Saturday, April 2, 2016

Blogging from A to Z: B is for Benefits of Minimalist Living, on a Boat (or anywhere)

During the month of April last year, I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge - one alphabet-themed post per day (except Sundays).  I had such a good time with it that I'm doing it again this year.  I'm loosely organized on the theme of downsizing, minimalism, and small-home living that I've learned in 14 years of living on a small boat.  I'm starting with A is for Anchoring Out, Anger-ing Out, and ending with Z is for Zout and Zwarte Peper (Dutch for salt and black pepper). Click on the A to Z logo on the lower left sidebar for links to many other bloggers participating in the challenge. 


Running in place may make the hamster happy, but it wasn't working for us -- ultimately we left the rat race to live on a boat! (image from ClipArtPanda)


It was the late 80s or early 90s, Dan and I were in our early 40s, an age when the expectation was that we would be entering the "high-powered" period of our careers -- we were old enough to have finally built up some expertise, still young enough to have lots of energy, and the idea was this was the time to work hard and start earning the big bucks!  And we did ... until we realized that we were spending so much time earning, that we were missing out on a lot.  Like seeing the shifting light of the day, of the weather and the seasons, from our windowless cubicles.  All that money we were raking in was going right back out again: long workdays left us too tired to cook, so we ate dinner out several times per week, and paid someone else to clean the house that we had no time to clean ourselves, the rooms we rarely had time to use anyway.  We needed off this treadmill!

We started small -- negotiations with our bosses allowed us to each cut back to working 4 days per week with no overtime.   We were generally able to keep our favorite "core" projects, but had to give up some committees, and knew this path would lead to being passed over for some career opportunities down the road.  We also knew we were going to have to cut down on lifestyle somewhat. Ultimately it was going to lead to moving to a smaller, less-expensive house, and then a yet-smaller house, and then to a boat.  We had been trading big chunks of our lives to our jobs in exchange for money to buy stuff; now, we were saying no to the money, and taking back our time!  We spent those newfound 3-day weekends with friends, hiking or camping or canoeing, building a solar greenhouse, reading, creating, cooking.  Truly, the best things in life ... weren't things.

Now, a 33-foot sailboat has been our home for the last 14 years. We live in less than 300 square feet -- just over a tenth the square footage of the average American house.  Of course, the smaller living space means we have room for only very few possessions (every piece of clothing I own has to fit in a space about the size of two airline carryon bags, for example, three small shelves plus 5 hangers).  It's as if you had to fit everything you own into the cabinets of an average kitchen: not just pots and pans and food and dishes, but also your sweaters and hiking boots and tools and books and towels -- everything.  We've learned to collect intangibles instead -- friends, memories, adventures, ultimately take up no space.  And we're happier than we ever were.  Modern science backs this up, as studies show that experiences make us happier than material possessions.  But we had our epiphany back in the 1980s, so I've got to get points for doing this before it was cool.

A few of the benefits we've discovered of this minimalist lifestyle:

  • Smaller living space costs less to build, heat, cool, and maintain; a smaller boat costs less in slip rental and utilities, smaller sails and lighter lines, than a big one. Saving money = more free time.
  • We also save time -- cleaning a small space takes just a few minutes.
  • We're collecting friends and memories instead of knickknacks that need to be dusted. That saves money, and space, and time, and the hypothetical knickknacks would fall off their shelves in rough seas anyway.
  • Since we only have space for one of each thing, we don't have to make decisions about which of several similar things to use.  Making these decisions, that ultimately don't matter in the long run, wastes time and energy and accomplishes nothing.  I wrote about these "micro-decisions" in last year's A to Z challenge.
  • To the greater good, we're decreasing our ecological footprint and using less of the planet's resources.




17 comments:

  1. Sometimes, it's hard to remember all the stuff I used to have before we downsized and started living more minimally. Which just goes to show you that the stuff wasn't all that important.

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  2. Indeed. Although sometimes, I do remember - and miss - those previous items ... which I'll talk about when the challenge gets to "S" and I post about stuff and storage sheds.

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  3. I am so glad I stumbled across your blog, especially the B-theme of today. I am with you guys, all the way. In fact, my A-Z topic today is "B is for Belongings", or actually, the lack thereof when living a nomad life (on the boat or on land) :-)

    Liesbet @ Roaming About – A Life Less Ordinary

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    1. Many ex-cruisers I know have carried both the wanderlust and the simplicity into their land-based lives. I'm enjoying following your A-Z

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  4. Oh my goodness, you are a true minimalist and adventurer! I can't wait to learn more from you.

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    1. Ha! And I was counting on learning more from YOU! Loving the turquoise glass images in your blog.

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  5. As they say "less is more".

    Following from A-Z Challenge :)

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    1. Yes, they do, and the older I get the more I believe its true. I'm having trouble finding your blog, Yvonne; could you give me a link please?

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  6. It's fun to read about people living minimalist lifestyles. For two years, my boyfriend lived in his van, and I used to take months-long road trips with him so it was basically two of us living in a van—you definitely need to minimize space and belongings, and put everything away when you're done using it!... Now I have two friends who live on a boat out in the harbor, and going to visit them brings back some memories of those van days. Additionally, I have another friend who is building a tiny house. I'm interested to read what else you have to write about downsizing and minimalism throughout this month. Glad you're participating in the blogging challenge!

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    1. Thanx! We've talked about van road-tripping; but I don't think I could ever downsize to where I could *live* with only what would fit in a van. I'm not so much about the creature comforts, but I couldn't fit my toys!

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  7. Hi there!

    I’m stopping by from the #AtoZChallenge. What a fun post! While my house is only 700 square feet, it makes me feel like I'm living in a mansion compared to yours...;~)

    I have two blogs in this challenge…my author blog at THE STORY CATCHER (www.donnalmartin.com) and my KICKS Kids Club blog (www.kickskidsclub.blogspot.com) . If you get a chance, check them out and good luck with the challenge!

    Donna L Martin

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    1. Old food tricks! Fascinating what people created to make their food interesting, in the absence of modern "conveniences." Living on a sailboat, sometimes we have had to go back to some of the old ways.

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  8. Dan,

    I am so happy I found this little gem while checking out people doing the A2Z challenge.

    You guys have done something must of us just dream about. Walking away from the "social script" and doing what you really enjoy!

    Congratulations and I am very happy for you. Hope your story encourages more people to follow on your footsteps!

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    1. Thanx! Appreciate the feedback! I never really thought of myself as a trendsetter; just doing what is right for me.

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  9. I am having a love/hate relationship with giving up so many of the things that make my surroundings feel like home. But I'm doing it anyhow. I always realize when we are cruising I don't really think about my house or all the things I've left behind. I've always thought that was because I was going back to them. Maybe it's more that I just don't actually need them. I do love how I can clean a bathroom on the boat in literally 10 minutes. That's compared to about 40 minutes at home to do a good job.

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