Minimalism or simple living can be defined as:
“a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one’s lifestyle. These may include reducing one’s possessions, generally referred to as minimalism, or increasing self-sufficiency. Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they have rather than want. Although asceticism generally promotes living simply and refraining from luxury and indulgence, not all proponents of simple living are ascetics. Simple living is distinct from those living in forced poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice.” (source)
Minimalism is, essentially, having less. But out of choice and for all the right reasons.
There are a lot of people who are minimalist enthusiasts and there is no shortage of documentaries, books, or articles on the topic. It has been increasing in popularity over the last decade and, if I had to guess, I would say this trend has been born out of (1) the environmental crisis and (2) an increasing public dissatisfaction with consumerism and the big global brands involved.
People have seen what mass consumerism has done to the world and lots of them are, frankly, over it.
There is another reason for the spreading of minimalism and we would be very remiss not to talk about it.
The third reason why so many people across the world want to have fewer things is due to mental health. We have seen that having and owning more things simply causes us more stress and gives us more work to do. We think that we will feel better the more we have, but we very often feel more stressed with the more we have.
Simplicity is key to a relaxed life and more people seem to be waking up to this fact.
So…
Where does minimalist travel fit into all of this?
What is Minimalist Travel…
If we know what minimalism is and we know what travel is, it shouldn’t be too tricky to put both together and come up with the new concept, minimalist travel.
The concept is essentially about travelling in a much lighter, less stressed, and less item-heavy way.
Lots of us spend a lot of time, money and effort dragging lots of items with us wherever we go on holidays or on trips. We buy new things specifically for trips, we definitely have more than one bag for each trip, and we end being charged at the airport because we have more weight in baggage than we are allowed to bring.
Travelling this way doesn’t bring us a lot of joy it, in fact, can bring us an awful lot of stress.
So, minimalist travel is a way for us to continue to travel but without this stress and extra baggage. It helps us remember why we are travelling in the first place and it helps to show us the importance of experience over the material thing.
How do we do it?
Let’s discuss that next.
How To Take Part in Minimalist Travel
How you take part in minimalist travel will, of course, depend on your individual needs and where you are going. It won’t always be an easy one-suits-all approach and that is ok, it is still something you can aim for as much as you can.
However, here are some universally helpful ways that you can begin to practice minimalist travel in your own life:
- Try and focus on just packing one bag, if at all possible
- Pack alternatives for emergencies, but don’t overdo it, you won’t need as much as you think
- Make use of cleaning and laundry services while you are on holiday to make the most out of the clothes you do bring
- Try and pack in a way that emulates how you dress/use items in a normal week at home, it won’t be any different on holiday (apart from different weather conditions, of course)
- If you like to buy souvenirs, try and limit yourself to one souvenir per trip
- Bring resuable items instead of single-use items
- Bring good quality items rather than disposable, cheap items
- Invest in a good bag or suitcase so that you can comparmentalise your items and keep everything tidy
- Use a colour palette to pick your clothes for your holiday, this means that everything you pack will match and it will be much easier to create outfits from the things you already have
- Don’t bring too much cash with you, this often makes us spend and buy much more than we normally would
Minimalist travel will impact decisions in the packing stage of your holiday, purchases you make while on the trip, and any shopping you might have done beforehand.
Essentially, it will impact your decisions at each stage of preparing for and partaking in travel.
And it isn’t here to make things more inconvenient for ourselves, of course not. What you will find when you pack minimally is that you actually have everything you need. Sometimes you only use something because it is in your bag already and you may as well use it, but when you don’t have it, you don’t even notice it is gone.
When you take part in minimalist travel you see how light and freeing things can be without an excess of stuff around us.
Have you ever been running through an airport trying to catch your flight but you are tripped up and caught up by stuff falling out of every bag you have?
I have, and it is one of the most stressful experiences out there.
Why not give yourself a break and try an easy option that is there right in front of us? Why not cut down on the stuff, the money, the consumerism, and focus on the experience you want to have instead?
If you need any more help or guidance with your journey into minimalist travel, there are a couple of experts for you to check out. Try having a look at minimalist expert Matt D’Avella’s Youtube Channel, any resource from The Minimalists, and our very own blogs!
You never know what you might learn that might change your life, so why not give it a go.