Very good post, Sealander!

Just a thought on the hot water cylinder... could you have cut into the pipe between the water source and the tank to let air in so the contents could drain into containers?

"Emergency toileting - gotta work on that one, having a backyard overlooked by the neighbours is not helpful."

Are you familiar with the online book Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins? It deals with exactly that kind of situation, and is cheap, simple and safe.

Re: the solar camping shower. I saw this in a campground and thought it was absolutely brilliant! Make an outdoor shower stall by hanging a common kid's hula hoop from any overhead support using three evenly-spaced cords or wire. Use the usual rings to hang a couple of shower curtains from the hula hoop. The people I saw using this were keeping the curtain edges closed in the breeze with clothespins.

I'm glad you're doing so well. I was wondering how much the people there were into preparedness.

Sue