Okay—so
that title could be a reflection about life on Ceilydh for the past few weeks
(between bad bouts of the flu for all and a few too many deadlines life’s been
busy…) but actually this post is about laundry.
August’s raft-up topic is about clothing management on board.
Right now
life is a bit unusual, we have access to almost affordable laundry machines on
shore. I say almost affordable because at $4 per wash and $4 per dry they are
about midrange in cost. The cheapest machines were in the USA where we occasionally found ones for $2 per
wash and $2 per dry while the most expensive were in Tahiti
where we plugged a very small machine with $8 and never dared check to see what
the drier wanted.
The other
element of the almost affordable is its winter. So rather than our normal
wardrobe which consists of, well, not much, we’re wearing long pants, warm
shirts and socks.
Washing
machines, or sending our laundry out to be done (bliss!), are great. They are
larbour saving and boat-water saving options that we use:
a) when
they are affordable (we only did that one load in Tahiti…)
and
b) when
they are available (sadly that was one of the only machines we encountered in
the South Pacific…) and
c) when
water is scarce (we make water but have a low output water maker)
What this
means is, for us, machines are a luxury and finding a workable way to do
laundry aboard was essential.
 |
| laundry is a family affair--we crank the music and take turns plunging |
On our
first boat we had a scrub board and a bucket. The scrub board was pretty
useless but the bucket and a plunger did the job. Wringing the clothes out was
another matter—small items were wrung by hand while bigger things were wrapped
around a shroud then twisted. The process was tedious and killed my hands.
 |
| our fabulous wringer--it almost makes laundry fun! |
Then a
friend showed me how well her wringer worked (something we had initially looked
at and decided was too expensive). When it came time to outfit boat #2 a
wringer like
this one was one of our first purchases. It’s a bit expensive (the
aluminum/bronze combo is essential on a boat-so skip the steel one) but if you
consider we do 2-3 loads of laundry a week at >$4 a load the wringer paid
itself off pretty quickly. And three years in, our wringer is still operating like
new.
The wringer
is also a water saver. After washing we use it before putting the clothes in
the rinse water, then again after rinsing. If it’s not too dodgy we reuse the
rinse water for the next wash load and use the wash water to scrub down the decks…
The next
thing we discovered is not all clothes pins are created equal (the things you
learn whilst cruising…) Keep in mind if something gets blown off the ‘line’ on
a boat it may never find its way back to you. And, because we drop a lot of
clothes pins overboard, wood is preferable to plastic. Locating sturdy wooden
clothes pins takes some searching. And when I find them I buy double, no make
that triple, what I think I need (even if we use a washing machine we almost always line dry).
What we
wash is just as important as how we wash. When we moved aboard the first thing
to go were all my lovely fluffy towels. It turns out you can dry yourself just
as well with a scruffy beach towel. Heavy jeans and bulky button shirts also
were liberated from our wardrobe. They take up too much space—and they don’t go
through the wringer very well.
While we
did get rid of our bulky stuff and our least favourite work clothes, I actually
kept many of my dressy things. Part of it is I still work—which means I
occasionally head off to a posh resort and try to pass and a gainfully employed
person on holiday. The other part is I learned a few things on our first trip:
1) Just
because I’m in a tropical country it doesn’t mean it’s always going to be warm.
So while I don’t need my winter boots and parka (though I did pack them…) I have
worn heavy sweaters, cosy socks, warm trousers and toques.
2) One cute
outfit isn’t enough. Going out for dinner, with the same people, while wearing
your one dress over and over makes you feel like you’re stuck in some sort of
Groundhog Day loop. And for the record—sport sandals aren’t really very dressy.
No matter which colour you choose.
3) Stuff
starts to look ratty really fast on the boat. It could be our laundry methods,
or the fact I tend to alternate between three outfits, but it’s easy to look bad
pretty quickly. Having a larger number of cloths to rotate through can help.
Once something is nasty enough it gets downgraded to a ‘work on the boat’
outfit or a rag.
4) Don’t
keep everything out. I actually have three duffels tucked away—one
has summer clothes and shoes suitable for civilization and another has winter
clothes and shoes. I’ve broken into them on occasion when something
particularly formal has come up—yes it can happen. The third has daily wear
stuff for rotation. Nothing more exciting than breaking out a new/old t-shirt…
Despite
having a few options mostly I wear the same stuff. Because we travelled through a
bunch of more modest countries I have shorts/skirts that hit below the knee,
t-shirts or blouses that cover my shoulders for daytime and sun dresses for
evening/going out. I mix and match. Occasionally I wear yoga pants.
I also own
several sarongs/pareus/sulus//tupenus/laplaps/lavalavas. The reason every
country has a name for these bright strips of cloth is because they are
incredibly handy; slipped over your shorts or shoulders and you’re fit for
church or visiting an official; they also work as a bathing suit cover up or a
towel; and in wintertime Australia I use them as a scarf.
So—if you
were fascinated by our laundry methods be sure to checkout the rest of the raft-up
for more tips. I doubt you’ll learn how to make your whites brighter (most of us
avoid white) but you may learn something new:
Click on the monkey's fist to read others bloggers on this topic.
Sunday was more sanding/taping/wiping/inhaling solvent fumes (accidently - I use a very good respirator mask with nice brand new cartridges). But I did get some epoxy primer paint on. I had to hurry because friends were coming to pick me up to go to a BBQ. 
