inventory

Steps in managing clothing inventory

How did this many pairs of jeans happen to the First Mate??
Short answer: Something about being a vegetarian (which he isn’t). The Can opener’s reply was a bit unclear and muffled through a mouthful of smoked mussels…

In fact, I’m not convinced he really needs any clothes at all.
I don’t.

However, the Can Opener seems adamant. What perverse motivation ignites this bizarre drive to adorn remains a mystery.

Modus Operandi

toss contents of one drawer or closet onto bed each day
sort into categories:

fat clothes
hate it
totally worn out and should be rags
totally worn out but are sentimental
okay but need repair
okay

consolidate like items
toss each of #1~5 into their own box and then:

recycle
recycle
make ’em into rags
send this box up to the attic/loft (sentiment is important and if you give it away, you can’t get it back)
keep this box in a place that’ll get in yer way till all repairs are complete
put it back in the closet, drawer, whatever

Sound easy? Sure. Sort of. But once again, it took time. More time than we budgeted for.

The Can Opener missed the Cameron Diaz movie we’d been looking forward to for days. (Those Charlie’s Angels give you a lot of insight in foreign negotiations. I haven’t let the First Mate downsize my wig collection yet – they will clearly be quite useful.)

Fortunately, I was able to report plot developments to him from the TV couch while he toiled on.

How are we doing?

Process ongoing.

Next Steps

Open the next drawer (or closet) and repeat the process till we’re all done.

We’ll be making an inventory list and figuring out what’s missing. It’ll be good reference for filling in the gaps and for ‘clothes provisioning’ a yacht later.

We’re on our way…

Got any great tips for managing way too many clothes that we should add to our system?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Downsizing
Previously: Managing Food Inventory

Links below at bottom of post

Book the Captain just finished for the third time: The Care and Feeding of the Sailing Crew, by Lin Pardey

On a 49 day voyage (49 days!), from Yokohama, Japan to Victoria, Canada, Lin Pardey wrote down just about everything you could want to know about food and crew care on a boat.

The stuff we loved

specific info on how long each kind of fruit, vegetable, dairy, meat, whatever, lasts in a boat without refridgeration
how to store food so it lasts as long as possible
how to get the right kind of food in the first place
how to track what you’ve got
managing the galley organisation and layout
planning meals for voyages
how to cook with salt water – adapting recipes to make use of ocean water (and save your fresh water supplies)!
managing meal prep and crew care across a variety of weather conditions…
Actually, we loved it all.

Wishes

We wish this could be provided in digital form with spreadsheets for tracking inventory and how long each type of foodstuff probably lasts riiiight in that spreadsheet.

Conclusion

We loved every bit of this book without reservation. Heck, we’d buy two copies if it meant we could get even more info out of it! But Lin seems to have already covered it all.

Any other crew care/provisioning/cookbooks you would recommend for cruising?

I am always researching the next round of additions for our sea library…

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)

Book Reviews
Next: Bryan Willis, The Rules in Practice – Reviewed
Previously: Psychology of Sailing

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