A 23-year-old Ojai, California native has pledged not to shower for 128 days to promote water conservation during the state’s devastating drought.
Cody Creighton launched what he calls his “One Day Dirtier” campaign on Instagram last week, in honor of his 50th day without a shower. For every repost or #onedaydirtier tag on Instagram, Creighton will skip another day’s worth of showers. Creighton hopes that by skipping showers for about four months, he can help others stay mindful of how much water they consume.
“Seeing what this drought has done to the environment where I live in Ojai, California, it inspired me to challenge myself to stop showering for a week earlier this summer,” Creighton told the Weather Channel. “Somehow the week turned into a month, a month into fifty days.”
Creighton claims on his Instagram campaign page that the average shower uses 30 gallons of water. By giving up his two showers a day, Creighton would save a total of 7,680 gallons of water when he reaches 128 days.
“By doing something controversial and strange such as not showering for 128 days, people talk about it,” Creighton told the Ventura County Star. “They share the photos and go around and gossip about this crazy guy in Ojai who’s not showering.”
“I think Cody is throwing it out there for everybody to kind of think about,” family friend Steve Wickstrum told the Star.
Despite eschewing perhaps the most critical staple of modern hygiene, Creighton says he is still brushing his teeth, washing his face and hands, and making sure to take a dip in the ocean or another body of water every day.
“I’m not desperate to take a shower,” Creighton told the Star. “But I am looking forward to November 22, the day I get to shower again.”