Ojai, California, native Cody Creighton has a dirty little secret: He hasn’t showered in 60 days and doesn’t plan to again for months.
It’s all because of the historic California drought, which has ravaged the state, left entire communities without running water, shrunk Ojai’s nearby Lake Casitas and has no end in sight.
“I think that people don’t pay attention to the drought because as long as, you know, their water faucet is still working, as long as their nice car is being cleaned, they don’t see it as being a problem, and it’s a huge problem,” the 23-year-old told The Ventura County Star.
Creighton first completed a week, decided to try a month and, on day 50 of not showering, launched a social media campaign.
“The average shower uses 30 gallons of water, and since giving up my two showers a day I have saved an estimated 3,000 gallons of water,” he wrote on Instagram September 3. “In honor of my 50TH DAY OF NO SHOWERING, I'm asking anyone and everyone to repost this photo, tag me, and add #OneDayDirtier in the next 48 hours. I will add one more day without showering on your behalf, saving 60 gallons of water.”
With the attention from his post, Creighton is now committed to 128 days of not showering -- a small dent in the state’s water crisis, but a big statement about being mindful during the drought.
“This is just an extreme way of causing a little buzz to get people talking about water conservation,” he told the Star. “More than anything it’s spreading awareness within people my age and the community in general and anybody that’s seen it on Instagram.”
Creighton reportedly doesn’t smell or look dirty, according to CBS Los Angeles, most likely thanks to his baths in swimming holes and the ocean. He captioned this Instagram “Bath time:”
Don’t want to ditch showers but want to get more creative saving water while you bathe? Try collecting the water lost while you wait for it to heat up and repurpose it in your garden.
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