What is it about water that makes you want to splash and smack it, stomp in a puddle of it, lay in it up to your nose, and stand under a cascade of it? It's soothing, invigorating, relaxing, energizing, healing, purifying, and of course, cleansing.
There's just the right amount of it on the face of the earth at all times. Allah maintains it in such a perfect balance that the same amount of water is always in a constant cycle of renewal between surface water, vapor, rain and clouds, and underground sources. It doesn't matter in what form; iceberg, snow, lake, aquifer, fog, or the cubes in your drink. You and I have drunk the same water as dinosaurs. As Adam and Hawa (alaihumas-salaam). As Rasulullah (sallalaahu alaihi wa salaam). The cycle is never broken. Subhanallah. Allahus-Samad.
The form that most people love either comes spurting out of a shower head, or swirling in the deep private little pool of a bath tub. Ours comes in a bucket. A 5-gallon bucket. Sure, we could fill up our tiny tub with about 20 gallons of water, jam ourselves in there, and splash away like most Americans who use about that much for the 10 or so minutes it takes to shower. But we don't because 5 gallons is more than plenty to get yourself dirt-free. You really think Rasulullah (sallalaahu alaihi wa salaam) used more than that? Narrated Anas: "The Prophet (sallalaahu alaihi wa salaam) used to take a bath with one saa', or up to five mudds, of water, and used to perform ablution with one mudd of water." (Sahih al-Bukhari) And what are most folks doing? According to bakkah.net a saa' equals about 3 liters, and a mudd is about .75 liters. So our Prophet didn't even use a full gallon to bathe!
Long time ago, people were used to the ritual of "the Saturday night bath." For homesteaders who don't yet have the modern luxury of in-house water plumbed right into the tub, it isn't much different. First, you take your bucket out to the water pump, then carefully haul it back to the house, being careful not to give the pathway a good watering on your way back in. Next, you put it up on the wood stove to heat up...you did remember to start the fire in the wood stove, didn't you? Okay, so while the water's heating up you get your bathing fixings ready: bucket, pitcher, scrubbie of choice, towel and soap. My husband makes 100% extra virgin olive oil soap, so we haven't had to purchase name-brand soap in four years.
The trick to bathing with a bucket is to use the water judiciously. (Keep in mind that we're talking about a general clean-up here, not the specific steps for the ghusl of janaba or jum'ah.) So you wet your body first, using the pitcher to dip water from the bucket to pour over yourself. You save about 4 gallons right off the bat by not letting a faucet or shower head run continuously. Then grab your soap and bubble up! Rinse yourself again with the pitcher a few more times and, tayyib, you're done! Fairly neat, sweet, and you've conserved the most precious resource on the planet.You could get really special and use one bucket for you and your spouse together like Rasulullah (sallalaahu alaihi wa salaam) and be even more water-conscious. Or do a fun sunnah and name your bath pitcher. Narrated Aisha: "The Prophet (sallalaahu alaihi wa salaam) and I used to take a bath from a single pot named 'Faraq'." (Sahih al-Bukhari)
There are so many occasions for bathing aside from just a daily routine: when in janaba, after hayd, on the wedding night, after childbirth, before jum'ah, when sweating from manual labor, after a battle, and the bathing of a body before shrouding. Pretend you're a homesteader, too, and try to make each one count by not being extravagant with the water. You're next water bill might pleasantly surprise you. And you'll be just as clean as Rasulllah (sallalaahu alaihi wa salaam).