Motivations: All belongings in a backpack

One of my dreams is to fit all my belongings in a backpack. It's a quite simple dream, yet it takes some time to realize it. I'm getting closer, though. Every time I'm in Leuven, I'm trying to get rid of stuff I don't really need. Travelling for 6 months and living out of a backpack surely was a good lesson for this.

Here's the way I'm trying to accomplish this:

• I'm throwing away the junk that no one can use, recycling as much as I can.
• Everything that can be digitized, I digitize. CD's, books, documents, drawings, etc.
• Some belongings that can be of use to others I sell. 
• Other possessions that I could possibly be of use in the future I lend to people who would probably use it in the mean time.
• Other belongings I try to put in a place so it can be shared by the community.

In my opinion, it would be wonderful if humanity would ever come to the point where almost everything is shared, except some bare essentials. It would reduce our ecological footprint drastically if we could build a community based on this principle. If most of the stuff would be put in a communal place where it can be loaned to people when needed, that would be way more efficient, instead of the dozens of objects that are gathering dust in every household no. See it as the concept of a public library but for almost every object imaginable. CD's, books, instruments, hardware, household appliances, etc.   

Living out of a backpack also makes you think thoroughly about the things you want to buy. You really have to think about every little thing you buy, because it becomes an extra weight that you'll have to carry. Your footprint literally becomes deeper with every item you buy. Great way to curb consumerism. 

These are some of the questions I ask myself whenever I get the urge of buying something:

Do I really need this?

Isn't their anything else that can serve for this purpose?

Is it multifunctional?

Can I share it?

Is it ecological?

Is it the lightest and the most portable of its kind?

Another advantage with this style of living: You spend very little time on the upkeep of your stuff, so you can spend that time on other things.

So yeah, that's one of my many dreams. :) 

I'm also really interested in hearing other peoples dreams. It's a question I asked a lot during my travels: "What is your dream? If you could choose, what would you do in life?" It's very interesting to hear how unique people are and how diverse the answers are. Some even inspire me so much I adapt my dreams to theirs, so we can help each other in making them real.

So tell me, what are your dreams? Would be lovely to hear them. :)