Packing Lightly for Travel and Life

I've just returned from a lovely two week trip to Scotland, where we visited family and went to our friends' wedding.

As always, packing for my trip before I left took hours. Since I'm petite, it's not practical for me to haul big suitcases around (not to mention it looks funny when I carry a bag so big that I could fit myself into it). My go-to luggage is a lightweight carry-on bag (plus a tote), which means space is limited and I have to decide carefully which pieces to pack, which always takes me forever to decide.

Every piece must be well-considered.

During my travels, I was dressed and out the door in 5 minutes since my clothing choices were clear and limited. How often does that happen when I'm home? Most days, I look in my closet and don't know what to wear even though it's full of clothes.

When I'm traveling out of a suitcase, I'm always reminded of me how little I actually need. In choosing items to pack, I realize what I really love, or use often. It's a lot less than I think.

So I have to ask myself: If I can manage to live happily for two weeks with so little, then why is my home so full of stuff?

Since I've worked in the fashion world for most of my career, having lots of clothes were just a normal part of my life, and anyway I've generally had a terrible habit of buying too much stuff that just cluttered up my entire (small) apartment.

But I'm getting better. And it helps that I married a man who likes to keep a clean, tidy and clutter-free home (yes, I know! He is a gem).

So I'm becoming more mindful of my choices. Every item I own demands my time, energy or resources in some way. If I buy it, I've paid for it with money earned through work (=exchange of my time and skills), and once I take it home it will take up space to store or display. It will likely need to be cleaned/dusted and/or maintained. If I choose to give it away or sell it, that takes time and energy, too. And everything ultimately comes from the Earth's resources, so I want to do my part for the environment by reducing my consumption of stuff.

I've realized that what I really want is not that beautiful new pair of shoes (however tempting) but more simplicity, peace and joy in my life. And more time to do what really feeds my soul.

Though I'm not perfect and I still buy things sometimes, I am starting to consider that maybe I already have everything I need, and I always have.

Not pictured: the 20 pairs I got rid of 

So as I unpack my travel bag and settle back into my life at home, I'm planning to do a lot of fall clearing this month and let go of stuff I don't use or need. I'll be re-evaluating my closet and keeping only what I love.

And maybe one day I'll finally have a perfectly-curated capsule wardrobe that I've always fantasized about, and all of it will fit into my carry-on bag. 

(Ok, maybe that's not realistic, but a girl can always dream, right? :-))

I'll write more as I make progress...meantime, I'd love to know if you are planning to do any fall clearing, and how you deal with having too much stuff?




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