The plastic bucket look may not be the aesthetic you want for in your kitchen – but if you’ve got as many buckets lying around as I do, it shouldn’t look out of place at all.
I use these pails for any fruits or vegetables that can be stored at room temperature – such as apples, potatoes, onions, garlic, peaches and bananas. I actually use similar buckets with lids in the fridge as makeshift tupperware for produce needing refrigeration.
Like in the CSA box, a bit of water at the bottom can extend the life of such fruits as apples, oranges and lemons.
I’ve commited a bit of five gallon bucket treason by using such small buckets, but this is just more proof that there’s no limit of uses for plastic pails!
Most of us don’t spend a lot of time thinking about our bowel movements – but how you position yourself while you eliminate makes a big difference in your health. Better yet, you can regularly achieve the elusive one-wiper! Proper pooping is done in a “squat” position, which isn’t possible on an unmodified modern toilet. You will need a “poop box” or “poop stool.” The most succinct and entertaining explanation I’ve seen on this subject is the following video by Underground Wellness.
I personally (of course) use a five gallon bucket as a poop stool. Standard five gallon buckets are a little tall, so I use a shorter, wider model. (The exact unit pictured here in my bathroom is the Sterilite five gallon tote.) Not only does it help our bowel eliminations go smoother, but it stores our toilet paper and other bathroom accessories as well!
As part of my proper pooping evangelism, I post this simple “correct position for opening your bowels” infographic prominently in front of the toilet. I’ve had about half a dozen people use my bathroom, see this sign, laugh out loud, try it anyway, then adopt the method in their own bathroom.
At the bottom of this article, I’ve placed a download link so you can print out your own copy of this important chart!
Update: A colon-conscious entrepreneur has invented the Squatty Potty” – a more aesthetically pleasing version of the poop stool. Their website has links to a number of testimonials and medical research on proper pooping.
Update 2: I’ve been sent a free Squatty Potty as a gift from the company for mentioning them on this website. I’ve found that it has two main advantages over my bucket stool:
It stows away right under the toilet, taking up less floor space.
It’s strong enough to put your weight on, which helps you achieve a better squat.
Here’s a contractor’s quality vacuum cleaner that hooks up to a five gallon bucket.By using a handled bucket, you will have a relatively light, portable vacuum cleaner useful for on a construction site. I suppose it could also be helpful if you have dozens of gallons of material to vacuum up in a single day without a disposal option.
Update: Mackey, one of our readers, has sent in a link to the “Dust Deputy,” which is a advanced vacuum that uses a “cyclonic dust seperator” to save your filter from constantly clogging. And of course, it uses five gallon buckets to capture the dust.
I sell my buckets at cost to a number of farmers in the area, who mainly use them as harvest pails or feed storage. One farmer sends them back to me full of food as part of my CSA subscription.
CSA means “community supported agriculture,” whereby food eaters pay food producers for an entire growing season’s worth of food up front, allowing the farmer to pay for seed and equipment (not to mention rent!) without having to go to a bank for a loan. It also helps offload some of the financial risk from the farmer onto the food eater. This means your farmer will still be farming next year, even if their crop is damaged by pests or drought.
Many CSAs are delivered in rubbermaid totes, which can cost three or four times as much, and do not have a convenient carrying handle!
Sometimes my CSA box comes with a couple inches of water in the bottom, which keeps the leafy greens fresh and alive!
Christened the “Thunder Bucket,” this ultra-cheap sailing dinghy was cobbled together by professional boat builder Bill Tosh from used pallets and five gallon buckets. With a tarp for a sail and a 2×4 mast, the boat only cost $29.18 to make.
The plastic bucket look may not be the aesthetic you want for in your kitchen – but if you’ve got as many buckets lying around as I do, it shouldn’t look out of place at all.
