There are buckets in alcoves everywhere! i dont know where this no bathroom idea came from.
This. I have noticed that in this game there are more places to go potty than in any other previous TES game that I have played. I never used to look for the faciliities until I saw these silly threads on going to the bathroom. Now I look for them and and there are buckets everywhere.
First bathroom I found was in a mine close to Riverwood. But kinda know what you mean about the houses though. I guess you're supposed to go out in the fields somewhere.
Without a functioning Sewer System or Plumbing, then yes, you either squat over a bucket, or go out in a field. Up until the early 1900's, it as a common job to collect the "Night Soil" from peoples homes. Richard Trethewey does not work in Nirn.