I Lived Out Of a Backpack For 6 Months

How long can you go without buying anything new? When was the last time you’ve ordered something on Amazon? Mine back in January. That’s right, half a year ago.

While this is not entirely true, and I bought a pair of shoes, wore them down to ashes and bought another one, plus 5 new pairs of toe socks, I haven’t bought anything else, and to be completely honest with you, never really wanted to. I simply can’t afford new stuff because there’s no place to store it.

Let me tell you what, while moving around has been very stressful, this is the most liberating I’ve felt in a long time. All the stuff from my previous apartment is currently in the storage (the smallest unit I could possibly find), and I can’t care less about it. Part of me is afraid that somebody will break into it and will steal everything, and another part secretly wants it all gone.

My backpack is a Patagonia Black Hole Mini 30L + I have a small Osprey Daylite 11L that fits inside. Other things that fit inside are 7 t-shirts, 2 pants, 8 pairs of underwear, 10 pairs of socks (a few will go soon), 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of shoes, 1 jacket. A laptop, an e-reader, headphones, 1 charger for all my electronics, an aeropress, a coffee grinder, and a bag of fresh coffee. Climbing pants, chalk bag, climbing shoes. This is not the minimum, but this is what I optimized to after 6 months. And yes, my coffee and the climbing stuff are essential.

I traveled like that to India for 2 weeks, and this carry-on bag is the only thing that I had with me. Can I go smaller and lighter? Absolutely yes. Do I want to? No. I love it like that, minimal but functional, and I don’t want to change anything. My stuff doesn’t own me anymore, so I say thank you and gracefully let it go. I have everything I need. I am enough. I am happy.