July 3, 2023

My recent obsession with minimalism has become excessive.

Last year, I took an epic, life-changing trip to Europe, my first as a nomad. In fact, it was during that trip that I decided to live a nomadic life.

But my suitcase was too heavy. It was also too cheap, and I replaced it halfway through the journey. (The boots were an unnecessary purchase, but they’re pretty cute!) Lots of lessons learned.

I’m currently in my home state, Washington, enjoying the best house-sitting gig ever. My duties include watering plans and…well, that’s it. No pets. My friend is off on his own European adventure for a while, and I get to enjoy his beautiful home as a zero-cost Airbnb.

It’s good to have some time to unpack and assess my travel wardrobe. I am determined to take at least seven pounds out of my suitcase.

In eight weeks, I’ll embark on my longest nomad adventure yet. I’ll start in England and then head to Croatia, Greece, and the Canary Islands. The journey will end in mainland Spain in December, my favorite place to be at Christmastime. In total, I will be living out of my suitcase and daypack for 105 days. I expect to experience primarily warm weather and plan to use layers and my treasured down coat to cover the cooler days.

Thanks to the open closet design of my friend’s modern, eco-friendly house, I have been staring at this space a little too much.

The good news is that I have a couple of shorter trips, one this month and another next, where I can try out the wardrobe before committing to the long journey.

As far as toiletries and accessories go, I’m losing some weight there, too. I’m testing out laundry sheets and have decided that shampoo and conditioner bars will work for backup when staying at places where they are not provided.

Leave a comment if you have a great packing tip to share! I’ll let you know how it goes.

UPDATE: I’ve been back for a few weeks, so I guess I’d better confess that I am still no packing expert.

I intentionally decided to bring a few pieces of clothing that were getting a bit worn with the intention of discarding them as I traveled to lighten my load. That part did work out. I even discarded a pair of boots to make room for Christmas gifts.

I’ve decided on some favorite items and will replace them as needed before my next overseas journey.

And, as you would guess, my load got lighter as I used up certain items like disposable contact lenses and lotions.

The laundry sheets were adequate. I’m not a big fan of the shampoo and conditioner bars, though.