So – We’re pretty far from minimalists.
While our friends are touting the advantages of owning nothing, packing light, and only going carry-on, we’ve been quietly accumulating stuff.
Lots of stuff.
If we’re going to be hitting the road in September, we’re going to have to get rid of some things – there’s no WAY we’re going to be able to fit all this in our bags.
As I said – minimalist travelers we are not. 🙂
I am interested in packing light(er) though. Here’s a nice video from our friend Farnoosh showing how you can pack light and STILL bring the essentials:
Aiza watched this and said, “Yeah, I know that already… Yeah, I do that too… Yeah, I…oh, wait – I love how she splits up the must-have and maybe piles!”
Maybe we’ll get down to just carry on…someday. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing my packing video and my advocacy of traveling like a pro and never ever checking in luggage. I can tell you now that i am back from my 5 weeks in Europe in 5 countries that it went perfectly fine. I wished I had brought along maybe another pair of pants but I picked one up during the trip. I looked fabulous (and different!) in all my photos and stylish most of all, plus I was comfortable. The house will be there waiting for you. Go travel light and come back to your beloved possessions later :)!
Hey Farnoosh – thanks for stopping by!
Definitely appreciate your tips for traveling, even though I don’t think we’ll be going carry-on quite yet! We’re planning to get rid of (sell) all the stuff in our house and “go nomad” in September.
For a trip I think we could pack less, but if we’re going to be leaving and that’s all things we have with us, we’re going to be a bit more loaded down.
Who knows, though – we might just leave and realize we don’t need all the stuff we brought. We can always drop things as we realize we don’t need them, right?
Hey Farnoosh!
Your video is very helpful for sure and I did almost the same as you when you did all the rolling of your clothes which gives you more room for the other stuff you have.
Definitely not the light luggage traveler though but might try it – maybe in the future. Justin always told me that if in case I don’t need some of the stuff that I have with me when we travel I could just leave it behind but thinking that scares me a bit. 😉
We are doing OK with 2 BIG bags (26 & 27 kilos) and carry-on so far (1 week in). We’ll see how long we can keep that up! 🙂
Damian,
I hope every thing will work out just fine for us. We’ve got 3 big luggage and a hand carry too..
Hey guys this is great!!! Subscribed and excited to follow. My favorite genre of blogs (still) are personal journey travel blogs like this one, doubly excited it’s coming from friends.
Love Farnoosh’s video as well.
I actually just weighed my kit the other day, so as a frame of reference I’m 8.6 KILOS in the Minaal pro carry on and 8 KILOS in my Tumi personal item. Pro tip– if you can get an expanding style personal item you can really load it up with heavy stuff like toiletries and the airlines never check.
Looking forward to following the journey!! (and being a part of it with any luck 😉
Thanks, Dan!
We’re definitely having fun with it – we’ve been playing with it all evening. We’ve got a first podcast episode recorded, but we’re going to queue up a few more before publishing to iTunes.
I was looking at the Minaal bag when Dana was here – pretty cool! No WAY either of us would be cool with rolling around with JUST that though – not at this point, anyway.
We might get out there, though, and realize we don’t need half the shit we’re lugging around with us.
Thanks for the support, brother…you’ll definitely be a part of it!
it took me several passes to get minimized. as soon as you get somewhere new and realize you didnt use that thing that you thought was so important in the last place you were, get rid of it. we are in LOVE with our possessions.
i still check a bag when i change locations and i even buy things (blender, a good knife, a nice pillow, etc) when i get somewhere but i’m more than willing to walk away from any of these things because my freedom is worth more.
dont let your possessions own you
I’m not really a minimalist but I consider myself a lightpacker and I think it’s the best (and cheapest) way to travel. But I guess it’s not for everybody and that’s okay!