I am about to dig an outhouse at the cabin, and wondered if anyone had any tips for controlling odors (preferably natural/organic solutions)?

Keep a bucket of wood ash and a small scoop in the outhouse. After you do your business sprinkle a scoop of ash over it. Has worked for centuries.

Great idea, because that would also have the effect of always keeping the campfire pit cleaned out as well.  Thanks!!

I've seen people put very small woodstoves or propane heaters in them. But in the cold most people "just make it quick".

Are there any tricks for keeping one warm in the winter?

Stuff a roll of toilet paper in a coffee can, fill can with rubbing alcohol, light it on fire to stay warm. When done, put the lid back on till next time.

I have no idea if this actually works or not but an avid hunter I used to know did this to keep warm in his hunting blind during Michigan winters and swore it burns clean and puts out plenty enough heat to keep warm.

Sawdust, peat moss (very cheap, when you buy a huge brick of it), shredded newspaper -- there are many options.

The main point of odor control is to simply prevent air from drifting over the source of the offensive odor. You'd be surprised how well this works. That's why flush toilets are much less smelly than an outhouse.

To a lesser degree, you also want something that will complement the high-nitrogen content of dung, when it comes time to compost it later. You know the "browns" and "greens" ratio of composting? Well, ironically, dung goes into the "green" category. You need paper/wood/leaf products to balance it out, to aid in composting.

I'm going to be earthy here: when you're on the toilet, you're NOT smelling the human waste under inches of water. You're smelling seconds or minutes ago, *when it was surrounded by air* and also the residue it left behind on YOU.

I've tried the 5 gallon bucket with peat moss technique. It works. I'm not just reporting what I've read; I actually tried it, for several weeks. I got one of those special toilet seats that fits on a 5-gal. bucket. It's a great prep to have. I also got a brick of peat moss. A thin layer of peat moss sprinkled over "your business" does indeed turn off the smell like flipping a switch.

Of all the areas of "survivalism", my family is about 10/10 in "waste management". We have 2 leach fields that don't require electricity -- the old style anaerobic septic system. All we need is some greywater, rainwater, pondwater to manually put in the toilet tanks, and we can continue to flush toilets as normal! I wish we were as well-prepped in every other area...

Sawdust works very well, as I'm sure peat moss and ash do as well.  A large quantity of ash will severely alkalize the resulting compost, which may be a serious concern depending on your soil's existing ph level.  The best smelling outhouse I've used also incorporated a wide funnel on the front side of the toilet (when sitting,) which diverted the urine away from the solid waste.  I did not ask where it went, although that would have been a good idea.  This resulted in a much drier waste pile in their bucket, which reduced both the smell and the quantity of sawdust necessary after using the outhouse.

Sawdust works very well, as I'm sure peat moss and ash do as well.  A large quantity of ash will severely alkalize the resulting compost, which may be a serious concern depending on your soil's existing ph level.  The best smelling outhouse I've used also incorporated a wide funnel on the front side of the toilet (when sitting,) which diverted the urine away from the solid waste.  I did not ask where it went, although that would have been a good idea.  This resulted in a much drier waste pile in their bucket, which reduced both the smell and the quantity of sawdust necessary after using the outhouse.

Most "civilized" people would be disgusted, but store the urine, let it ferment till the ammonia smell is noticeable, dilute to use for liquid fertilizer.

This thread takes me back 39 years when we first moved to our 40 acres in far north Queensland. Thunderbox was a bucket toilet in the corner of two corrugated iron walls, joined in a V. So no door. The opening facing NW and not a soul for 80kms. A room with a view, so peaceful, and lovely fresh mountain air.