This is going to sound kind of crazy, but I have largely abandoned showers and baths, and I have not used any soap for about 6 months. I bought 50 washcloths and use these washcloths to vigorous scrubs my crotch, butt and underarms. I also towel down my face and body with the damp unsoapy cloth. I stopped using deodorant as well. Here’s the weird thing; I smell better than I used to. It is just a bizarre phenomenon, but I am not alone in this. It might be that the vigorous scrubbing with cloths does a better job of cleaning than the actual showering I used to do, but I think stopping the use of deodorant and soap does something to the body that makes it less stinky. There are people on the internet doing this, and some but not all report a similar experience. I really like this because it saves time, water and cleaning a shower. I did recently rejoin a gym and have been going in the shower to rinse off after particularly sweaty sauna sessions, but no soap ever. I would never have thought this was a possibility for me, as I have been brainwashed like most of us to believe that ashower and soap are nonnegotiable aspects of living and working ina civilized society. It is simply not true. Really scrubbing your ass and armpits with a few damp washcloths does a lot more to make you smell neutral than standing in hot water. This lifestyle does require the purchase of many washcloths though, as it is not unusual for me to go through 4 or 5 in a day. Much to the chagrin of my wife, who thought I was just being cheap, I bought the lowest priced washcloths from amazon, like 50 cents each?. But I also bought some expensive ones from macy’s thatw ere luxuriously smooth, I think in the neighborhood of 10$ each.. Turns out only the cheapest ones are useful for me. I need the rough abrasive quality of cloth to exfoliate and scrub and get the cleaning effect I am looking for. The smooth ones simply do not work for me. It’s nice to discover that one can live on much much less. I really don’t even think I need indoor plumbing anymore. Although I am not taking cold showers, I also use cold water on my damp washcloths, for a brisk rubdown even in the cold. Not quite as startling as a cold shower, but still, something. I briefly considered getting a towel warmer, of the type used by nail salons to heat up towels for their clientele. But I decided against it because the coolness of the cloth really isn’t all that bad. I would prefer a warm towel, but im ok with a cool one. I would say everyone should attempt this experiment once in their life. As Thoreau said, “Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.” Or perhaps we should edit his quote as follows:
“I went to the [bathroom] because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms…”
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