Cheri and I both have iPads and we use them for pretty much everything. We have a Mac Mini which is our desk-top computer and was originally intended to be the boat's main brain. We also have several iPods which supply all our music on the boat. All these cool things are tied together and share files and Apps and photos and all the weird thoughts that shoot through our brains. Well, maybe not the last one but that's probably coming soon. They are all tied into the boat's instruments too so we can monitor our location, weather and other cool stuff from pretty much anywhere on the boat.
It's the "Apps" which hold the answer to my storage frustration. I recently downloaded an App called "Stock Control" (click here) which allows you to set up "groups" and insert "items" into each "group". I went through and set up a "group" name for each storage area on the boat (63 groups. Yikes!) and then added items that were stored in each area. I can now have a running inventory of practically everything on the boat. It can get complicated with that many storage areas so I had to be very anal in naming them. We use the storage bins under the port side settee in the main salon for dry storage and canned goods. These two areas have a really large number of "items" so it would be helpful to be able to break it down even further. Since we stack eight baskets in each bin I was able make each basket a "group" ("Main Salon, Port Side, Settee Base, Fwd, #7"). BTW - #7 is a basket that holds cans of tomato based stuff. Basket #6 is for canned veggies, etc. The only other places we have large numbers of items are the fridge/freezer and the cockpit lockers. I also made each shelf in each area a separate "group" ("Main Salon, Port Side, Settee Back, Fwd, Upper"). This might all be Greek to you but I can understand it completely. I'll explain it better next time you're aboard.
The app has a search function which will make it easy to find stuff. This will be the cure for one of our biggest headaches. We end up buying multiples of certain things because we forget where we stored them. Or I'll spend way too much time looking for something, which is even more frustrating. Our fridge and freezer are immense! They're so big we use them when we play hide and seek. The down side is that stuff gets put in there and then we never see it again. Having a searchable list of what's hidden away in the freezer and fridge will be fantastic. Having it on the iPad will make it easier to keep the lists up-to-date because we can have it sitting right there as we load stuff in or take it out. Having the recipes on there too will make it a one-stop operation in the galley where you can switch back and forth between the menu app and the storage app. It also has detailed descriptions for items including use-by dates, weight, quantity, price, color and more. You can also bar-code things and add pictures. And you can convert your inventory to a PDF. file so you can share it with others or maybe even send it to PeaPod as a grocery list. Or whatever.
I've just started using this app but it looks pretty promising. It'll be nice to be able to put a shopping list together for groceries or just hunt down ingredients for a meal. I like the idea of using the search function for finding that box of #8 screws that I can never find. I figure my project time will be cut in half and now only take twice as long as I planned.
2 comments:
So organized! Nice that you have all the "i"s tied together.
I need something like that - even a paper list that was really organized would be helpful. As it is, I remember only about 2/3s of what's where, which mean I tear into many of the lockers looking for stuff on a pretty regular basis. With that frequency, you'd think I'd remember what's in what locker!
Rick - it's frustrating but must be pretty common for most boat owners. But now, instead of wasting my time hunting for stuff I can waste my time keeping inventory. One step forward.....
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