I want to paint a picture for you, and it’s not a pretty one. It’s 30 degrees, and lightly snowing with a crisp, 15-mile-per-hour wind blowing in my face. For the last hour, I’ve been kneeling next to ...

You might think it odd that we’d start an article about compost toilets by stating that no such thing exists. But they don’t. Composting is a specific process, one that occurs under specific ...

If you’ve ever been aboard a boat with an enclosed head and holding-tank system, you probably know the smell. Trying to explain it away, I’ve heard some boat owners say, “Well, it smells like a boat.” ...

Funny how when you say “composting toilet,” most people immediately think of remote cabins and wilderness outhouses – never swanky high-rises or charming brownstones. Which is a shame, because these ...

You don’t need to purchase a commercial composting toilet to safely recycle human waste. A simple setup of a bucket, seat and sawdust — giving these toilets the name “sawdust potties” — will do. We ...

A basic outhouse is one option if you'd like to trade your flushing toilet for something with composting capabilities. Credit: Courtesy of Mary Jandreau Landry Editor’s note: This story was originally ...

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Lots of people are talking about going net zero when it comes to electricity and even going off-grid; not so many are considering going net-zero water and going off-pipe. When one considers the cost ...

Q: I recently got the grand, envy-inducing tour of the super fancy new boathouse my brother-in-law built on his waterfront property ... a Sunset magazine-worthy affair if there ever was one. Given ...

Jeff Somers is a freelancer who has been writing about writing, books, personal finance, and home maintenance since 2012. When not writing, Jeff spends his free time fixing up his old house. He has ...