Bucket Water Estimate Has Been Referred to Committee
The correct amount of water for this bucket remains, after seven years, a subject of active debate.
HOUSEHOLD COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Item: Bucket Water Estimate Meeting convened: This morning, informally, in the bathroom
Attendees
The subject and the bucket. The bucket did not contribute.
Background
For all purposes requiring a bucket of water, the amount of water appropriate for the task must be estimated in advance. The bucket provides no measurement markings. The tap provides no automatic shutoff. The estimation is made by eye, by feel, by the sound of the water, and by a calculation that no one has ever written down.
The calculation has variables. They are: the size of the task, the likely evaporation or splash loss, a margin for error, and a second margin for the first margin being wrong.
Current Standard
The governing estimate is "a bit more than you think you need." This guideline has been in operation since the household formed. It was not formally adopted. It emerged from repeated experience with estimates that were slightly less than required.
The slight excess is wasted in approximately 40% of uses. The slight excess is necessary in approximately 60% of uses. The 40% waste is accepted as operational overhead.
Today's Incident
The estimate was calibrated, as usual, by eye. The intended amount: approximately half a bucket. The actual amount: three-quarters of a bucket.
The excess water was not wasteable because the task had already begun. The task was completed with excess water present.
The excess water was tipped out. The tipping-out required care because the bucket is heavy when three-quarters full and the bathroom floor is tile.
Resolution
None proposed. Once a bucket water estimate acquires a daily workaround, the workaround becomes the official storage system. The official storage system is: fill more than you think you need, tip out the excess, next time estimate the same.
Action Items
One member suggested purchasing a bucket with measurement markings.
The meeting ended without formally rejecting this idea.
It has not been rejected. It has not been pursued. The position is held by the same committee that declared the current estimate "temporary" in 2018.