This article isn't written by me, but by a very good friend of mine, who's also experienced in living out of a backpack. :) This is what she wrote:
Hi all,
When I responded to Pieter's post on wanting to fit all his belongings into a backpack, Pieter asked me to list what I carry in mine. I realised how much this depends on what I'm doing and where I'm going that I would have to make a different list for every situation. Thinking about that inspired me to write some more about what it's like to live out of a backpack. I do have more stuff than just what I fit into my backpack, but most of my stuff is stacked away at my mom's place while I'm travelling around and living pretty minimal. I've come to a point where I feel that, in my daily life, I can live quite comfortably with just a handful of things, not only while travelling through exotic countries but also while living a relatively normal life with a job and a university education.
If you want to try living with minimal possessions for some time, whether just for a few weeks on a backpacking trip or as a more permanent lifestyle, these are some things you might want to consider:
Will you move around a lot or not?
If you're backpacking, you'll want to travel as light as possible. Trust me on this one. On my first trip to India I brought loads of stuff that seemed very handy when I bought it, but all it did was create frustration. When you're taking your backpack in and out of trains, buses, cars and camel carts, all you want to do with your fancy travelling gear is throw it in the Ganges. On my last trip to India I left with only hand luggage and felt a lot more relaxed. Only take the things you really need. When in doubt, leave it home, if you do decide along the way that you really need something you can still buy it or ask your friends back home to send it over.
If you're staying more or less in the same place, you can be a bit less carefull cause you can leave most of your stuff in your hostel, squat, couchsurfing room or whatever place you're staying at. Try not to collect too much stuff though, it's a pain in the ass when you're ready to move on again. You'd be surprised how quickly you collect stuff. Just a month ago I arrived in a squat with only a backpack full of stuff, and when I left again to move to another squat a few days ago I already had more stuff than I could carry. Keep an eye on what you're collecting and try to give away as many things to keep a balance.
Do you have other obligations in your life than just travelling?
Living out of a backpack when all you have to worry about is hitching your next ride requires a different approach than living out of a backpack while working or going to school. These days I have a job that requires me to look somewhat presentable, so I need at least one pair of nice looking clothes and shoes. To avoid the weight of extra shoes, I just have one "nice" pair in my backpack that I wear to work/school, otherwise I go barefoot. If you think that's too extreme, a nice pair for work and a pair of light flipflops for casual situations works well too.
I also carry some books, papers and documents, but I try to keep this to a minimum by digitalizing as much as I can and using my university's library instead of buying books as much as possible. I also usually carry a laptop, but seeing that it's really heavy I'm trying to use my university's computer facilities instead, which works quite well if you carry a usb-stick with whatever files you need so you can work from any computer. I know it feels like you really need your own computer these days, but do try to consider other options, it doesn't only keep your backpack's weight down but in my experience carrying an expensive, relatively fragile object in my backpack tends to give me stress too.
What are the things you're willing to compromise on?
Let's face it, you're not gonna live a life of luxury when all you have is your backpack. There's no way you can carry around all the things you sometimes enjoy having. It's important to set priorities and choose wisely. These priorities are different for everyone, try to find out what yours are and be honest with yourself. I personally don't care too much for sleeping comfort, I can pretty much sleep everywhere so I don't bother to take a matress, the ground will do. My boyfriend however is a really difficult sleeper and not having a matress makes him grumpy and miserable, which is not what you want to be while you're travelling. I'm also not that picky about hygiene, when I was camping out at Occupy Amsterdam I had no problem whatsoever using whatever old and smelly sleeping bag I could find in the donation tent, but if that idea freaks you out, then by all means take your own bedding while travelling.
Things that I do take with me, even though others might consider them unnecessary, are some make-up and jewellery (I enjoy dressing up too much not to) and an emtpy book with pens in several colours (drawing and journaling are really important for me while travelling.)
Can you share things with others?
If you're travelling with other people, it makes not much sense to all carry your own bottle of shampoo and shower gel. Talk about who takes what and share whatever you can. Swap items you don't need anymore with other travellers: exchange the book you finished reading for another one someone else has read, when arriving in a place with a different climate exchange your warm coat for someone else's sunglasses (assuming that somebody else is going the opposite way and needs to prepare for cold weather), etcetera. If you're staying in a place like a youth hostel you'll have an easy time finding people to swap with. If you're couchsurfing, consider swapping something with your host. If you're staying in any sort of community, like a squat or a nomad base, you can usually use quite a lot of common goods, and maybe add some things of your own.
Some tips and tricks that I've learned throughout the years
- Saron-type pieces of cloth are incredibly useful. You can sleep on them, use them as a light blanket, use them as a towel, wear them as a wrap when coming from the beach, use them as an emergency skirt when all your clothes are dirty,wrap fragile things in them,... I always take one while travelling. If you go to a place like India, you can buy one over there, it'll make for a beautiful souvenir too!
- Ladies, consider using a menstrual cup. If you've never heard of it, google it. If the idea freaks you out at first, don't worry, I was freaked out too when I first heard of it, but if you give it some thought it's actually a very practical, ecological and economical solution. Imagine never having to carry around pads and tampons again!
- Don't feel bad about leaving something behind. I've carried around basically useless things for weeks because I felt it wouldn't be right to leave something that I'd paid money for without even using it. But really, you don't get your money back while carrying useless weight. Buying something you don't use is a bit of a shame, but holding on to it is even more of a shame. Give it away to someone who does want to use it.
- Have faith. This is where the spiritual hippie mumbo-jumbo comes in, but in my experience it's true: you'll find what you need. If you try not to worry too much, generally things have a way of arranging themselves. I'm not saying you should do crazy stupid shit like trying to climb the mount everest wearing only a bikini or sumsuch, but if you take care of staying alive, the universe or whatever name you want to give it tends to take care of the rest. I can't even count the times when I got cold and found a jacket, or I got lost and I got a ride to exactly the place I needed to go to. Those things are part of the adventure, a very important part I'd say.
Happy travels!
L.
inspiring, good advice :)
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