with welts and blisters. They were hospitalized for a week.

The second case involved a married couple. They camped out in a state park over the week end and she chose to not go all of the way to the bathroom but found some convenient bushes to hide behind. (No pun intended.) The next morning both he and her had their bottom regions covered in welts and blisters. He had "caught" the poison ivy from her. (The poison in this ivy is an oil and can be transferred by touch.)

As far as literally wipping your butt in the wild, leaves green from trees or fallen tree leaves on the ground will do the job. In the old days in the US supposedly corn cobs were used, but they are long gone from corn fields.

The Romans used a natural sponge tied onto the end of a stick. They also used public bathrooms, and unless you were important and had your own, communal sponges. Yuck

I totally stole this off a character in a book, but...

Old phone books. I started keeping the outdated ones in my garage instead of recycling them. I have a small stash of toilet paper, and if that goes (or I couldn't afford it), well, Yellow Pages, here I come.

Corn husks work just fine.

reply to post by Gmoneycricket

Exactly something we gotta talk about.

Originally posted by Lil Drummerboy

Originally posted by iamhobo
I'll use my cat.

He's soft and he always cleans himself when dirty.

Purrrfect!

that is funny..

LOL my cat would bite plus she's not that fluffy. How about "recycled hair" taken from brushes from you and pets? Hair/Fur/Wool spun into sheets/rags.
Dirty in emergency unless cleaned but if that's all you got?

Originally posted by dreamingawake
reply to post by Gmoneycricket

 

Exactly something we gotta talk about.

Originally posted by Lil Drummerboy

Originally posted by iamhobo
I'll use my cat.

He's soft and he always cleans himself when dirty.

Purrrfect!

that is funny..

LOL my cat would bite plus she's not that fluffy. How about "recycled hair" taken from brushes from you and pets? Hair/Fur/Wool spun into sheets/rags.
Dirty in emergency unless cleaned but if that's all you got?

Yeah the biting part would really be a draq..
the cat would be a bit reluctant

Pine cones

second cone.

$100 bills........beaaaaatch!

Originally posted by charlyv
Pine cones

second cone.

really??
seriously., who uses pine cones?
you like it rough??

Originally posted by dreamingawake
reply to post by Gmoneycricket

 

Exactly something we gotta talk about.

Originally posted by Lil Drummerboy

Originally posted by iamhobo
I'll use my cat.

He's soft and he always cleans himself when dirty.

Purrrfect!

that is funny..

LOL my cat would bite plus she's not that fluffy. How about "recycled hair" taken from brushes from you and pets? Hair/Fur/Wool spun into sheets/rags.
Dirty in emergency unless cleaned but if that's all you got?

With all the cat butts
I ever had put in my face
I think this is what cats plan on for survival.

We've stocked up on TP -- low-grade, not soft, emergency TP. We can fit a case of 198 rolls in an old USPS canvas mail bag; each one is in a ziplock, because, hey, the bags will have a purpose also, if we ever need to use the emergency TP.

In a real, ongoing SHTF, those two cases will eventually run out (no pun intended). When I was a kid, cattails were a decent emergency wipe. Here where we live, near the sea, I can imagine digging a latrine, then doing a "rinse" in the ocean. While seawater can carry human pathogens, mostly it is good for treating bodily injuries, so I can see how that 'morning rinse' might become habit.

My vagabond relatives in the old west carried a "wash rag" or three. They were used for wiping, and ONLY wiping, and cleaned wheneven they came across running water. This, of course, presents a danger to those downstream, so in a regional SHTF, it would be prudent to also have a washing vessel to take water from a stream, lake or river and wash the rags in.

Other things used in my past (hey, you asked!!!) Some kinds of bark, such as cedar can be rolled and abraided into a serviceable TP. Coconut husks are easily roughed up into a useable wipe. Almost any piece of uncontaminated cloth. Corn silk.

For me, it isn't really an issue in a SHTF. Much more of a pressing concern to a man my age is underwear. I can fabricate a shirt or pants from home-tanned hide or cloth, but underwear......... ain't much of a substitute for that.

Originally posted by chrismicha77
Corn husks work just fine.

and you have tried this???

reply to post by Lil Drummerboy


A Cluster of Oak Leaves..........

Originally posted by iamhobo
I'll use my cat.

He's soft and he always cleans himself when dirty.

Purrrfect!

My Wife has two I could send you. Then you would have extra for guests. That and I'd stop waking up with one on my chest or sitting on my head. Ever stepped in a hairball? Those might work.

reply to post by argentus


That would be my answer, a simple washrag or piece of cloth.
You cold wash it off in a mud puddle if you were really worried about it washing downstream or something, but really, in a SHTF situation, you are not going to care nearly as much. At least I wouldn't.

I will show you how to get by with ONE square of toilet paper.


Step 1. Fold into triangle


Step 2. Fold again into triangle


Step 3. Tear off small triangle from top


*Save This*


Step 5. Unfold large triangle. Notice hole in center. Finger goes through hole.


Step 6. "Wipe" with finger (No Pics)

Step 7. Offending matter is removed from finger by pulling tp off, thusly


Step 8. Small piece used to clean under fingernail. (Very important)


One square

reply to post by argentus
I myself have a months long supply of TP.. for the winter months.
Lambs ear grows in my area quite abundant. so we could use that. in the summer.

Hacked pieces of the bodies of the vanquished?

Op, have you never thought you may not make it to wipe again?

reply to post by ZeroReady
thank you for that,,
good to know what little we can get by with

reply to post by dreamingawake


Please don't tell me they shared it?

Left one hanging on a string.



I was going say.......someone else's left hand

Luckily...tp is one of those things I usually hoard...I would rather have that than food.