Time for another purge

We had a company holiday party last night and I got asked quite often about the houseboat.  Right now my answers are 'cold and crowded'.  While the temperature is a thing I think I"ll be working on for a bit, the fact that I kept using that response tells me that I need another purge!

In the past four years I've gone from 1830 sq ft, to 830 to 711 to my current 353.  That has meant a LOT of purging.  I look around though and I still have too much *stuff* to fit in this houseboat.  The biggest offenders are the closet and living room (I think I have the bathroom and kitchen under control).  Every time I start to get rid of stuff I imagine needing to rebuy it later and bothers me, it seems wasteful.

I look at my closet and I just feel that with a little bit of effort it could be organized so much better.  Because of the washer/dryer combo and the water heater, along with the only hatch to the hull, I'm super limited in what I can do in there, but there has to be a better way.  I look at the living space and there is just too much stuff.  I have shelves I"m not utilizing to their fullest potential, which is a good place to start.  It will be slow because I just don't move quickly in the winter, but I think I have a place to start!

Temperature Control in the winter

It's cold, and it's going to get colder.  I'm running into issues with trade offs between the heater and the washing machine or dryer, or even both heaters at the same time. 

Right now I'm using this in my bedroom: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005J2L9KY

And this one in the living room: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M03ER4

And omg the mattress heating pad is saving my life.  The trick is running the washing machine while I'm at work but if I need to dry something I run into issues.  I have no idea what my electric bill will be, but since that is the only utility I pay for myself (the rest is all included) then I guess it's ok.

I grew up in New England, I am not afraid of cold.  That being said this kind of sucks.  I do have the advantage of having a very small closed off bedroom, and a natural hot water bottle in the form of a 10 lb dachshund.  I do find myself wishing for radiant heat under the floors.  I don't know how expensive that would be and if it would ever be worth it, but it would be nice.

I did know that living on a houseboat in the winter was going to be cold, and difficult.  I've heard of people just live in them in the summer and have apartments in the winter.  I can't afford that but I'm understanding why.  This is a plus for the lower square footage and single story!

It's fuzzy socks and high electric bills time!

Living on the water, I think I'm staying

Long time between updates but there isn't a lot to talk about that is new.  I'm settling in and living my life!  It's still cluttery, despite my 'best' efforts.  Slowly but surely things are being put in the 'get donated' or 'place in storage' and as I move things around it's starting to feel more like home.

Today is just beautiful, it's not raining and the sun is out!  Part of adjusting to Seattle is the lack of sun and the past week or two has been rough.  Today we were sitting out on the back 'porch' and now I've got the windows open and am enjoying the mild Seattle fall.

I've managed to cook a bit on my tiny stove!  I got one of those meal delivery services, but I can't get the pre-made meals since no microwave, and reheating in the toaster oven is kind of slow.  I've cooked twice now and it seems viable.  This weekend is the 'clean out all the stuff in the fridge that you know you're not going to use' (possibly) and using a service like this will save room there too.

A big question at this point would be 'what is different than if you just got a condo', and I think being on the water itself is my favorite difference.  The gentle (sometimes) rocking of the boat is nice, but, after I got used to it, being on the water is a real selling point for living on a houseboat.  The things I miss are more that this place is super small than where it is or what kind of dwelling.  I think a few changes, like maybe a dishwasher, would fix my challenges inside, or maybe I just look for a bigger one in a few years.  I do think I've fallen in love with living on the water.  

Now that all being said, I still haven't had a *huge* storm (though there was a big one it didn't get that rough) and I haven't done a whole winter here, so I still reserve the right to change my mind next spring.  But if you asked me today, I'm not going anywhere :)

My neighbors are back! And more about hulls

My neighbors went into dry dock in late August, so just a week or so after I moved in.  They finally came back!

They did a bunch of work on their boat, and it looks awesome!  They had their roof redone with railings (so stealing their ideas later) and a new aluminum hull.  I so want that hull... It looks awesome but it took a long long time.  I did get a chance to talk to the people who did all of the work, they are absolutely going to be the people I use when it's time.  I also got an idea of how much the hull alone will be.... yah need to save my pennies.

I'll admit though, seeing their place makes me want to add the master on the roof and get the new hull right about now instead of waiting.  I can't afford it right now, but that is the dream!

Speaking of hulls, why am I so excited about their hull?  I mentioned when we got this inspected that my hull will only last about 10 more years due to some moisture damage.  General consensus is that Aluminum hulls are the best.  The Pro's include not having to haul the boat out of the water every three years to be cleaned and repainted (about 5k process), along with being more sturdy and less prone to tipping.

These hulls are expensive, more than I can save in those 10 years, though I can make a big dent in the cost.  I would combine this with the 120 sq foot expansion I'm allowed by law and get it done all at once.  I'm already mentally rearranging things here, which is dangerous.  I can't afford to refinance already or take out a second to get the work done.  I just need to wait.

Back from Vacation and to my Boat -- wow it's cold!

I just spent 10 days in Florida enjoying family, sunshine, and parks.  I'm super tired and adjusting to fog and rain and cooler days.  Now it's time to keep working on organizing my houseboat and getting ready for my first winter on the lake!

The first problem to solve is heat.  There are a few in wall heaters (required by law) but they specifically say I can't have anything near them for safety reasons.  This is a problem, so the only one I can actually use is in the bathroom.  So far I am using that and two stand alone heaters, but I think I'm going to get an oil radiator heater too.

I am lucky that my bedroom can be closed off so it's a lot easier to heat.  It also has only two small windows and I installed curtains along the bed so it's easier to keep it warm.  If I get all of my stuff into my bedroom or bathroom I can get ready for the day and leave without entering the larger part of the house.  So far so good!  I am having electric challenges with the heaters and other appliances, specifically my electric tea kettle, but it's all workable.  I'm just going to have to get a low power one or break down and get a stovetop tea kettle.

What is next?  Now that I don't need shorts anymore, I need to swap out winter/summer stuff from storage.  I'm still looking for more space saving/organisation solutions and eventually hook up with a boat handyman guy to see if I can get some shelves installed and possibly some other things.

Update! Rain on a Boat!

I know it's been a few weeks, work is crazy, I had a birthday and I'm finally getting settled and used to living on a boat!

I managed to get into a state where I just couldn't deal anymore.  Too many boxes, too much stuff and I couldn't get a handle on it.  So two wonderful people came to my rescue and cleaned up, unpacked and got my house in a much more manageable state.  Now people can actually sit on my couch!  You can walk through and not have to dodge around all of the stuff!

I also got curtains and a second shower curtain.  The way this place is set up people enter into the bathroom.  I had mild anxiety about someone coming to the door while I was peeing, so now there is a second shower curtain to give privacy!  Also my bed is between that door and the living room, so I got curtains made to hide the bed! Now I don't have to feel bad about not making the bed (note just making the bed wasn't an option I considered).

Curtains in front of my mattress

Shower curtain in front of the head

The other thing I have been doing is listening to the rain.  It is so super peaceful, especially when there isn't any wind.

Lazy Sunday on a Houseboat

Had lots of people asking how things are on the houseboat.  The answer I give is 'cluttered'.  I'm slowly unpacking but it is really amazing how much stuff I still have!  The end is in sight though, I"m getting down to the last sets of boxes so hopefully I can start having people over soon.

It is a beautiful day in Seattle, we've had rain and wind but today is amazing.  Friday night was my first real storm and while it was tippy it wasn't too bad. 

Happy Puppy enjoying the sun

The advantage of having 353 square feet is that it's relatively easy to clean :) today I'm working on the kitchen, cleaning the counter, putting dishes away and trying to organize all the things.  I have put in my first 'tiny house' functionality with hooks to hold mugs.

Mugs and Instant Pot rings

I may have found a boat handyman person, he is going to try to get over this week to start giving me estimates.  I have a laundry list of things, but once I know the cost I can start deciding.  The biggest thing is some shelving, modifying the bed and moving the hot water tank to under the bed so I have more space in my closet.  Oh I need more shelves, so may shelves.