Mr. Hugh,
The post about outhouses is very good. Living in a rural area, I’ve seen many homes that still have outhouses, even though they have “indoor plumbing”. They are very handy in emergencies. I’ve followed this blog for many years. I have a plan in mind that I’ve not seen posted here. I have a septic system installed at my home. It is the older version that has a concrete tank, and “field lines” that are buried in washed gravel to allow the “treated water” to be absorbed into the ground. This system does not require power to operate. It only needs water in the tank to flush. I plan to place an outhouse with a flush toilet over the inlet to my septic tank and connect it to the line going into the tank. When you have to “go”, just flush and refill the tank on the toilet with a bucket of water. This will eliminate the “smell” of certain trips to the bathroom inside the house, since the ventilators and the air conditioning won’t be working in a grid down situation. Those who read this blog may not have thought about this. If your house is like mine and has no bathrooms with windows to the outside for ventilation, we must consider this possibility, especially when you live in southern regions with summers than have 90 degree plus temperatures with 90% humidity. Keep up the good work. -MER