OctaSpring Cleanup

New Bern, NC

I'm sure you are all familiar with the phrase "spring cleaning."   In the old days, during winter soot and dirt would build up in the house because of all the fires kept burning.  In spring, when the fires were put out and the windows opened, it was time to clean.  On the boat, we don't have the same driving function (the fireplaces and coal stoves) so our cleaning binges aren't always in the spring.

Every so often however, we like to empty the cabins, scrub all the walls down, and air out the cushions and wash the cushion covers.  That gets the surface clean.

This month, as I work on exterior paint and on making Tarwathie seaworthy once again, Libby is working on another kind of cleaning.   She is digging into each and every storage cubby and finding things we don't need and don't use to throw away.

You see, the priority system on a boat is pretty simple.  All stuff is stored either in vertical piles, or in horizontal stacks in drawers, cabinets and cubbys.  Things used the most, quite naturally wind up on the top of the piles.  Things never used work their way to the bottom where they are hidden, and soon forgotten.  They still occupy space however.   So eliminating those things is what we are doing.  I think this is the first time in eight years that we have done this on a comprehensive basis.

What is the reward?  Not much.  We'll have a little less weight, and a little more room to acquire fresh stuff.  The chance is slight that the weight, the room and new stuff will improve our lives at all.  But it needs to be done sometime.  

If we find anything really surprising, such as the ashes of a forgotten relative, I'll be sure to blog about it.