My first overseas excursion was with other American college students to the land of Australia. Despite not yet committing the life of being a minimalist completely yet, I still managed to pack relatively light. As for the women on the excursion with me, it was a completely different story.
There was a limit of 52 lbs. of allowed luggage before being charged. This journey was in 2005 which was before the huge price increases on luggage. Well, somehow, these women surpassed the allowed luggage weight by leaps and bounds. It appeared as though many of the women had brought each article of clothing they owned along with 3 of their best friends clothes to boot. Needless to say, the men, including myself many-a-times, were the luggage boys more frequent than not. The ladies were doing everything, but living a minimalistic life.
This sort of excess led to many of headaches for everyone on the journey. Time and money spent on this luggage did not pull our spirits down for much more than than occasional issue, but we all could have done without even those small issues. By limiting the excess they towed along, the life adventure we were on would have been much more enjoyable.
As most of you know, I am a huge fan and believer of minimalism. I try to live by what I preach and sometimes fail at doing so. However, I have taken the steps to at least simplify the excess within my own life. By doing so, I have been able to travel the world with a limited supply and survive. The key thing is realizing that you CAN survive without everything you currently own.
Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you did not have to bring one item to your next destination? Whether it be the supermarket or overseas, ask yourself how tough it would actually be wherever you are going? For the most part, the destination will have clothes and supplies to survive if you had nothing. So, right off the bat, you would at least survive. You could probably find a place for shelter and comfort as most places around the world have the bare necessities to survive the climates. Now that you have basic survival knocked out of the park, you can actually enjoy your destination for whatever it is you arrived for. Now, remember what it would be like to be there with 3 suitcases full of STUFF.
I would choose the lighter load every time. How about you?
Here’s a great clip about the comedian George Carlin discussing this just topic at a gig…..
Want to go extreme light packing? Check out Tim Ferriss approach….
And for more on how I pack for a journey, check out Make Your Location Independent Excursion a Reality
For more on minimalism and ways you too can enter a minimalist life in under a month, check out PROJECT M-31: Simplify Your Life in 31 Days
David Damron
LifeExcursion
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This is an interesting article. When I went to live in Valencia, Spain for a summer, I brought 2 huge suitcases. I didn’t wear the contents of (the equivalent of) one suitcase. It made me rethink packing and now packing is not a two-day nightmare or an all-nighter, but an hour’s worth of thoughtful planning for my destination.
Can’t agree more. I am currently travelling around India for 3 months with a 34 litre backpack.