Saturday, November 03, 2012

Baby Stays and Bins

Our new baby stay is installed!
Yesterday was a big day around here.  Our boat was officially converted into a "slutter" with the installation of our new furling baby stay (read this post to find out why) and we unpacked ALL of our boxes.  Yep, all thirty-four of those puppies.  We are very, very excited about these two things.

Scott and I are pretty organized when it comes to stowing our boat.  The number one goal being to maximize space while maintaining order.  I'm not sure if it's the "right" or the "best" way, but what we do is go absolutely nuts with bins.  I've spent hundreds of dollars on bins and/or storage solutions in the past four years and, in our opinion, it's money well spent.  Not only do bins keep items organized (for example; we have a "battery bin", a "charger bin", an "electronics bin", a "lightbulb bin" etc.) but it keeps things clean, rust free and safe from any water intrusion or spills as well.  More than once we discovered minor leaks because salt water pooled on the bins rather than being absorbed into the cabinets which not only made the leaks easier to diagnose, but spared damaging our stuff.  Another time we had a minor "oil spill" in our lazarette and instead of oil covering everything and ultimately draining into our bilge, the spill was contained in a single bin.  Suffice it to say, we dig our bins.  We also dig the incredible amount of storage space on this new boat.  All our belongings have been stowed and we have plenty of unused spaces in which to 'grow'.
The way we typically figure out our bin configuration is by trial and error.  I get a slew of various sized bins from The Container Store and then we play real-life Tetris with those bins to find the best and most efficient configuration.  Bins we like, we get more of.  Bins that don't work, we return.  From there, we load our belongings into them - usually with some sort of theme as I mentioned above - and label them with our label maker.  The most useful or "every day" items go in the easier to reach places, the less used items go in the more tricky places.  We love this system and find it has been the best way to stow our boat with the least amount of chaos.  Chaos on a boat is not a good thing.
Isla also enjoyed her time aboard her new home.  This child is all about being on her feet these days.  Crawling is merely a means to get to some place where she can prop herself up to stand and, preferably,  bounce.  Walking we fear is just around the corner.  While a walking baby on a boat definitely falls into the "chaos" category, we'll refrain from the urge to stick her in a bin.  And unfortunately, our new baby stay has nothing to do with a baby staying anywhere on this boat.  Ho hum.

We're curious, what are the ways in which you stow your boat? Do you use bins as well or do you have another method? Have any tips or tricks that work for you?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I looove bins and container stores. The promise of organization! That said, I (sadly) found them not very usable onboard, except for the very smallest ones (like Tupperware size). I think that's because the boat was smaller, and so "square" bins either just did not fit, or did fit but wasted too much space. I ended up using a lot of 2-gallon Zip-Loc bags and also a lot of 1-gallon milk/water jugs with the top cut off (but the handle section of the top still on). They would smoosh to fit and held things like caulks, glues, etc.

I had to laugh about the "buy some, come back and test them, then go buy more or return them" part because - even though I always measure and sketch before going shopping, it always comes down to that anyway :D

Deb said...

We've been using the Lock N Lock boxes because they have a rubber o-ring so they're totally waterproof. I store my flour, sugar, oatmeal, rice, everything in them and they stay totally fresh, sometimes even for months if I happen to forget one in the back of the cabinet. I got a bunch of them on sale at Aldi a few months back. You can't have enough of them, but beware cheap imitations. I tried some from a local grocery store and the lock handles don't close over the lip so they don't lock.

Deb
S/V Kintala
www.theretirementproject.blogspot.com

Mike M. said...

Great system of organization! I love the tupperware style. I also like the comment above regarding the larger ziplock bags and milk jugs. Depending on how much space we end up having, might use a combination of it all.

Mike
ww.siochana.us

Carol Florida U.S.A. said...

Happy to hear you say that Isla won't end up in a bin . . . Brittany, but I'm sure you'll have a toy bin for her!!! (and maybe even more bins for clothes and diapers and things. I still think that learning to stand, balance, and walk on a moving boat, has definitely got to make her more confident when on dry land (or any non-moving surface) . . . I couldn't help but think that picture (on the bottom right) of the back of Isla, standing in front of a cabinet or cupboard, would make a good spot to take a sequence of a similar photo (over months, years) to show how she's growing. Eventually she'll be all the way to the top . . . and be able to reach whatever is on the counter!! Carol Florida U.S.A. <3

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