Living on a Sailboat - A Daily Exercise in Minimalism

Our living space on Obsession consists of roughly 200 square feet. So our lives pretty much revolve around doing more with less.  Our sleeping quarters consists of what's called a V-Berth, a small triangle where our feet are always vying for space (though we call it our Cozy Cabin :).  I buy a minimal amount of groceries at any one time since my fridge is about 3 cubic feet.  We hold 100 gallons of fresh water, therefore minimal water usage is a must (it lasts us about 2 weeks).  I own, I know it's hard to believe; one pair of dress shoes!  And of course a sailboats claim to fame and the epitome of minimalism is to enjoy what makes a sailboat sail-wind. So needless to say, daily we are thinking in a minimalist frame of mind, yet at the realization that company was coming this last month, I realized that my living space still was full of a lot of stuff.

You would think that when one lives in only 200 square feet of space that you would be pretty organized. But since living onboard for the last year and a half we have begun to accumulate more and more stuff.  It's Murphy's Law, have space; must fill it with stuff. However, with the thought of company coming I went into a serious clean out mode. Wanting everything to be perfect, (not that my dear friends would care, it's just me :) I set out to tackle some problem areas on the boat.  It started with this one little item. 

I wish I had a before and after of this drawer.  

How many kitchen utensils does one person need, especially on a 37' sailboat?  I had three utensil drawers, one of which wouldn't close it was so full of what I thought were necessary items.  I had several spatulas, at least half a dozen wooden spoons, a pastry blender I hadn't used in a year and a half, two cheese cutters, more spoons (plastic though and partially melted, of course) and an assortment of other nonessentials (I have 5 large metal serving spoons!).  My kitchen stove has two burners, why would I possibly need half a dozen wooden spoons and three spatulas!

Thus began my decision to minimalize even further, because really how many spatulas does one person need?  

Not to bore you with the particulars (or perhaps I have already, so sorry) I found a few inspiring websites and Ted Talks about minimalism.  (Check out "The Minimalists" blog if you are interested.  Two guys who left corporate America and now live in Missoula, Montana and tout the benefits of living minimalistically along with practical suggestions and insights.) There's a whole revolution out there of people who are living with less, MUCH LESS (aka, Tiny Houses craze).  And I figured, "I am already pretty much there, so why not see just how little we can live without." So every day I have been tackling one area at a time seriously asking myself, "Does this item bring me joy?"  If the answer is no, then into the garbage bag it goes.  I have already hauled 3 large kitchen garbage bags full of clothes, kitchen items and miscellaneous stuff and I am still going (and honestly haven't missed any of it so far).  So here's a few pictures of our new improved living space.  

The V Berth, aka, the Cozy Cabin, where we sleep

I wish I would have taken some before and after pictures of how much I got rid of but, this is definitely an improvement. 

One thing I hadn't counted on was the feeling of freeness that you get when you let go of so many non-essentials.  I am basically whittling down everything I own to only what I truly love and need.

 

"Collect moments, not things."

C