The Walden Effect: Homesteading Year 5. Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Introducing the pStyle

Peeing on a compost pile using a pstyle.Okay, so I figure about 60% of you will be seriously squicked by this post.  Feel free to skip it.

Well, squick-free 40%, you will be glad you stayed on board.  Because two weeks ago I saw an ad in a magazine which broke through my internal ad-blocker software.  "Eliminates the need for toilet paper!" it exclaimed, and I perked right up.  I visited Krista's pStyle website, and before I knew it, I was hooked.

The pStyle is a little plastic cup/funnel which fits between your legs (women only, but guys obviously don't need one) and lets you pee standing up.  Our "outhouse" (such as it is) is a good little distance from the house, so I generally don't wander all the way over there to pee, especially if I'm hard at work in the garden.  Plus, if you pee in the yard, it attracts scads of butterflies.  I'm pretty good at squatting, but let me tell you, there's splattering now and then, and drips at the end.  And, in the winter, it's cold.  The pStyle solves all that.

Once you get over your gender normative reaction, you might come on board too.  Here are a couple of testimonials from other rural livers:

Hi! Just ordered six more pstyles for friends! They really do work. You may want to include dogsledding in the list of activities... you can't exactly leave 14 dogs unattended while you go to pee in the woods. Not to mention the effect of the cold on your bottom up here in the Maine Northwoods. Thanks for a great product
– MaryAnn

I bought my first p-style 2 years ago from a local girl who placed a bulk order and it was my best friend through a cross country bike tour, living outdoors while working on a farm, and just reveling in peeing outside in general. I finally lost it so now while replacing it I'm hoping to convince five more women how indispensable it is! "
– Laura


Krista, inventor of the pStyle.I asked Krista how she came about inventing the pStyle, and she explained that the product was invented in Europe 20 years ago.  But, as she put it, "it was just moldering away in France with no one knowing about it", so she dusted it off, renamed it, and got the pStyle moving in the United States.

I'm always intrigued by small businesses with cool products that solve a real problem, and the pStyle definitely fits the bill.  So, check it out!  Thanks, Krista, for bringing France to our backyard!



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comment 1
Now this is something I thought I would never see.
Comment by Brandy :: Young in the Mountains — early Wednesday morning, April 8th, 2009
comment 2
Penis envy is alive!
Comment by Errol — early Wednesday morning, April 8th, 2009
comment 3

Brandy, is that a good "something I thought I'd never see" or a "the apocalypse is coming now!" :-)

Daddy, you got it!

Comment by anna — early Wednesday morning, April 8th, 2009
comment 4
I don't think I've peed outside since I was a kid. Does that make me a prude....or maybe just a bit too citified?
Comment by Fostermamas — late Wednesday evening, April 8th, 2009
comment 5
Let's just say that I like my current method. And I even prefer going in the great outdoors to all public restrooms. ;-)
Comment by Brandy :: Young in the Mountains — early Thursday morning, April 9th, 2009
comment 6

Fostermamas --- it just means you're missing out on one of the joys of country life. (Of course, I'm sure some people find it less joyful than others. :-)

Brandy --- as long as you like to pee outside, all's well. :-)

Comment by anna — early Thursday morning, April 9th, 2009
buying a few
I'm moving to China where much of the public toilets are squat holes and I saw this and thought I'm getting one! Going to get one for my daughter too and tempted to buy a few extras for people once I get there.. or spares for me! I remember seeing this or something similar a few years ago and brushed it off as a crazy notion, but once you have a need it is suddenly brilliant!
Comment by Sara — Wednesday afternoon, November 25th, 2009
comment 8
Sara --- I think they're actually on sale this week, so you chose a good time. :-)
Comment by anna — Wednesday afternoon, November 25th, 2009
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