Ever used an out house?

[Serena]

I had relatives that had outhouses. And were my family would go camping every weekend there was an outhouse two on the girls side and 2 on the boys.
It was painted white, we called it the "white house".

 

[GraysMom]

Yes, I have. My grandparents have an outhouse on their farm, which I used to use once in a while when I was younger. I've also used the outhouses when I worked at Boy Scout Camp. I'm hoping they have only flush toilets by the time DS is old enough to go to scout camp .

 

[goofyernmost]

As a Tween, my parents used to do road trips before it was popular to do so. We would travel from Upper New York State to Ohio to visit friends. The interstates at the time had rest areas, actually more like picnic areas and they all had outhouses. At night they were literally filled with bugs flying around the exposed light bulbs. Good times.

In Vietnam we had a two seater. I never understood that concept...were you supposed to "do your business" sitting next to someone else? Isn't that carrying togetherness a tad to far?

 

[Alaska DogCat]

I've spent some time in bush villages in this state that have limited, if any, running water. The "honey bucket" and the outhouse are a way of life for too many of our people here in 2008.

 

[Michelle67]

Yup. I had a friend growing up who did not have running water, let alone a flushing toilet. So outhouse it was, and we carried the drinking water too.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Outhouse? Check.

PortaPotty? Check.

A hole in the ground? Check.

Ground - no hole - had to bury? Check.

 

[catsrule]

Yes. When I was little and we camped at my Uncle's farm, he had one. We also had a toilet run to the nearest gas station for the girls as well.

 

[In a hurry]

As a kid, my dad had a very Little-house-on-the-prairie-esq hunting cabin, complete with an outhouse, hand-pumped water, and potbellied stove for heat. It was a fun novelty as a little kid, but the charm wore off as I grew.

One of the best days of my teen years was when that camp was sold and proceeds went to putting in a pool.

Wow. I'd take the cabin any day of the week.

We have an outhouse at our cabin. It is top end. Nice ventilation, plenty of reading material, great view.

 

[jen0610]

Grew up going to my grandparents farm that had an outhouse. This was back in the 70's and early 80's. During the warmer months they would send us cousins outside to play and if you had to go, you used the outhouse. There was no running in and out of the house - for anything. We had a flash light to make sure no creepycrawlers were on or near the seat before we sat down.

They took down the outhouse some time in the early 90's. That part of the yard looks very strange.

 

[live4christp1]

Grew up going to my grandparents farm that had an outhouse. This was back in the 70's and early 80's. During the warmer months they would send us cousins outside to play and if you had to go, you used the outhouse. There was no running in and out of the house - for anything. We had a flash light to make sure no creepycrawlers were on or near the seat before we sat down.

They took down the outhouse some time in the early 90's. That part of the yard looks very strange.

It's just really well fertilized.

 

[PatsMom]

We still have our outhouse. The original building on my lot was a hunting camp my father built. We used the bushes when I was really little. At some point he built us an outhouse and it was luxury. As time went by, we built a larger and nicer camp but never had running water. We always joked that we had cable TV, a microwave oven and electric light in the outhouse. When we were building our house, DH lived in the camp for about 15 months with nothing but the outhouse. He did sponge baths, used the river during good weather and visited me (who lived at my mother's with DD) when he really wanted a good old fashioned hot shower! Now we have our retirement home which does have indoor plumbing but family members are still using the camp and the outhouse. It is well ventilated and except for really hot summer days the smell isn't bad.

 

[veraletta]

Yes, our summer cottage in Maine had a pink outhouse, well my step father made us paint it pink so it would be easier to find it in the woods.
We only had cold running water too, we had to boiled it to wash dishes and take sponge baths.

I remember my step wouldn't build a new outhouse guess he was too lazy to build one, so he made my brother clean it out, for once in my life I was thankful that I was a girl.
I can still picture my brother at the age of 12 having to shovel out the waste into buckets and take it deeper into the woods and put the waste into a hole, so sad.

 

[goofyernmost]

Yes, our summer cottage in Maine had a pink outhouse, well my step father made us paint it pink so it would be easier to find it in the woods.
We only had cold running water too, we had to boiled it to wash dishes and take sponge baths.

I remember my step wouldn't build a new outhouse guess he was too lazy to build one, so he made my brother clean it out, for once in my life I was thankful that I was a girl.
I can still picture my brother at the age of 12 having to shovel out the waste into buckets and take it deeper into the woods and put the waste into a hole, so sad.

In Vietnam we had half of a 55 gal. drum with handles. We would drag it out from under the outhouse, pour kerosene on top and burn it. As I said...Good times.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Our camp still has the outhouse, and up til 2 years ago, it was the only option. It wasn't bad during the day, and when the weather was ok, but running out there at night or in the snow wasn't the most fun. Something about -25 degrees and 3:00am.....

My FIL managed to run piping from a nearby spring, so now he has running water, a regular toilet, and a small water heater that runs off the generator. Sweet!!!

Jen

 

[suzimar57]

used an outhouse once while camping as a girl scout in the mid 60s....

awful experience - thank goodness almost 40 years have passed and the image/stench of that memory is fading....

 

[gottaluvPluto]

Never used an outhouse. When I lived in the middle east we used a hole in the ground and a garden hose.

 

[Buckalew11]

many times in Union Grove, NC!

I used the woods outside of Epcot once too--before the 1/2 marathon!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I drove across Canada - from Guelph (near Toronto) Ontario to Vancouver, BC, with my son one summer. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba they have some "rest areas" for drivers by the side of the highway - and they feature the good old-fashioned outhouses. Yuck. The worst was when I had to stop at night to go. It was SO dark and I hated feeling around the inside of the outhouse to locate the seat, not knowing what my hand might touch.

Teresa

 

[Amlee]

My grandfather, mother, and her siblings all at one time of the other played and sung Bluegrass music. When I was a kid we traveled all over the country with them playing at different festivals. Some of those festivals are very rural with no bathrooms. We were lucky to have a tree to hide behind, much less an out house.

 

[SydSim]

Yup, my mother's family still lives in Chuckatuck , Virginia and until I was around 13, we spent every summer there. They had an outhouse, an indoor "bucket" for night time usage, and a pump for the water (best water I ever had), which we heated on the stove to bathe with.

Even though my sister and I were big city gals, going down south for the summer and using the outhouse and pump didn't bother us in the least. Well, maybe eyeballin' those daddy long legs while I was in the outhouse may have been a little unnerving.