Why laundry?

Laundry, everyone has it.

Okay I know what in the world does laundry have to do with a blog on cruising and living aboard.  Well you gotta have clean clothes don't ya?  Today while I was working on our laundry the thought came to me as to how grateful I am to have my own washer and dryer to do my laundry and to also be able to take my time accomplishing that task.

Now for most of us we have our own washer and dryer and can attend to our laundry on our own schedule.  Even when I was on my own with my infant daughter (no I have not always been married to wonderful Mr. Mike) I had a washer and dryer.  Now by no means was I well off or even made enough money to afford a washer and dryer, heck I could barely afford the rent at that point.  But my parents, the amazing folks that they were, offered to buy me a washer and dryer so that I wouldn't have to take an infant to the laundry mat.  Not only to do clothes and such but diapers.  Yes back then I used cloth diapers, disposables were just to much money.  So in our first apartment we had a beautiful washer and dryer, no furniture, but we had clean clothes.  Okay I am digressing.

One of the cleanest laundry mats I have had the
pleasure of spending time in.

Think about it, how often do we contemplate the fact that our washer and dryer is a convenience?  When cruising we have no such appliances on board (well at least most of us don't).  No room, not enough water.  So how does one handle doing laundry while living on a boat you ask?  With much planning.  Now there are some hard core cruisers that literally will do laundry in a bucket with a plunger.  Not my idea of a good time. We try to keep our dirty laundry to a minimum.  You definitely wear things more than once, unless it can stand in the corner by itself.  But none the less I still have to plan laundry days.  Not every port has laundry facilities.  I know our own marina offers two washers and two dryers for anyone to use.  And yes they are free, I guess that is why we can't complain when the one dryer only works about half.

There are times when we have docked at a location that offers a washer and dryer for use, as long as you have those quarters. With this set up you have to realize they may not always be available and you will have to wait your turn.  And of course you must remember to keep an eye on things or your clean laundry can end up in a pile somewhere because someone is waiting for the dryer.  Yes I have been caught at these stand alone washers and dryers without enough quarters.  I seriously had to go asking for a quarter to finish my laundry.  Ironically the same person that gave me the quarter that day came to me the next day needing a quarter (which by then I had some).  Paying it forward is always a good thing.   (By the way that person that gave me the quarter was another boater.)

Packed up and ready to find the laundry mat.

Now there is the option of going to a laundry mat, but again not all locations have laundry facilities near by.  For us that's when we stuff as much laundry as we can into our duffle bags and hop on the bikes.  This can be an interesting balancing act depending on how much you are carrying and where you are riding.  The good thing though about a laundry mat is that there are usually enough machines available that you can do all your loads at once. Laundry mats are good too if for some reason you don't have those wonderful quarters needed to do said laundry.  They have either an attendant or a machine that will give you access to change.   Laundry mats are a great place to meet some of the locals and you would be surprised at how many other boaters you find there.  It is always a good place to catch up on your reading, play a game of cards, call someone to chat, or if you are like me, take photos.  I am thankful too that often times Mike will come along sometimes out of need, because I can't get all the clothes on my bike and other times just to help me pass the time.  Laundry is just another part of everyday life, whether you are cruising or not.  We do the best to make it as enjoyable an adventure as possible.

So the next time you do laundry smile and make it the best it can be.

January Road trip for dingy supplies

After almost a month of Mike and I being sick we finally ventured out today to head our way up to northern Ohio.  We were in need of some marine grade plywood so that Mike can begin building the dingy for the Lady J.  It was cold this morning and it was possible we might run into snow up north but we decided to chance it and head on up early this morning.  So glad that we did.  It was so nice to be able to just get out of the house and "blow the stink off" to quote Mike.  Other than first thing this morning the sun was never able to break through the clouds.  But on we went.  I must say that northern Ohio has had a great deal more snow than what we have had here in Columbus.  We were making our way up to Homestead Hardwoods which is just south west of Sandusky.  After taking several back country roads, some more than once since we got just a little lost, we finally were able to locate them.  It was literally in someones old barn.

For those of you that don't know (which I was one of those)  marine grade plywood is a great deal different than regular plywood that you would purchase at Home Depot.  It has something to do with the type of glue used and no air pockets.  If that's not enough technical jargon, ask Mike.  Anyway we pulled up to the barn and a nice older gentleman came out to help us.  When I first entered the barn I was in awe.  First of all for a girl that loves the smell of sawdust this place was like heaven.  We had come for four 4' x 8' sheets of 1/4 inch marine grade plywood.  Our order was filled immediately.  Now what was a little different than any other "lumber yards" I had been to was there were horses literally in an area next to where the lumber was stored.  (See the photo)   You just never know what you are going to see.  After our order was filled we followed the gentleman into another barn where smaller lumber was kept and where he wrote up our order.  Almost simultaneously Mike and I looked at each other and said "wouldn't nephew Mike just love this place".

Lumber was stacked to the ceiling.

Yes there really were horses right next to the lumber.  It was a barn.

Helping hand never hurts.

The smell of this place was intoxicating.

Look at all that lumber

So after our purchase was complete we piled back into the truck and were off to Sandusky.  Mike treated me to a wonderful lunch at Berardi's of their wonderful house salad and their ciabata grilled cheese.  Which I can tell you is to die for.  Then we high tailed it over to the marina to check on the Lady J.  

We found the Lady J snugged into place and boy do I mean snug there was not 8 inches between our boat and the one next to ours.   Mike had a couple of things he need to get off of her and I needed the two remaining cushions from the settee since we will be having those re-made. (story on that later)  Before Mike could even get to the hatch he had to dig his way through the snow.  What a guy!  We just need to remember this during those summer months when the temperature is 100+ degrees.  We drove through the parking area on our way out which currently is filled with boats.  Always seems strange to see them all on land. 

As I finish this post the saw is buzzing in the garage and Mike is already hard at work on the dingy.  I will be sure to update everyone on the progress of the dingy.  Until then think be safe and think warm thoughts.

Transitions continue...

Today we officially took our first load of belongings to our storage space.  We are blessed to have friends that have agreed to let us keep our things in part of their barn/workshop while we are cruising.  Our first load consisted of some outdoor wicker furniture, fall and Christmas decorations and some dolls.  Doesn't sound like much but as you can see if filled up the truck.

We needed to clean out a space in our one car garage here at the apartment so that Mike can begin building the dingy.  We have used the garage for storage and a small work area for Mike’s boat projects.  Park a car in it?  Why would we want to do that?

Monday a representative from Honda Financial will be here to asses our leased car before we return it to the dealer.  So that means starting mid March we will be down to one vehicle, Mike's truck.  Now that will be interesting to see how we get along with one vehicle.  Things they are a changing.  

You must be rich!

Lordy how many times have we heard that statement. 

Are we rich, yes, but not necessarily in the way you may think.  Let me give you a little back ground info just so you understand where we are coming from.  

Mike retired from the Air National Guard 8 years ago.  Two years later I quit working full time when we moved my mother in with us because of her failing health. For the past 7 years Mike has worked part time teaching at a local community college and working at the airport.  I (Jana) have also worked two part time jobs.

Like most folks our age we do have money we’ve put back over the years to keep us from burdening our children when we are old and feeble.  No we aren’t there yet.  As everyone knows though little of this money can be even touched before we turn a certain age.  So we live off of Mike’s military/civilian retirement.   With that said we knew from the very beginning of this journey there were things we would have to do and do without to be able to afford our “dream”.  

First we both agreed that we could not be financially able to keep the house and cruise at the same time.  So in 2013 we sold the house and moved into an apartment.  Needless to say moving from a 4 bedroom home to a two bedroom apartment meant we had to “downsize” considerably.  We actually started the process of downsizing shortly after my mother passed away. We literally had a garage full of furniture and STUFF, not to mention what we were using in the house. So after having friends and family come through and literally put post it notes on what they wanted we called our local auction house.  Now anyone who even knows us a little knows that we go to auctions, not have one.  But this time the auction house folks came to us.  I literally walked through our garage and house and just started pointing at things that had to go.  Three hours later we had filled a HUGE moving van full of belongings.  I must admit that first time was a little scary and sad, but after it was all said and done it was so liberating.  After the truck had left I couldn’t remember half the things I sent with them.  Two months later the auction house sent us a nice fat check for our “stuff”.  This money was then put into the “boat fund”.  We proceeded to do this again 2 other times over the next year.  One of the wonderful benefits of giving your things to friends and family is that you can see those things when you visit and know they are enjoying them.

Not only did we give things to the auction house, friends and family, but we also made donations to Goodwill and our local dumpster.  It truly was and is amazing as to what you can live without.  

One of the things that has struck me is the amount of clothes that we owned while we were working.  Mike had military clothes, dress clothes, casual clothes and working in the garage clothes.  And me well I hate to even admit how much I had.  Yes I am a recovering clothesaholic.  I LOVED CLOTHES!!  We found that being retired means you don’t need all those clothes  (Did we really need that much to begin with?) So we did the same thing with our closet as we did with our house.  Keep some, donate or just throw out.  We went from having two huge walk in closets stuffed full of clothes to one small apartment size closet with room to spare.  Besides how much could we really take on the boat with us.  The good thing about doing this is now we actually wear everything we own.  As a side note let me tell you we not only donate to Goodwill we shop there too.  We have purchased a lot of our boat work clothes there along with jeans, casual shirts and even my winter coat.  Literally for pennies of what we would have spent buying new things.  This too is another great way to save some money.  

Okay now back to how we are able to afford this dream.  So we have spent the past couple of years downsizing and still have some more to go before we leave.  In July our lease is up on our apartment so our only “residence” will be the Lady J.  In March the lease on my car is up so we will be returning that to the dealer.  So for the 3 months we are still in Columbus we will be down to one vehicle, Mike’s truck.  We will store what little things we have left that we aren’t taking with us in our friends barn/garage.  Thank God for amazing friends.  

The biggest realization that you must come to is if something is a “want” verses a “need”.  And yes there is a HUGE difference. 

Ways we cut down on our expenses

• Cancelled our cable
• No longer go to auctions, flea markets, garage sales, etc. 
• Don’t go to movies, we check them out at the library
• We don’t go to plays or concerts (unless they are free)
• We don’t own all the fancy electronics
• We don’t take vacations, we are retired remember, that is a vacation in itself
• We do the majority of the work on the boat ourselves
• We cook more meals at home vs. eating out
• PAID OFF ALL CREDIT CARDS and are debt free
• We put money into savings and don’t spend more than we make

Are we rich?  To some yes, to others no, but to us we are rich in so many ways other than money, property and STUFF.  We have more stress free time to spend together doing the things we enjoy with the people we love and living our dream.  That in our mind is being RICH!

And so it begins

2015 has begun and so have preparations for the Lady J's departure in July.  Yes this is going to be the year that we close down things here in Ohio, cast off our lines and begin our cruising lifestyle.

This morning via Facebook I received a message from a dear friend of ours asking "so what are your plans for this year?".  Needless to say that got me thinking, not that I wasn't thinking before, but it really made me stop and think to myself, yes the new year has begun and it's time to begin our final preparations for departure.  So in answer to our friends question the answer (at least at this moment) is this.  Our lease on our apartment is up in July and our goal is to be completely living on board by July 1st (or before).  We will begin our cruise across Lake Erie (yes first mate will be making this part of the voyage even though seasickness is a real possibility) enter the Erie Canal and spend a couple of months enjoying the canal and then start our journey down the Inter Coastal Water (ICW) no later than October.

"How long will it take?"  We have no answer for that.  We will cruise until it isn't fun any more. As many of our friends and family know we have looked into many different locations as to where we will eventually end up.  Right now we are most intrigued by the coastal area of North Carolina around New Bern.  We have not made any firm decisions on that, at this point we just want to cruise and eventually will decide where to land.  


So with all this said be on the look out for some upcoming posts covering...

• How do you afford this, you must be rich.
• What to do with this stuff.
• How may dingy's do you need?
• Leaving family and friends.
• Luxuries we take for granted.

One of my (first mate) goals for 2015 is to be more diligent about posting on this blog in hopes that it might help others on their journey.

Remember we'd love to hear from you so leave a note on this site.

Blessings to one and all!