Sometimes the weirdest thing to think about when considering this adventure is “what will I do without all of my stuff?”

We all have stuff. We have furniture and art and spare towels and seven too many kitchen gadgets. As I start thinking about the logistics of potentially putting most of my bigger items into storage for 6+ months, and then consider what would make the cut to travel with me… the more I realize there’s a lot to consider!

Take my kitchen for example. I am pretty sustainably minded so I buy a lot of my food from local markets without packaging, use farmers markets, use a lot of glass and metal packaging instead of plastic, and also eat vegan. So when I look at the weight of my kitchen… I have more of an elephant than a puppy to deal with between all of my glass storage containers and backstock of bulk items.

As I consider “what would I really bring with me”, I have the benefit of knowing that if I stay in AirBNB rentals or even visit family / friends, they also have kitchens. Maybe not exactly appointed how I would have them, but kitchens and kitchen stuff nonetheless. So I’ve started having little conversations with myself debating things like I have 5 pans plus more baking dishes… but can I work with just bringing my trusty cast iron (which doubles as a baking dish when needed)? For storage & transport can I limit myself to 5 pyrexes and 6 (to 12) mason jars of various sizes? Just how many water bottles are reeeeeally necessary to have on hand at all times? It’s totally normal to travel with my own knives right?

The same debates happen all over my house. Just how many skincare products do I really need to travel with? Are there things in my closet I can live without for 6 months. Etc, etc.

I know that one day I’ll settle back down, take all my stuff out of storage, and have my own kitchen where I can organize all my extra stuff just how I like it, and closets & bathrooms to do the same. But one thing I’m doing in preparation for the nomadic adventure is challenging myself area by area to cut down. I’m lucky enough to have some basement storage in my current location, so I’m packing early. All that decorative glassware that I only use when company is over…. thanks to covid, I have no guilt about just packing it up and removing it from my cabinets for a while. All those extra t-shirts or other outfits that maybe I don’t want to part with just yet but don’t really need right now? Into storage boxes under my bed. My love of skincare? Making the choice to only buy new products when I’ve used up one that I already have.

This could just sound like the process of someone who wants to be more of a minimalist and is in denial… but in truth I like my stuff. I like having the extra outfits I only pull out for special occasions, or the kitchen appliance I can pull out when a certain recipe strikes my fancy. I like having so much art that I struggle to find wall space for it all every time I move because each piece comes with a fond memory. It’s nice to have those things. But they aren’t things I NEED to have at hand all the time. And so as I prep for moving around with a very minimal amount of “stuff” for a few months, I’m challenging myself to pack away things I use less now, to practice being more mindful with the things I do actually use every day or every week, and see what areas I can really cut down on. This way, when do my nomad trip, but also after, I have a better understanding of the things I truly need and cherish having around.

Thanks for coming along on this minimalist design theory ted talk, I promise I’ll go back to planning some location-specific content soon. Until next time, let’s go forth and adventure!

~Victoria