Storage ,,, where do you keep your equipment ,,
 

purple_stars wrote:


this isn't exactly an answer to your question, but it's related. one
thing my step-father does that i used to think was a little over the
top is that he catalogs basically everything. though overkill in a
house, in my opinion, i have started to do this with some things and
i've found it extremely helpful. it's so nice to just be able to look
and see what you have on paper and know where it's stored. on a boat i
would think this would be extremely useful, to keep some kind of
informal or even formal database of pretty much everything that is on
the boat and where it is. especially useful when it's time to go
shopping to replace things you've used.

snip...

Good idea. Two years ago I was ready to launch my sailboat on it's
maiden voyage. I trailered it to a lake only to find I had left the
fuel hose with primer bulb back home..and the wind and waves were up
enough that I wouldn't launch without the outboard.

At home...how many times have you scrambled to find warranty documents
when some 'Made in China' appliance acted up?
I've been thinking about getting a 'lateral file cabinet' for my
smallest bedroom to house all documents in an organized manner.

Storage ,,, where do you keep your equipment ,,
 

purple_stars wrote:
another thought that comes to mind because i've been focused on it a
lot lately is simply buying containers for things....

I think there were two really important points listed in this thread:
containers and inventories.

The first point, which I've come to call my "Container Theory of Life
Possessions" is simple: don't own something unless you can first
purchase the appropriate container for it.

In my life I've noticed that I tended to buy things, say a really cool
bicycle, but would just stick it in my garage. Eventually something
would fall on it, or it would get dirty or damaged from something else
it came in contact with. The item would invariably become damaged,
unusable or lost long before its expected lifetime - and I had to
replace items more often, thereby spending more money than was really
necessary.

What I realized was that buying the item (in this case the bike) was not
enough. What I needed was an appropriate container for it. For this
item it happened to be a protective case that the bike could be placed
inside, which would keep it out of harms way and reduce rusting and
corrosion from the elements.

I think you can extend this philosophy to almost anything. Don't have a
car unless you have a garage and/or a car cover. Make sure everything
you own has a protective case, that the case is kept in a consistent
location and when not in use, the item is returned to it.

The second point is that everything you own should be inventoried,
photographed and recorded in an easy to use database. Create a map of
you space, assign labels to each area and then record the storage
location of every item you own. When you need to find something, being
able to go to the database and look up its location can save hours.
Also, if there is more than one person involved, any changes of location
and/or status of item can be noted, and immediately discovered by the
next person.

By doing this I found that I spent less money replacing items that I
couldn't find (only to discover them later) and items that had a self
life tended to be used up before expiring.

These two approaches have greatly improved my life aboard boats. Hope
this helps.

Cheers,

Robb

Storage ,,, where do you keep your equipment ,,
 

"AMPowers" wrote in message
...
purple_stars wrote:
another thought that comes to mind because i've been
focused on it a
lot lately is simply buying containers for things....

I think there were two really important points listed in
this thread:
containers and inventories.

The first point, which I've come to call my "Container
Theory of Life
Possessions" is simple: don't own something unless you can
first
purchase the appropriate container for it.

In my life I've noticed that I tended to buy things, say a
really cool
bicycle, but would just stick it in my garage. Eventually
something
would fall on it, or it would get dirty or damaged from
something else
it came in contact with. The item would invariably become
damaged,
unusable or lost long before its expected lifetime - and I
had to
replace items more often, thereby spending more money than
was really
necessary.

What I realized was that buying the item (in this case the
bike) was not
enough. What I needed was an appropriate container for
it. For this
item it happened to be a protective case that the bike
could be placed
inside, which would keep it out of harms way and reduce
rusting and
corrosion from the elements.


Your bike got damaged in your garage? And now you keep it
in a protective case? What do you do if you, God forbid,
want to ride it?



I think you can extend this philosophy to almost anything.
Don't have a
car unless you have a garage and/or a car cover. Make
sure everything
you own has a protective case, that the case is kept in a
consistent
location and when not in use, the item is returned to it.

The second point is that everything you own should be
inventoried,
photographed and recorded in an easy to use database.
Create a map of
you space, assign labels to each area and then record the
storage
location of every item you own. When you need to find
something, being
able to go to the database and look up its location can
save hours.
Also, if there is more than one person involved, any
changes of location
and/or status of item can be noted, and immediately
discovered by the
next person.


Are you familiar with the phrase ''Anal retentive''?

SV

Storage ,,, where do you keep your equipment ,,
 

Scotty wrote:
snip


Your bike got damaged in your garage? And now you keep it
in a protective case? What do you do if you, God forbid,
want to ride it?


In my garage was a complete shop including milling machine, arc welder,
lathe and drill press, along with numerous projects, supplies and other
equipment. In addition to a storage area it was often used as a shop,
there were numerous contaminants and dust typical of any metal work process.

The example I used could have been any particular piece of equipment,
and any particular area that was easily cluttered. Had I said instead
that I recommend having a dedicated holder for binoculars next to the
chart table and always placing them back in their container, would you
have been less upset?

It seems to me that objects are often misplaced or abused when left
lying around without appropriate protection. Perhaps your experience is
significantly different, but I somehow doubt it.


Are you familiar with the phrase ''Anal retentive''?

SV



Well, perhaps you have the type of mind that can remember everything you
own and know at any instance exactly where it is and have no need what
so ever for any systematic approach to the problem. Surely everyone
else on your boat has this same capability as well, and there has never
been a time when, during a bad storm or other emergency, you needed a
particular item but could not find it. You have my highest admiration, sir.

I obviously lack your talent. On the other hand, those of us who find
ourselves continually searching a very crowded boat looking for a seldom
used item, assigning it a place and expecting it to be there seems to
solve the dilemma. When more than one person is involved it also seems
to work for everyone concerned.

This approach obviously isn't to your liking, but perhaps there are
other readers (far less capable than yourself) that might benefit from
it. To save yourself the trouble of reading any additional posts
beneath your abilities you might consider adding my email address to
your kill file, as I will no doubt only suggest other pedantic solutions
and wouldn't want to waste your time.

Cheers,

Robb

Storage ,,, where do you keep your equipment ,,
 

"AMPowers" wrote


Your bike got damaged in your garage? And now you keep
it
in a protective case? What do you do if you, God
forbid,
want to ride it?


In my garage was a complete shop including milling
machine, arc welder,
lathe and drill press, along with numerous projects,
supplies and other
equipment. In addition to a storage area it was often
used as a shop,
there were numerous contaminants and dust typical of any
metal work process.

Oh, a shop. A bit different then the normal garage.



The example I used could have been any particular piece of
equipment,
and any particular area that was easily cluttered. Had I
said instead
that I recommend having a dedicated holder for binoculars
next to the
chart table and always placing them back in their
container, would you
have been less upset?


First off, I'm not upset. Secondly, the binocs holder is a
good idea.



It seems to me that objects are often misplaced or abused
when left
lying around without appropriate protection. Perhaps your
experience is
significantly different, but I somehow doubt it.


Yes, it is. Perhaps I have less ''stuff'' than you.
You would think I'm a slob, but I *do* know where everything
is.



Well, perhaps you have the type of mind that can remember
everything you
own and know at any instance exactly where it is and have
no need what
so ever for any systematic approach to the problem.


See above comment.

Surely everyone
else on your boat has this same capability as well, and
there has never
been a time when, during a bad storm or other emergency,
you needed a
particular item but could not find it. You have my
highest admiration, sir.

Nope, not yet, and thank you.



I obviously lack your talent. On the other hand, those of
us who find
ourselves continually searching a very crowded boat
looking for a seldom
used item, assigning it a place and expecting it to be
there seems to
solve the dilemma. When more than one person is involved
it also seems
to work for everyone concerned.

This approach obviously isn't to your liking, but perhaps
there are
other readers (far less capable than yourself) that might
benefit from
it. To save yourself the trouble of reading any
additional posts
beneath your abilities you might consider adding my email
address to
your kill file, as I will no doubt only suggest other
pedantic solutions
and wouldn't want to waste your time.


Nah, I found your post mildly amusing.

Cheers

Scotty