Conserving Water While Boondocking For Stargazing

Have you ever boondocked under a sky full of twinkling stars? It's magical.

Up until a few years ago, we thought this was going to be a difficult task for our family because of a limited water supply in remote locations when camping. What we have discovered is that it's not that tough with a little planning. So, we're going to share with you our tips for conserving water while boondocking so you can also enjoy epic stargazing adventures.

Calculate Your Needs

It all starts with figuring out how much water you will actually need for your trip. Keep in mind the amount of water required for cooking, washing dishes, brushing your teeth, flushing the toilet, bathing, and of course drinking. Also, the number of people in your family will be a part of the math too.

We have four people (Alison, Preston, Grayson, and me) plus two cats that are part of our RV crew. Our RV is capable of carrying a little over 25 gallons of water. This is plenty for us on weekend trips. We can do our dishes both nights, flush when we want to, brush our teeth as normal, take a short shower if we choose, and drink as much as we need.

But, how do you figure out what you will need for your family?

Boondocking Tips to Save Water

Now let's look at tips you can use with your trial run completed and some numbers roughly calculated. Our next tips might even get you into week long boondocking or even more, which can take you to some really dark stargazing spots off the grid.

Parchment Paper and Grill Cooking

One area we like to save our water is by cooking right on the grill at campgrounds. Hotdogs, sausages, and hamburgers are easy to make when camping, and they require minimal cleanup. Usually, everything can be done on one plate or prepped in one bowl.

When using a cast iron pot, we like to use some parchment paper when dealing with those tough to clean meals, such as campfire nachos, that can stick to the sides. Also, cooking desserts in a pressure cooker is simple to clean. Alison will often line a round insert with parchment paper and put it in the pressure cooker to make cleanup easier on us.

One Pot Meals

Some people love to make large, intricate meals when camping at RV parks and locations with water hookups. When you are boondocking with limited water, you might want to think about avoiding this kind of cooking if you plan to stay off the grid for a while. They tend to be water hogs when cleaning.

This is where one pot meals come in. Turkey chili, beef stews, campfire nachos, are all delicious and can be made with just one pot. There are thousands of others, and they all have the benefit of saving water and a quick cleanup.

Disposable Dishes

The easiest way to cut down on dishes that require water for cleaning is simply to not use not use any “real” dishes. Skip ceramic plates, cups, and bowls as well as metal forks, knives, and spoons. Use paper and disposable plastic. This might not be the most environmentally friendly option long-term, but it can be fine for occasional short trips if you want to save the plastic for recycling.

If you are feeling some regret from this method, stick to metal utensils (which are easy to wash) but use paper plates. That way, when you start a campfire at night, you can use the plates as tinder to start the fire. It's actually one of my favorite camping firestarter techniques.

Shower Less or Take Navy Showers

Some people need to shower every day; some people don't when camping. A simple solution is to reduce the amount of showers you take while on the road for longer trips. If you can tolerate it, try skipping one for the day. This works best if you have just been relaxing around your campsite all day simply taking it easy and not working up a sweat.

Maybe you desperately need to shower every day to feel comfortable. I recommend you try a navy shower. When I was in the US Navy, fresh water was in short supply on long deployments, so the crew had to adapt.

Here's what you do: Start by quickly wetting your body. Turn off the water and lather up. Once you've scrubbed yourself clean, turn the water back on and rinse off. It's easy and will save a massive amount of water.

You can reduce your boondocking water needs even more if you turn your baths into sponge baths. Some people we know swear by them.

Hand Sanitizer and Wipes

Sticking with body sanitation, instead of taking navy showers and sponge baths, you can extend your water supply even more by using body wipes. This tip is definitely not for everyone, but when you are boondocking for a long time in the middle of nowhere, it will absolutely save you plenty of water by wiping down this way.

Hand sanitizer and hand wipes are also great for keeping clean without using lots of water. We like to bring both when we are boondocking so we can minimize germs while reducing the water we need.