Fixing storage in Good Karma's front 2 cabins

When you live in a small space anything out of place is either lost or makes a mess. We had a mess in our third cabin and in the v-berth. You don’t have to know much about boats to see what I mean. This is not acceptable.

I had been using a bunch of tubs in the 3^rd cabin but it was hard to see or remember what was in each tub. Sometimes I would crawl back there and say, “Gee, I didn’t know we had that.” Or “I thought for sure we brought along…”

Mess in the 3rd cabin - WOW

Mess in the front closet -
Don't open that door!

 In the big closet in the v-berth we had the clothes we didn’t wear often as well as some bags and storage stuff. It was like that funny old closet in the olden days where the door opened and everything fell out. We didn’t open the door often so the stuff we used more frequently ended up on the v-berth bed. More mess.

There had to be a better way. I researched a bit at The Container Store online. I could have the stuff delivered in a few days. Or I could just drive down to the store in Boca Raton. One day we had nothing to do so we loaded up the truck and off we went.

Boca Raton is almost 1.5 hours south of Fort Pierce. I know it looks closer on the map but for some reason it takes a while. Boca Raton is like a different world compared to Fort Pierce. Very swanky, lots of fancy cars. We found The Container Store pretty easily in a fancy mall just west of the expressway.

We pulled stuff out of the front close
It looks like a lot of stuff, doesn't it?

I highly recommend a visit to one of these places. It is like heaven for the organizationally challenged! We walked in with a list. But a nice lady met us at the door and asked if she could help. Sure, why not. We explained our problem and told her what we had on the list. But she had a better idea. “No, that won’t work for you. You need this stuff.” Down a few isles and around a corner. This is a big store. Suddenly angels were singing and spotlights shone on the perfect solution to our storage problems!

Pulled stuff out of the 3rd bedroom

We bought two sets of these wire baskets, three drawers each, strong stuff with small holes. You can see in but the stuff won’t fall out. Each drawer is big enough to hold the containers we use to replace paper and keep our food stuff fresh. Perfect!!

While we were on a roll, we asked for ideas about our front closet, the one where stuff falls out when we open the door. The nice lady took us to the other side of the store where she showed us sturdy baskets that stack. Each basket can hold 110 pounds. These baskets can be stacked 4 or 5 deep. So we bought 4.

I couldn’t wait to get home with our goodies!!

We pulled everything out of the 3^rd cabin first. We emptied all the tubs too, grouping items by frequency of use and topic so like was with like. We had plenty of room for several tubs and both shelving systems. The question was how to organize our tools to optimize space and reduce sliding while underway.

Jack is not happy to lose his hidey hole

We ended up folding the two mattresses in half and shoving them into the far corner with the center pieces shoved on top. Now they are out of the way. We didn’t want to get rid of the mattresses because someday we might want to use this as a cabin again. But for now we have given up the idea that someone will be sleeping in this small, coffin like room.

This left us with a wide expanse n the inside wall and a shorter expanse on the outside wall with a little built-in shelf. First went the stuff we don’t use frequently: the pressure cookers, the slow cookers and a few small vases. Then a tub with purses and briefcases. Then a tub with the few work related books I kept and a big basket with table linens. With the new setup we can actually reach those tubs from the center compared to before when we had to shimmy in on our bellies to get at those tubs.

 

Next Kermit set up the two shelving systems. We experimented with a few ways to angle them for maximum access. We cut up a yoga mat to place on top of the fiberglass and under the shelving systems to prevent sliding and reduce the chance of scratching the fiberglass. We figured, correctly, that when the units were filled the weight of the unit would hold the unit in place.

Then we decided which stuff went into which unit. We had so much space that we were able to empty out the pantry too, placing many of the bigger items into the shelving units. The unit on the outside wall is harder to get at so we put pasta and rice in one drawer, baking stuff in another drawer and seasonings, vinegar and oils in the top drawer in a basket. Both units are open at the top so we can access the top drawer contents from the top.

The second unit opens into the standing walkway of cabin 3. This unit contains nuts, chocolate, dried fruit, cereal, granola and snacks along with a full drawer of paper napkins and plastic ware we might need more frequently but not as frequently as the stuff in the pantry itself.

Wine storage in the hold
We have 3 cases - the bare necessities

Jack the cat is the only one not happy with this arrangement. He lost his hidey hole under the beds!! Marissa doesn’t mind the loss of the cabin she often used. It was too dark in there anyway.

Next to the closet in the front cabin. We pulled everything out of there. I found my winter sweaters missing for some time. I need that to travel back to Ohio in the winter! We eliminated some clothing and towels to give us more room in the two big drawers under the bed. Then we resealed the vacuum bags that lost their seal then started allocating the remaining stuff into those baskets. When we put everything back it was amazing how much space we gained!!

All in all we are much happier with the state of storage on Good Karma!