Another few new favorites..

So I'm scouring the shops for things that can not only have a dual purpose, but can be easily stored.  Talk about looking for a needle in a haystack!  This is not the easiest thing to do.  It seems like most of the items I want are for the galley.  I guess that since I have such a small space to cook in, it seems like I can't find anything that will work.  So, I've found a few items that I really want but have not found locally yet.  Here's what's on my list...

Collapsible mixing bowls 


The red section is silicone and it collapses to store flat

 Collapsible Colander

Collapsible Dish Drain

I've found silicone mixing bowls that flex at Target, but they do not fold flat for storage.  I did get lucky and find the collapsible measuring cups and I SO love them.  They take up such a small amount of space in the boat that I happily threw away my glass Pyrex measuring cup. 

Looks like I'll be doing a little on-line shopping soon!

Added to my list of new favorites...

So I'm now throwing away all my regular cotton towels.  I have discovered microfiber bath towels and I'll never go back to cotton again~lol  Not only are they more absorbent, but they dry SO fast and take up less than half the room of regular towels.  If you're interested in getting some, make sure you get the "terry flocked" towels and not those super slick ones.  The slick ones seem to push the water off instead of absorbing it (learned from experience).  I found the terry towels at Marshall's on the clearance rack today:-)  Going back tomorrow to see if I can hunt down a couple more!  Then, ALL the regular towels are going to the marina's "Free" table...

Found these at Towels by Doctor Joe


I found some on-line that I may order later, a 6-pack for only $7.35.  Not positive they are the same size as the ones I found today (I'll pull out the measuring tape later), but they look the exact same:-)

Boating Dogs...what the best of them wear...

So I saw a resident boating dog with a new collar today that was so cute.  It was a "Guard Dog" collar, but it features a Life Guard bench and rescue floatie.  Of course, I had to ask where it came from!  There's a great website called Fun Dog Fred that has so many collar and leash choices it's incredible!  Check them out, there's a style for every dog out there~lol

FunDogFred even has doggie costumes!

Converting the quarter-berth...

Quarter-berth before the refrigerator

So I've gotten the cushion pulled from the quarter-berth and picked up a blanket for Sara at the local Goodwill and I'm ready to get a refrigerator.  Bob and I will head out to WalMart this evening and bring one home.  I'm so excited!  It almost feels like Christmas~lol  We'll still keep the cooler for a few things (bottles of water, Gatorade and other drinks), but our food will be easily accessible from inside the boat now.

Sara doesn't seem to be overly please that the comfy cushion is no longer available to her, but she will hopefully take to the blanket fairly well.  I've placed her food and a small bowl of water in the back so she knows this is still "her space".

When I removed the cushion, I found yet another storage compartment that we hadn't found yet.  WOO HOO!  More space to put things!  I don't know if I'll be able to open it after the refrigerator is in place, so I'm not going to put anything there yet.  If we can't open it easily, then I'll store our non-season clothes stored in zip bags.  That way we only have to move the fridge twice a year...we'll have to wait and see.

Money, storage, food and all our "stuff"

When moving onto The Mystery, we choose to rent a storage room locally to keep everything we "might" need while living aboard, but didn't have room for.  I have to say, after 2 weeks I don't think we need nearly the amount of things we saved.  Most of the items there are slowly going to be sorted and we'll only keep the essentials.

We are learning a whole new simpler (and frugal) way to live.  We only buy food that we are going to eat within 2 days (limited cooler space), so our food bill is slightly smaller because I'm no longer buying those bargains I couldn't pass on that sit in the pantry for weeks on end.  We are eating healthier foods since I'm no longer buying precooked items that need to be stored in the freezer.

We've been living out of a cooler, but have decided to remove the cushion from the quarter-berth and install a small, dorm size refrigerator to cut back on the ice expense.  Since the opening to the quarter-berth is fairly wide, Sara and Bert will still be able to get into the back of the quarter-berth to sleep, I'll just have to give them an old blanket to use as a bed.

I've found that I carried way too many towels and sheets than we actually need onto the boat.  All the extras are being given away to other boaters that need them, so our linen storage is half what I though I'd need (leaving more room for other things).  I'm also going to replace our regular towels with microfiber ones.  My neighbor has some that have a terry finish and they dry quicker and more efficiently than regular towels and take up much less space when put away. 

Clothes seem to take up most of our extra space.  With 3 people on-board, that's a huge amount of clothes even IF we only keep 1 weeks worth here.  I've started buying travel bags to store 2 days worth at a time.  Since the travel bags are clear, you can see what's in each one.  I simply pack our clothes into them as I do laundry, squeeze out the air and carry them back to the boat.  They are much more compact, water tight (in case of a leak we still have not found) and easier to store.

Bath articles are also a storage problem, but I have not figured out an efficient way to deal with that yet.  Everyone has their own "bath bag" with soap, shampoo, etc.  Unfortunately, the bags themselves take up way too much room.  I bought them large enough to fit a change of clothes and a towel for the walk to and from the bathrooms, but I'm thinking about simply buying smaller bags and forgoing the convenience of the larger bag.  I'm also considering buying travel bottles of shampoo and conditioner (a must for the salty-air for me) and pouring what is needed into the travel size bottles and not keeping a separate shampoo for each bag.

Now to the big "storage" problem.  The dogs food takes up a huge amount of space.  Since Sara and Bert are so large, I have been buying dog food in large bags to save myself a little money and trips to the store.  I need to come up with a storage solution for the food...fast.  During the day, I have been keeping it in the galley sink (it's very deep) with the cover over it, but this is turning into a pain when I actually need to use the sink.  I considered a large storage container in the cockpit, but our living area above decks is already very limited, so I don't see that that will be a good solution.  My neighbor suggested a deck-box.  Since we won't be going cruising, that may be the way to go.  I may get one large enough to hold all the food and still have room left over for any over-flow items that stray this way as I empty out the storage room.

Cooking utensils have been pared down to a minimum now.  I seem to need the crockpot (easiest way to cook here), 1 large pot and a skillet.  I am going to get my cast-iron skillet from storage since it can be used on a burner or placed into the grill with the grill closed (cornbread that way is fabulous).  I may even go so far as a cast-iron dutch oven for use on the grill, but have not decided for sure yet.

I can see that this may be a never-ending task, but have already decided that if something else comes on-board, then something on-board must leave.  That means no more shopping for that extra top or pair of pants unless we are willing to donate an item.  Talk about putting a spending limit on yourself!  Once we're settled in, we should be able to save enough money to up-grade to a larger boat quicker than we thought.

Marina life is never boring...

This is not MY mooner, but this guy is running a close second!

Many people that live aboard do not have cars, so it's a little interesting getting around for them.  We are one of the few people who actually have TWO cars at the marina, so I end up taking someone almost everywhere I go.  Now, I am not complaining because I love having the company, but it does make shopping and errands interesting.  I took a trip to the local WalMart to pick up supplies the other day and had 2 fabulous women from the marina with me, which made for a very eclectic shopping trip (we all needed different things). 

One of the ladies is a stand-up comedian, so I should have known it was going to be an interesting trip, but I was in no way prepared for what I saw while checking out!  Both ladies were waiting for me in the front of the store near the Service Center and as I looked towards them...my comedian friend actually dropped her pants and mooned me!  Talk about shocked~lol  I'm not a prude and I've been mooned before (I've even mooned), but never did I imagine that I'd be mooned in the check-out lane at WalMart! 

The amazing thing was no one even seemed to notice what happened.  How can someone dropping their pants in WalMart go un-noticed?  My thoughts...WalMart gets such strange people that anything goes~lol  I've seen shoppers in their pajamas filling their shopping carts in this store before :-)

Next week, we're taking on Winn Dixie, I can't wait to see what kind of trouble she can cause in there!!

To see some real craziness in WalMart, check out the website People Of WalMart!