Date: 9 April 2014. Organizing Humbug.
© janice142
I am concerned about a phenomenon I am seeing more and more
of in the media, and it speaks directly to the life I lead -- and the one
you too can have! It is about "organization" of which I am a
proponent. HOWEVER what I see advertised is not so much organization...
What it is actually is repacking and storage of Stuff. And we do not need
all we have -- guaranteed!
Frankly it does not matter how neatly your
stuff is stashed, if it is more than you can and do use. If you have
have not used
it (ANY object in your possession) in the past year, why are you storing
it?
This overstuffed linen closet is a nightmare.
Important Aside: I am not referring to tools, nor
the extraneous gear from hobbies at this time. And books are safe
for now too! That said, none of us are entirely off the hook. After all, this
is the latest installment in the
Becoming Clutter-Free
series.
Instead of organizing and repacking our Stuff into ever
smaller areas, I am trying to get rid of the extraneous too. I see so many
items designed to help folks store their junk that frankly I wonder about
people. Why do some think it necessary to have so much that it
requires compartments, drawers and special hidden 'under the bed' and
inside locker containers?
Would you rather be here with Harold, catching a line in
paradise?
In addition to deliveries (both sail and power) Harold
does boat work too.
He's skilled at diagnosing electrical issues and more. Phone:
850-727-9437.
So much for my Bunny Trail... The weather is improving and
my wanderlust is in high gear too!
This article focuses on preparing for life on the
water. It is time to purge, and what better place to do that than
in the bathroom? I am guessing if you are like me you have
several containers nearly empty of various brands and scents of shampoo,
conditioner, cleanser, and lotion.
My medicine locker aboard Seaweed:
Good intentions will not get that junk out of
your home, however you can do it!
The frugal me would combine all the shampoos into one
container adding water to swish out the last bits. Then I could use that as my
hand soap, pre-wash spot remover, boat soap and as the initial squirt of
soapy water for pans that need washing in the galley. I would use it up!
I keep my old soap in the "lantern" at the corner of my
sink in the head.
Old conditioner could become shaving cream, and lotions.
Conditioner can also be used as laundry softener. The inverse is true as
well: Laundry softener can be used as hair conditioner.
Both fabric softener and hair conditioners can be used to
recondition old dock lines. Soaking
the lines will hopefully remove the stiffness. Soak and hope: sometimes
this does make lines usable.
A bathroom, even a large one, should not take more than a
short time to empty of the excess. And when you are done go ahead a
splurge: you know the products you prefer, so from hence forth, buy
your favorites. You are worth it. That is what I have done.
Summer is coming, so toss all those near-empties into a bag
and let the
garbage man take them away. You do not need to store them any more.
Rather than merely organizing your
Stuff into ever smaller areas, get rid of it.
The smallest room in a house generally is the bathroom. It
too can be a minefield of clutter and this week the extraneous needs to go
o-u-t of there. We are not keeping extraneous stuff. That is for those in the acquisition stage of life.
Life aboard a boat is wonderful. The view is magnificent.
Please do no forget to check the dates and sort
out the expired medicines. Do not
flush them.
Call your local trash company and ask for their disposal recommendations.
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When you are a boater you will need far less than you think. |
For instance, Bruce Van Sant in his
book
Tricks of the Trades (highly recommended incidentally) advocates
multi-use items. Three of the list of items that he uses Joy dish
detergent for include:
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Clean the bilge.
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Degrease the engine and
engine room.
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Keep dirt and grease from
under fingernails if rubbed before starting the job.
Below "Doing Without Mr. Clean" is from the Tricks book. Bruce
Van Sant has practical and specifics for various cleansers,
using ordinary products. What I like best however is that
because there are so few ingredients in the concoctions, they
take less room to store on my boat.
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Yes, the fancy specialty
cleansers will do those items and more but it is much simpler to stow
just one container than a multitude. Bruce Van Sant swears by Joy.
I am an advocate of Dawn (blue) girl myself. Both work, and will
even clear drains. Add boiling water and the degreasing effect
will unclog most sinks. Knock teak!
That is just something to think
about as you continue with your J-O-B of clearing the clutter. Yes, it
is work. Most worthwhile things in life require effort. But you knew
that already...
The results have made all the
difference in the world to me and my life afloat. On a small boat
such as mine I could easily become overwhelmed by Stuff if I
was not vigilant. Thus I am a bit fanatical about putting things away.
If you stopped by today, this is
what you would see at my dinette:
Seaweed is my home and I enjoy
being able to welcome folks aboard for a cup of tea. I would like the
boat to seem inviting and believe that by keeping things tidy she appears to be larger than in really. Of course there
is always
room for improvement.
But not today. Today I'm going to
relax, turn off the computer and do some puzzles. It is a rough life
out here, but somehow I manage.
Happy cruising folks!
What do you do to relax?
How often are you able to totally kick back and enjoy life?
Regarding the Comments Section,
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Categories:
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