Essential Travel Rule: Buy One, Discard One for Lighter Packing

It took me 20 minutes this morning to find the charger for my cell phone. I had to sift through my big backpack, another small backpack and a whole pile of crap that I had stuffed into two corners of my bedroom.

As I was digging around, I had to lower my head in shame. It occurred to me that lately, I have failed to adhere to one of the most important rules that I follow when traveling.

Located somewhere around Page 3, Section B, Paragraph 1, in my imaginary personal travel manual, this all-important rule (The Freedom of Traveling Light Rule) is stated as such:

“In order to avoid complications resulting from the accumulation of too much ‘stuff’ while traveling, you are hereby required to throw or give away one item from your backpack every time another item is accumulated, whether purchased, found, received as a gift, won in a contest or flat-out stolen.”

There are far too many travelers out there struggling to move from place to place because they are carrying around extra backpacks full of useless stuff. I used to do it too. In fact, I once lugged a 5-foot long handmade sword around Spain for two weeks.

The aim of the “obtain something, get rid of something” rule is to ensure that you always maintain the freedom associated with traveling lightly by forcing yourself to only acquire things you truly want, need or can afford. You’ll certainly think twice about buying that miniature wood-carving of the Taj Mahal or that Mayan Gods-themed chess set if you must get rid of something in your backpack in accordance with this strict rule.

And if you do end up buying the multi-colored Thai-style triangular floor pillow, well, you’ll just have to throw away a belt or hat or pair of jeans. There’s simply no way around it.

My favorite part about this rule is that it also proves that possessions aren’t really so important after all. Usually, by the next day, I can barely even remember what ‘dear possession’ I tossed out or what ‘cool souvenir’ I decided not to buy in the end. There’s a valuable lesson in that.

So back to this morning…after finding my phone charger, I immediately set out to re-gain the balance that I’d recently lost. I got rid of about a dozen things to make room for the sarong, nail clippers, Mexican wrestling mask, Spanish-English dictionary, etc. that I’ve obtained over the past month.

Now all of my belongings fit nicely into my one main backpack again and I’m back to being a completely free and mobile nomad. It’s a feeling I can’t describe, knowing that my possessions in no way inhibit me from deciding to go somewhere new. I can quickly pack up and be ready to go in minutes if I should so desire (or if the sound of approaching sirens forces me). It is without a doubt a major aspect of my freedom.

Here are a few tips:

Tip #1: Instead of throwing things away, try giving them away. Almost anything you have will be useful to someone else and you’ll feel much better about letting it go.

Tip #2: Don’t be afraid to get creative, especially in the beginning.  For example, if you buy a new t-shirt, just throw away one sock. You won’t feel like you’ve lost too much and you’ll have another sock to toss the next time you obtain something. (Sure, you could theoretically buy a bongo and only throw away a shoelace, but things tend to even out in the long run despite any differences in size.)

Tip #3: If you want immediate liberation, I suggest buying a small souvenir (i.e. keychain) and then giving away the largest item in your backpack (i.e. jacket or towel). You might experience some extreme nausea at first, but you’ll get over it and you’ll soon feel the liberation you deserve.

Whether you’re already out there on the road or about to start an adventure, be sure to give this rule a try…and don’t forget to let me know how it goes…