When we decided to make La Paz our "home" for 18 months, we made our boat more comfortable by moving many "cruising" items off and into a storage unit. Now, it is a circus moving it all back on board! (And we were very careful to shake out all the roach eggs before it was moved back on the boat! When we cleaned out our unit, roaches scattered and there was even a dead mouse glued to the floor!)
Frankly, we carry too much stuff. The "what if...?" is the reason.
What if we break down and need that part?
What if we get rid of it and then decide we really want it?
This was really expensive - we can't just give it away!
Well giving away is exactly what we have done. If we couldn't sell it to another cruiser, we have donated it to needier people. What are some of things we have doled out for free?
- 6 man Avon life raft
- Blender (no, not my Vitamix!)
- a bike rack
- numerous cruising and boating books
- Our ridiculously ginormous collection of DVD movies
- A very nice jib sail
- Clothing
- Sewing material
- A working water pump
- A parachute drogue
- A sailing dinghy sail
- A coffee pot
- A cast iron griddle
- Stainless steel and aluminum pieces...
I am using the last days to run errands, buy food and fill the last of the fuel cans before we sell our Toyota pick up. We have buyers who have put down a deposit on the truck and will come get it tomorrow. And I would have added the truck to the "give away" list - since we sunk $1,000 US into it for repairs the last 3 months and will see not one penny of that back - but that is - simply - the cost of life. We are so grateful that it carried us safely back and forth this year.
Jim's Dad gave us a vacuum sealer a while back and I have put it to good use. I am very pleased how well it works and how compact it makes storing refrigerated and frozen foods. I had never used it before and this was the first time - after I read a thread on a group forum that raved about the benefits. I have been hesitant because I hate the idea of all that plastic. But I love the idea of all the space it makes and how it retains the freshness of the food!
And Carolyne?
Not much has changed. I worry how she is going to acclimate to reality.
:)
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