As Kinship is going to be our new home next season, I have been doing what the Captain affectionately refers to as “nesting”… cleaning out cupboards and planning where things will go. There is a locker in the forepeak that I have been eying as the perfect spot for my sewing machine. Except that it is full to overflowing with cleaning products of every sort, and I have to admit to being rather intimidated by them. I quickly discovered that it contained specialized cleaning products to clean things I didn’t even know I had, and/or never imagined would have to be cleaned. The previous owner must have kept a mighty clean ship. I finally took it all home and went through the inventory…
Who knew you had to clean your fenders? or your bilge?
Don’t ask about the Bird & Spider Droppings cleaner – I already had to learn about that for cleaning up all the dead spider and fly guts this summer (blech)!
But Aerospace Protectant? Can Kinship fly? I guess I wasn’t that far off when I jokingly referred to learning to sail her as “learning to fly the space shuttle”. And how about Magic Wadding Polish? I have three cans of that, so it must be important – maybe it’s the magic that makes it so Kinship can fly, and it only works if well polished? And both wax and polish for metal? really? the last time I did that was when I was a little girl, and my mother had me polish my grandmother’s fine silverware! Modern women don’t do silverware!
After my rationalizing exercise, I am left with one bag of the normal kitchen/bathroom/laundry stuff that I recognize. The rest will get deep-sixed in some hidden corner. And when the Captain decides his fenders/bilges/metal/magic wadding need cleaning or polishing, I will be sure to tell him where he can find just the product he can use for that!
