One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from living on a sailboat for over a year, is minimalism.

How much stuff I don’t need in my life.  

What?

Yes, how much stuff isn’t necessary.

It’s a huge lesson for me.  

I grew up hearing things like, “you may need it some day,” “that cost xx, you have to keep it,” and “just buy it, it’s only xx.”

And that mentality has stayed with me and caused my life to be full of things.  

Things.  Mementos from the past.  Memories of a time gone by.  Souvenirs from places I’ve been to, gifts from family and friends.  And lots and lots of clothes, shoes and accessories.  

When we moved onto our boat, I realized how small the storage spaces are.  We went from living in a 3 bedroom house with a gourmet kitchen, a walk-in closet and a two car garage to less than 600 square feet with a tiny kitchen, minimal closets and no garage.  

Where do I put all my stuff?

Truth be told, we didn’t sell everything when we bought the boat.  Yes, we still have the house that we rent out. Which means, we still have a garage that is full of all the stuff we “can’t live without.”  

The boxes of “can’t live without” are getting smaller and smaller each time we go back. 

It’s amazing what you realize you don’t need when you choose to live in a small space like a boat.

Going from a walk-in closet to two small “lockers” has been a challenge.  But after a year, I have realized that I don’t need it all.  

I was worried I’d be cold on the night passages and wanted my thick sweaters and scarves.  That we’d go out at night and I’d want my dresses and heels.  

Here are some of the things I’ve realized:

 - it is often too hot to wear anything but a swim suit or a little summer dress.  

 - dressing up is wearing shorts and a cute summer top, or a summer dress and flip flops. 

 - when it’s cold during a passage, I wear my fowl weather jacket and pants on top of other warm layers that no one ever sees. 

 - when the boat needs moving or attention ‘right now,’ I throw on the first thing I can grab, and  it’s often what I stay in all day

 - no one even notices when I wear the same exact thing 2 days in a row, because they are doing the same thing!

 - the more clothing I wear, the more I have to wash…and laundry is not what I want to be doing while on “island time.”

 - what I don’t need here is my collection of cute coats, 4 pair of tennis shoes, a drawerful off socks, tons of sweaters, jeans, scarves and accessories. 

 - what I need is a simple concept wardrobe where everything matches, there’s items to layer when the wind kicks in and there’s pieces to remove when it’s hot.  And everything is easily wash and wear.  No silk.

We are headed back north now to spend the summer in Rhode Island, to visit family and friends, and to off load all the stuff we’ve realized we don’t need on the boat. 

And I can’t wait to do it.  I can’t wait for my lockers to be less packed, to have only what I need and wear, and to truly feel like a minimalist.  

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