Living out of a suitcase
Nothing convinces you to simplify your life faster than living out of a suitcase, with an impending luggage allowance in your future. During a two-month journey on the east cost of America (yes, the country where consumerism grew legs, arms and toes), I had one suitcase, one piece of hand luggage, a trusty handbag and an allowance of 22 kilograms. If needed, critical emergency space could be negotiated in the boyfriend’s backpack.
Suitcases are bulky and carting them on and off subway platforms, baggage carousels and up hotel steps quickly results in dramatic downsizing. Keep in mind that half the time you’re probably tired and ratty from hours of travel. This combination, by the way, rapidly heightens your desire to cast your life aside, don a bonnet and do as the Amish do.
After the first two weeks, I kissed all of my old clothing goodbye in New York. Washington saw most of my oversized toiletries. By Miami, I was ruthless and anything that hadn’t been used over the last two months was cruelly evicted from the suitcase and sent on the pursuit of finding greener pastures.
Items like laundry tablets, underwear and socks became the most important thing in my case. Books became a sworn enemy and the 3 I had brought with were devoured in record time and left to the next hotel guest, who perhaps wasn’t too keen on perusing the biblical scriptures.
When shopping there was the constant thought that whatever purchased, would need to be lugged around and then passed through the airport scales of judgement. This meant that I ended up only buying things I truly liked or in the case of sunblock, really needed.
This experience, combined with reading Stuffocation (good book, give it a read) has altered my perception on stuff. Wallman poses the idea that our stuff is weighing us down, accumulating and accumulating, building and building until it eventually kills us. It’s not quite as dramatic, but you catch the drift.
I like to think I’m the kind of person that will never make it onto an episode of Hoarders. The kind of woman who will watch an episode and then enter an irrational panic that hoarding could be transmitted through the TV screen and immediately blitz through her flat in the manner of Usain Bolt with a feather duster and a chuck it bucket.
However, I’m ashamed to admit that there’s an entire set of cupboards back in South Africa and I’ve hardly a clue as to their contents. There’s about 10 items that stand out for sentimental reasons, but the rest ? No idea! Those items would be put to far greater use in the hands of others. There’s going to be a major blitz on my return.
The new motto is that if it’s not worth the suitcase space, then it’s not coming home. Obviously there are exceptions and this new rule of thumb doesn’t apply to things like life-size dolls of Channing Tatum or the odd pair of beautiful shoes.
Travel does a great deal for a person, it makes you interesting, gives you perspective and in this case, helps you spring-clean your attitude to stuff.
