Minimalism: The One Backpack Lifestyle or “Why do you only wear 4 shirts?”

Alright, I’m cheating a little bit with the title. I do, in fact, have a second, small bag for my winter coat. Give me a break, I wasn’t about to move to South Korea without a shield to defend against Seoul’s soulless winter. But other than that, I was able to fit the entirety of my life into a 70-liter backpack.

My possessions include:

       Clothing:                                            Not Clothing:                 

-        4 pairs of pants      -        3 pairs of shorts      -        1 pair of sweat pants (it was cold, ok)      -        3 flannel shirts      -        2 nice shirts      -        1 sweater      -        2 pull over fleeces (identical)      -        2 short sleeve button downs      -        10 t-shirts      -        12 pairs of underwear      -        12 pairs of socks      -        1 pair of boots      -        1 pair of sneakers      -        2 hats      -        1 light jacket      -        1 medium jacket      -        1 aforementioned heavy jacket      -        1 scarf      -        2 ties

-        1 backpack -        1 travel duffle bag -        1 laptop computer and charger -        1 mouse -        2 decks of cards -        1 camera -        5 books -        1 USB drive with the all 3 of the Lord of the Rings extended editions -        1 flashlight -        1 folder -        1 legal pad -        1 towel (about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have) -        1 set of chopsticks -        1 phone and charger -        2 pairs of headphones -        1 Gamecube controller and adapter -        1 wallet -        2 chap-sticks -        1 unusable pair of hair clippers -        1 toiletry bag (toothbrush, razor, nail clippers…. You get the idea) -        1 pair of glasses -        A few other smaller things like pens, rolls of film, and pictures that I’m not going to count out

Now, when all added up, that would appear to be a lot of things. “That’s over 90 things!” you might say, and I’d be inclined to agree with you. I’m not even sure whether I qualify as a true minimalist at this point or not. However, I would urge you to do a similar exercise and tally-up everything you own. Unless your name is Terence or Aaron, I’d be willing to bet you’ve got a thing or two more. You would be surprised how quickly it all adds up. Even if you have no intention of shedding all your earthly possessions, knowing what you’ve got can go a long way to knowing what you don’t need.

I won’t go too far into the rationale behind my minimalist mentality – you probably understand the concept – but here’s the general idea in two parts.

First, things are unnecessary.

Second, traveling light means to travel well. In the past year, I’ve lived in 4 different apartments on 3 continents. Moving from place to place is simply easier with fewer things to bring with you. And I’ll let everyone onto a little secret: taking 3 suitcases on the Boston subway is less than fun. Right now, I’m able to move, with everything I need, wherever I need to go, at the drop of a hat. My life is made markedly simpler by each item I do not own.

Third, I was joking about the first point. And, yes, I know I said this reasoning would only be in two parts, but this is my blog and I make up the rules. Minimalism, for me, doesn’t mean that all possessions are inherently evil. Buying a collectible Ninja Turtles pizza van or an extra cereal bowl certainly doesn’t mean you are inviting the devil into your home. Instead, minimalism is a tool for evaluating priorities, an economic model for maximizing utility. I can ask myself, “Would I rather have a Magic Bullet to make delicious fruit smoothies for the next 3 months or an extra 30 bucks to blow on a scooter in Thailand. While that is a trite example, I think you get the point. At this stage in my life, I’d rather buy an experience than a thing to lug around. But who knows, maybe in 5 or 10 years that Magic Bullet will start sounding pretty nice…

That’s not to say that life is made wholly easier without stuff. I can’t collect books. I don’t have any cooking or eating supplies to call my own (besides my chopsticks!). I still am wearing T-Shirts I got in middle-school. I have to buy or rent new bedding every 6 months. There are no posters on my walls or brick-a-brac on my dresser. Ultimately, wherever I choose to set up shop likely lacks the hominess of a true base camp. And that’s just something to which you have to become accustomed. It’s easy to be a minimalist while you’re backpacking across Europe, but it’s a whole other matter to be a minimalist on a random Thursday night when you wish you had an oven to bake a frozen pizza or a toolbox to fix the broken toilet seat.

That's enough life philosophy for one blog. I figured I would have had more to say about minimalism, but it turns out that the topic is easily exhaustible. Anyways, I'll be heading to Japan for a week, so next week will be light in terms of blog posts. I'll be sure to have a lot of pictures and updates soon after that!

-JCP