Anyone thinking of recycling is completely wrong! Well, maybe not completely.
The green dot has become a familiar term for us since we decided to move back on board. The green dot marks everything and everyone who is allowed to come along.
It’s clear that Axel and I have a big green dot!
But our cat Lucky has also got one. However, he still has the option of staying in the mill with the new owners or moving in with friends and family.
And of course Captain Bluebear has also got a green dot! Without him, we wouldn’t even know where to sail!!!
With almost everything else, you have to weigh things up carefully. With some things it’s easy, with others it’s bloody difficult. For example, we brought back a large tiki made of palm wood from the island of Ua Pou from our blue water tour. Since then, it has reliably protected us from evil spirits and provided us with its positive manna. But where should we put it on board? The same applies to the large John Dory wooden fish from New Zealand. Great to look at, but far too big and heavy to hang anywhere on board. And the large metal and wooden iguana from Ecuador? Things that are associated with many wonderful memories, but unfortunately can’t go with us. Presumably these things will therefore not end up on board, but will be stored somewhere. They get an orange dot, so to speak.
It’s easier with other things. The great sailing pictures by our friend Heinke Böhnert, for example. (Almost) all of them have a green dot! The large sailing picture from my office is unfortunately too big and is therefore being stored or loaned out. Or – something completely different, of course – our collection of Tupperware. Lots of green dots.
Anything that doesn’t end up with a green dot for taking away or an orange dot for storing is given a red dot, so to speak. Unfortunately, we have to part with these things permanently.
Vehicles
Well, even if it’s really, really hard, we’re going to have to part with my BMW 8 Series Convertible and Axel’s Harley Davidson Road King. We’ll be keeping some great riding experiences and lots of memories. Unfortunately, Axel’s collection of motorcycle helmets won’t be going with us either. We won’t be taking our bikes with us either. Instead, we will be taking folding bikes on board, which offer less riding comfort but take up considerably less space and can also be ridden around in the dinghy.
Furniture
Taking furniture on board? Not possible! Selling used furniture? It’s not only difficult because of its size and weight. It might be different with high-quality antiques. But unfortunately we hardly own any of those. Over the years, however, we have accumulated quite a lot. It’s particularly difficult with our designer furniture from Denmark, but it has also served us well for over 20 years. Some Ikea pieces, on the other hand, are easier to part with. But there is also a lot of high-quality furniture in the office that will hopefully continue to work elsewhere and won’t have to be scrapped. After all, it would be a shame to throw away furniture that is in good condition. In this respect, we first try to sell all the „valuable“ pieces, for example our Scandinavian solid wood furniture. Then to give it away and hopefully only send a few remaining pieces to bulky waste.
Then there’s all the garden furniture and garden tools. Who needs a lawnmower on board? A small Gardena digging fork, on the other hand, has been given a green dot. We really need it for the search for mussels along the Breton coast! Three flower pots are also allowed on board. For the herbs in the galley.
Books
We have digitized our cookbooks as far as possible. But of course it doesn’t make sense with all the other books. Taking them on board only works to a limited extent. Paper is heavy and heavy things have no place on a catamaran. As selling paperbacks and fiction is not really worthwhile, we try to give our books away as much as possible. We have also been able to sell many books via Momox. We only take nautical books on board that are not already completely out of date.
Kitchen appliances
Do you need a pasta machine on board? Or a meat grinder? What about a yogurt maker, bread maker and hot air fryer? Questions and questions that we have not yet been able to answer completely. One thing is certain, the grain mill is coming with us! As will the vacuum sealer. Both proved absolutely invaluable on our last blue water tour.
All other devices will be checked individually and weighed up as to whether they are worth using on board or not. Weight and size also play a major role. Some devices will therefore probably remain on land and will not accompany us on board.
Crockery, cutlery, pots & co.
We love to cook and we love to entertain – even a lot of guests. We have „good“ china for around 24 people. We also have a large number of other pieces from the catering that I used to do myself for my jewelry exhibitions. We have over 70 white wine glasses as well as crockery and cutlery for parties of over 50 people. Of course, we also want to continue to welcome guests on board and have the odd party. But it will probably rarely be 50 people. There is also a lot of equipment that won’t be used very often on board. The roaster for the Christmas goose, for example. Or the soup tureen. In this respect, we will also have to part with a lot of our crockery.
Household items
I’m sure you’ve all been there: the battery in your electric toothbrush wears out, so you buy a new one. The old toothbrush doesn’t go in the bin, of course, but is put aside for the time being. It still works! And who knows, maybe you’ll need it as a replacement or when traveling? Once set aside, the toothbrush lies untouched and unseen in the corner of a drawer or cupboard, waiting in vain to be used again. It’s the same with us!
For example, I haven’t touched an iron for years. Nevertheless, there were two steam irons in our cupboards! As well as the matching ironing board. There were even three hairdryers.
We got rid of small electrical appliances and larger items that had never been used for years and would never be used on a catamaran. Of course, we didn’t throw them away at random, but looked to see whether the items might still be of interest to someone, i.e. whether they could be sold or given away. But honestly, who wants a used toothbrush?
Golfequipment
Of course we would like to continue playing golf in the future, but over the years we have accumulated a lot of equipment and our time on board Hello World has also meant that we have a lot of things in duplicate. We have each set aside a smaller bag with clubs, our foldable JuCad trolleys and some accessories to take on board. The rest will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Seashells
During our last tour, I collected kilos of seashells. Only dead shells from the beach, of course, never live shells from the sea! Many were made into jewelry, but many were not. When we moved to the Daverdener Mühle, the shells were nicely sorted into individual plastic bags and stored in a cupboard for future pieces of jewelry. Unfortunately, they have been lying almost untouched in this cupboard since summer 2016. Of course, I would love to make jewelry on board again. However, as there is a not entirely unjustified hope that I will be able to collect new shells on some beaches again, I have decided to part with my shells. But where to put them? Just throw them in the bin? Or give them away? But who wants broken shells?
Luckily, I came up with another alternative! In spring 2018, I created a stream on our property. We decorated the gravel bed with various fish and starfish. So why not add a few shells too? Thought, done and the shells were placed in the stream and now give a touch of the South Sea beach in the middle of Langwedel.
Clothing
What applies to household items also applies twice and three times over to clothing! The wardrobe is full to bursting, but you still don’t have the right item for today’s weather, the next event or, or, or, or. So you buy something new, wear it (with luck) once and put it in the wardrobe. There it sits with all the other pieces and fills the closet to bursting point.
Without wanting to praise ourselves too much, we are fortunately not quite as bad as described. We rarely go clothes shopping and, if possible, wear many items of clothing for years. Unfortunately, as in almost every household, there are also little monsters in our wardrobes that sew things tighter at night (they are probably called calories), so that our clothes repeatedly suffer the fate described above. Once a year, however, we go through our closet and dispose of everything that no longer fits in the old clothes collection.
In this respect, there wasn’t that much to dispose of in this area, apart from the smart business suits and the thick winter clothes that are rarely needed on board.
On the way to becoming an ebay power seller
So over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing a lot of restacking, clearing out, giving away and scrapping. A lot of things will be posted on ebay and in the classifieds and will hopefully find a new home this way.
PS: The Lego Titanic has of course not been given a green dot and has already been sold on ebay. You can find more auctions here: https://www.ebay.de/usr/blauseefrau