How to make less of an off-grid splash

Camping off grid is the best way to adventure but your time is as limited as your water supply.

In our time on the road, we’ve developed a few ways to minimise our water use when it comes to washing dishes, people and clothes, so we can spend more time unhitched and un-plugged to caravan parks...

Our absolute number one tip for preserving water is to leave the the dirty dishes to pile up.

Any notions of washing up after every meal go right out the window when you're on the road full-time, and we’ve got enough sets of plates and cutlery to least a few days' meals.

We always wipe away grime with paper towel, and even been known to eat off plates still a little salty from a beach bucket rinse. We also visit camp kitchens often and make it our mission to collect water from any shower of rain (no matter how small).

When it comes to bath time: if you don’t need one, don’t have one or go for a swim. However when we do use our internal caravan shower, the kids are washing in the bottom of the bucket of ‘grey water’ from our showers. Rinse-off, lather, rinse-off... That’s it.

If we do manage to catch some rain, we’ll rig up the pump to go straight from the bucket and into the shower for a blissful 60 seconds of shower heaven.

Clothes for our growing family of four take a little more of the supply so I like to think we’re good for at least two weeks without washing. A quick load in the van’s machine consumes 10 litres so that makes fast work of the tanks, and is a last resort.

However, if we’re desperate for jocks and socks then our manual ‘Scrubba’ handwash bag does the trick... as does the old 'inside out and back to front' method!

Our beds are slightly sandy, the plates a little grimy and baby wipes and ocean dips are doing all they can to keep us fresh. But if it means we can sit back for at least a week of bliss on 220 litres fresh water in a beachside campsite, there's nowhere we’d rather be.

Only wash-up once a day.

Wipe out grime with paper towel rather than pre-rinsing.

Use camp kitchen facilities wherever possible.

Don’t shower if you don’t need one.

Shower into a bucket (rinse, off, lather, rinse, off) and use the bucket as a kid's bath.

Have enough clothes for at least 10 days to avoid laundry washing.

If you need to use the van's washing machine, use the quickest cycle or use something like a handwash Scrubba bag instead.

Opt for a water-free toilet like a compost.

Related: Don't get stuck in a caravan routine rut