There comes a time, and probably many, in the lives of all boaters where things have become cluttered to the point where the crew says, “enough is enough!”. That is the point when it is time to start evaluating things to either be tossed or given away.
When we moved aboard we knew that we would be pruning our lives down even more than when we were living between our office and our boat. Our office was 1500 square feet and we had an attic area where we stored a lot of old memorabilia, along with my collection of old radios. We managed to move most everything to our property in Arizona, but there was a lot that we wanted/needed to take the the boat when we moved aboard full-time. The necessities included everything First Mate would need to continue her practice and finish her cases, along with clothing, food, and other things that we just wanted to have around. But, a lot would have to go. You just don’t realize what you have until you try to move it!
At this point after living aboard full-time for about three months, we have managed to get rid of a lot, but we did move a lot of stuff to Arizona with the thought that we would be setting up a second household there at some point. We had a 12×20 storage shed delivered to the property last month and we were able to clear out one self-storage unit out. That is a great thing! The plan is to empty the second self-storage unit as soon as it cools down. On the day we moved our stuff out of the 10×10 unit there was a high of 114 degrees! I know, we’re crazy like that. Well, we won’t do THAT again!
Anyway, I’m rambling. We ended up giving away or throwing away a lot. I’m a bit of a pack rat, as is First Mate although she would never admit to it. We ended up moving all our office furniture to Arizona although we will never again need most of it. First Mate just couldn’t part with what she had struggled for years to put together. I didn’t say anything, just moved it. I knew she would come around and would eventually want to get rid of a lot of things, and she has. We will probably sell most of the furnishings and only keep what will go into our home there.
All and all it has been an emotional and freeing experience. Seeing things change can be scary if you have never made such a change, and the unknown is always scary at first. Now, two months later, we are happier than we have been in years!
In the end we have started to organize the boat and put things in their place. If there is no place for something, then it has no place being on the boat. That is the bottom line. Also, if you haven’t used it in a year, then you need to seriously consider whether or not you need it, and you probably don’t.
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