Practicing Minimalism: A Guide From Two Full-Time Travellers

03 Mar Practicing Minimalism: A Guide From Two Full-Time Travellers

This week’s post’s goal is to inspire a little minimalism. Although we don’t shout it from the rooftops, we are huge advocates for living a simple, yet meaningful life. Since having our epiphany and giving up our work-hard-to-buy-stuff-and-then-buy-more-stuff life back in Johannesburg, to live a save-save-save-then-spend-on-experiences kind of life, we’ve had to adjust, and I mean really adjust.

Besides the obvious things like furniture and house cleaning goods (because, well, we simply have no house for them), there are a few things we have actively and voluntarily removed from our lives, simply because we find no use for them anymore.

So whether you’re living a 9-to-5 life like we used to, or you yourself are a full time traveller, we hope this list below will inspire you to live with less and not give in to #stuffocation.

Fast Fashion

As you can imagine, we’re limited for space in our suitcases. Even though we’ve upgraded to bigger luggage (with sturdy wheels, yay), we still can only carry 20-23kg with us at any given time, due to airplane limitations. So what does that mean? It means we need to have practical, quality items that can be mixed and matched, and worn several times. There’s no space (literally) for “trend” pieces or fast fashion that needs to be replaced after one season. This includes all forms of fashion – like clothes, shoes, sunglasses, and accessories. Although you will end up spending more in the beginning (investing in higher quality goods), you’ll watch those pieces last for seasons (and years) to come.

Impractical Toiletries and Make-up

It may seem like a good idea to buy shocking pink eye shadow, or hairspray that leaves your hair with glitter, or whichever other item the Kardashians say are the “must-have” shade of the year (if you’re a fan and listen to their advice), but unless you intend on using those products every single day, there’s really no need for them. As mentioned before, conforming to only having 20-23kg with you at all times will very quickly eliminate the bulky once-off use products. Stick to practical, multi-use items instead, and better yet, try eliminate make-up altogether (I know Stevo has definitely embraced this idea).

TV cable / Satellite TV

Escapism is crucial. Whether it’s a little bit of “me time” at the end of each day, or entertaining viewing to make you laugh, we couldn’t agree more that it’s healthy to consume a little creative content. But with platforms like Netflix and YouTube (and of course InstaStories) you no longer have to waste time flicking through TV channels trying to find something that interests you. Managing your time and eliminating clutter from your busy schedule is also a powerful form of minimalism. You have the power to watch what you want, when you want. Can we jump in here to recommend Rhett & Link’s GMM show on YouTube (our secret guilty pleasure), or some of these other minimalism-inspiring YouTubers? Pure, classic escapism.

Paper Things

We know the sentimentalists will argue that Polaroid pictures evoke nostalgia, and filers will intend on keeping receipts and statements, and filing them for that “one day” when you need to have them “just in case”, but we feel this would be a good time to remind you that digitalising everything in your life is a fantastic idea. We have swapped hard copies for audio books, scanned our birth certificates, saved our iPhone serial numbers in our Apple Notes, and quite literally made all loose paper things go digital. We still have a box (one tiny shoe box that we keep at Steve’s aunt’s house in Austria) with a few printed pictures and old love letters, but all other paper things have been eliminated and tossed. We cannot recommend digitising enough (even if just to clear the dust-collecting clutter).

Small Hobby Items

Please don’t think that we discourage hobbies. Learning new things and collecting experiences is EXACTLY how we should be spending our time. But investing in items that you might only use once a year, is a big no no. We learned this when we decided to buy snorkels. For some reason, I thought that we’d be snorkeling everywhere on our trip, so a couple years ago I bought us each a set, and since then we’ve maybe used the snorkels 5 times, but we’ve had to look at them every time we pack our bags. Our learning has been that unless you’re truly committed to the new hobby (like we are to photography…which has miraculously turned from a hobby into a career) rather rent the items when you need them. Don’t let them collect dust for 360 days of the year.

If you’re looking for some more minimalism inspiration, check out James Wallman’s Stuffocation and Joshua Becker’s The More Of Less (two books we’ve read and cannot recommend enough #notsponsored).

And now for some minimalist photography from our travels, because how could we not celebrate liberating minimalism after a post like that?!

Enjoyed this blog post? You may be interested in our TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD online course and eBook, where we share other valuable lessons learned from a life on the road. Join us in living with less here. You may also want to follow our journey on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Enjoyed this blog post? You may be interested in our TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD online course and eBook, where we share other valuable lessons learned from a life on the road. Join us in living with less here. You may also want to follow our journey on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.