A Nicole Build
If you’ve been following along, or if you just know the dynamic of Mike and myself, you know that Mike is the builder of our team. It’s not that I couldn’t be a builder, of course - or that I’m not a decent enough second hand once in a while - it’s simply that my interests don’t steer me in that direction. But once in a while inspiration strikes and I do my own version of building or crafting something.
Case and point. Yesterday, I came across a piece of furniture with a free sign on it, posted on the sidewalk in downtown Philipsburg Montana, where I had driven to meet up with my good friend Kelly for a day trip. It was an old-fashioned type wooden apparatus that I assume would’ve housed a simple wash basin set up. It didn’t come equipped with a sink, only the hole in which a sink/basin would go into. There was a diamond shaped mirror attached, side rails for placing towels, and even candle stick holders on either side of the mirror. It was a cool piece. I saw potential in it, so I grabbed it and took it on home with me.
This morning I got to thinking about how I might turn the wooden piece I found into a working hand-washing sink to place inside the outhouse. After some head scratching and some trial and error, I landed on a great idea. A year or so ago, we bought a really small metal sink that we found at the home re-use center, Home Resource, in Missoula. We didn’t have a use for it at the time, but given how uncommon it is to find small sinks, we figured for the cost of $5 we’d buy it and figure out what to do with it later. So I fished the sink out of our storage container to see if it would fit inside the hole cut out in the wooden unit. It fit splendidly!
After making some modifications to the sink’s faucet, I wound up needing to drill another hole through which to put the portable pump we had on hand. I was hoping to use one of the holes it already had, but I couldn’t figure out how to free them up. The pump itself is charged by USB and we use the same kind inside our cabin to dispense potable water for drinking and cooking purposes. We had a spare one that we weren’t actively using. They’re handy little pumps that only need to be charged once every 2-3 weeks.
In went the sink and then in went the pump, which I threaded down into a one-gallon jug of collected rain water through the small hose that comes with it. Under the drain hole in the sink I placed a bucket for catching the waste water and voila! Instant sink for washing hands in the outhouse! It’s for sure not a good sturdy Mike build, but it’s functional and I think it works pretty well. It also has the bonus of being our own woodland, funky version of shabby chic. So we have that going for us too.
As final touches, I added a small solar charged lantern for use at night, a soap dish and bar of soap, a hand towel, and a small sign with simple instructions of how to press the button to dispense water, along with a friendly note about how we wouldn't advise that folks drink the water from the sink, since it uses rain water.
Another small Empty Mountain upgrade added. Simple delights.
