Travelling lighter
Alison Laycock
Since posting about travelling light once I started my journey, I’ve had so many queries about how it is going Travelling light. As I’ve finished my month in the Netherlands and started the Scandinavia part of my journey, it seems an appropriate time to provide the update.
As I’ve travelled around in November, I’ve been following the minimalism challenge which i’ve posted about on here and our sister blog. This has helped me immensely as it means I’ve made sure I’ve got rid of things I haven’t needed to keep with me as I’ve travelled along. After all, I’m the only one who would have been carrying all the stuff I collected if I had decided to have the tickets, leaflets, maps etc with me. There were some times I was tempted to either keep the tickets or buy books or warmer clothes. It’s been interesting listening to that voice and seeing where my mind goes and when.
So I’m pleased to tell those people who have been asking that yes I’m still travelling light and indeed lighter since I started. Toiletries have naturally been used and although the necessary ones have been replaced, there were some things I had 2 or 3 of due to bringing half full bottles rather than buying new full supplies. The books and magazine have been read and passed on, in fact I only have the Scandinavia book and phrasebook with me now. The only pieces of clothing I’ve discarded are 2 pairs of socks and a blouse. As I’m really at the minimum of clothes already, there isn’t much more I can imagine discarding before the end of the trip when I’ll no doubt leave all the clothes and buy new ones to return to the UK with. At the moment, I’m managing with washing and drying my clothes in the hotel room and haven’t had any issues with them drying on time which is why I was able to get rid of the blouse and 2 pairs of socks. All the remaining clothes can either be an under or over layer so I know I’ll be ok when the temperature dips more.
There are many other ways in which I’m travelling lighter rather than just in material possessions. Travelling and especially solo travel allows you to reassess so many things in your life and you can find yourself letting go of those beliefs you’ve held for so long and don’t help you. An ease in simply being takes over after a while and no matter how long you’ve been going on trips for, it still takes time for you to relax each time. You let go of those restrictions you place on yourself in your everyday life as you are free and don’t need to restrict yourself in any way. If you normally have a critical voice around you in your daily life, sometimes that is yourself or someone else then leave it behind and you’ll find the enjoyment and relaxed approach to you and others takes over.
When you limit the amount of clothes you have to choose from in the morning or evening, then you can choose quicker what you will wear and how you will show up. This means you naturally let go of thinking about how you look or if you’re wearing the right clothes and you focus on interacting with others in another way. Letting go of worrying about what other people think about your clothes is a huge gift you can give yourself as the problem lies with them if they know you’re travelling and only have a few pieces of clothing to choose from.
There are lots of other things I’ve let go of but I’m yet to find the words for them which is something I think I’ve already mentioned in my minimalism challenge whilst travelling posts. I hope to at some point be able to put all that into words and post about it but at the moment the words aren’t coming but I am enjoying the feelings that it brings.