COLD WATER

[pixie mcGiver]

Last year was my first BM experince, but I came up with this great idea. Fill water bottles halfway and freeze them, before leaving for the plya fill them the rest of the way. put them all in the same cooler. when I got home 5 days later, I still had ice cold water, and even some ice. I also placed wet rags in baggies and froze them too. Nothing like a nice cool rag to wipe the plya dust off your face. Hope this comes in handy for anyone. I will be doing the same thing this year.

[griffin]

That's a good idea. I did that the year before last. I froze everything. 1 Gallon bottles, 2.5 gallon bottles. I had cold water everyday except for the first day. Like you, I came home with ice. I used the frozen water to keep food and beer cold, and then drank it once it melted.

[Tiara]

I freeze bottles of drinking water too. But before I put a bottle in the freezer, I generally break the seal and pour out about an inch of water. That way there's no chance of the bottle breaking when the water expands slightly as it freezes.

[diane o'thirst]

Mix a few drops of lemon or lime juice into the water, mix, then soak the rag and bag it. The citrus will cut the alkali and act as a mild astringent.

Great ideas! I'm writing up a survival tips booklet to distribute at Mr. Peterman's Burning Man 101 event, I'll include them (with creds, of course )

[samdu]

i've been saving coffee cans for about 3 months now, from home and work. here's my plan:

clean them out, fill with potable water, chicken broth, juice, etc.

freeze.

use as ice in my coolers, drinking the water, juice, using the chicken broth for soups, etc.

use the coffee cans as garbage cans, ashtrays, etc. that way, i don't have to worry about moop blowing around the campsite/playa, since it'll all be in covered containers. also, the garbage won't stink, and i can port it all out at the end of the burn without worrying about bags breaking in the car and stinking/messing up the vehicle on the ride home.

[Icepack]

If you use coffee cans for drinking water, etc. you might want to line them with plastic bags or something. My experience is that anything that has contained coffee, will reak of coffee forever. My plastic commuter mugs can't be used for soup because the soup will taste like coffee.

That's my experience anyway. I think you'd be better off with some tupperware or leakproof plastic bags or something.

i've been saving coffee cans for about 3 months now, from home and work. here's my plan:

clean them out, fill with potable water, chicken broth, juice, etc.

freeze.

use as ice in my coolers, drinking the water, juice, using the chicken broth for soups, etc.

use the coffee cans as garbage cans, ashtrays, etc. that way, i don't have to worry about moop blowing around the campsite/playa, since it'll all be in covered containers. also, the garbage won't stink, and i can port it all out at the end of the burn without worrying about bags breaking in the car and stinking/messing up the vehicle on the ride home.

[Alpha]

My plastic commuter mugs can't be used for soup because the soup will taste like coffee.

yeah, but what's the problem?

[_tears_]

i've been saving coffee cans for about 3 months now, from home and work. here's my plan:

clean them out, fill with potable water, chicken broth, juice, etc.

freeze.

use as ice in my coolers, drinking the water, juice, using the chicken broth for soups, etc.

use the coffee cans as garbage cans, ashtrays, etc. that way, i don't have to worry about moop blowing around the campsite/playa, since it'll all be in covered containers. also, the garbage won't stink, and i can port it all out at the end of the burn without worrying about bags breaking in the car and stinking/messing up the vehicle on the ride home.

Are these metal cans? They could also end up having a slightyl matalic taste

[samdu]

[quote]Are these metal cans? They could also end up having a slightyl matalic taste[/quote/]

plastic and metal. good points regarding taste, so i'm gonna do a test run with both kinds of cans, freezing chicken broth in some and water in others. if the fluid tastes like coffee, then i'll forgo the broth, and fill with water, using it for coffee when it melts!

i'm still gonna use the coffee cans for mini garbage cans, though, so that i don't have to worry about heaps of stinky trash in camp, car or playa.

[_tears_]

Are these metal cans? They could also end up having a slightyl matalic taste[/quote/]

plastic and metal. good points regarding taste, so i'm gonna do a test run with both kinds of cans, freezing chicken broth in some and water in others. if the fluid tastes like coffee, then i'll forgo the broth, and fill with water, using it for coffee when it melts!

i'm still gonna use the coffee cans for mini garbage cans, though, so that i don't have to worry about heaps of stinky trash in camp, car or playa.

That gave me an idea. There are a lot of smokers in our camp, i will make an "ash tray" with a coffee can! Point it and make it look pretty use the lid and put large holes in the top! thanks a bunch!

[samdu]

that was one of my first ideas for the coffee cans. fill 1/2 way with sand, poke a couple holes in the lids, and put butts in them. that way, they are self-contained, won't burn up or blow around, and i don't have to worry about contributing to playa pollution. same with using the empty coffee cans as trash cans- they can be filled and closed up, then thrown into a trash bag or can as they get full. i don't have to worry about the trash can getting blown over and spilling garbage anywhere, and i don't have to worry about stinky trash!