How I Traveled With Only 5kg and why you should too

Okay so I know right now some of you are thinking, so what I can do that (good on you!)

But for the vast majority I believe it is much more of a how in the heck, followed closely by there is NO way I could do that. 

I’ll answer the how shortly, but I also want to address the how can you do it.

It is really not that hard and is actually one of the most freeing and meaningful things I have done recently.

Let me explain why is meaningful...

Life should be a collection of moments, that make up memories, that culminate to be our journey, the movie that is our lives.  

These are the things that we pass on to our children, to our loved ones.  

The stuff, the matter, the things we accumulate over our lives are just that - things.  They are not who we are, they are not what we are, they do not define how happy we are, nor are they what matters the most when we reach the end. 

Recently I have gotten pretty serious about reducing not only my single plastic use but my entire waste foot print on the planet.  

Becoming more minimalist seems to be a natural progression of living more consciously.  I realise I have a long way to go in my home life to be a minimalist but for me travelling as one is the perfect foray into to realising what I really need. 

When I last traveled it was for 5 months, with about a 15-20kg suitcase (probably the lightest I had ever packed) that I was super proud of how little I took.  

Reflecting on that experience there are two things I recall;

1 - Suitcase’s are annoying and less logistically friendly (and the weight made simple things less simple)

And 2 - I repeatedly wore and used the same core things from my suitcase.  The outfits for 'an occasion' were rarely touched, some not at all the entire time.  

So this two week Bali adventure is my first foray into travelling as a minimalist, like actually.  

Not shit loads of stuff crammed into a backpack either. There is literally more than half of my backpack empty which has been perfect for buying a couple of snacks to carry once on the road. 

This trip was only two weeks away, but I am already loving this lifestyle, and plan to travel this way always.

There was no issue with what to wear, there was no stress repacking my bag, there was no struggles lugging my stuff through the crowded streets as I explore and change Airbnb.

And truth be told I think I could cull this list down a little more for smaller trips and even for the many much longer ones I dream of happening in the future.  

Here is what I actually packed: 

• 2 black tee's, 2 white tee's

• Adidas shorts for days, plus denim shorts (which in all honesty I only needed 1)

• 2 wireless crops, plus one crop for yoga

• 3 pairs undies, 2 pairs socks

• yoga pants (doubled as workout, and walking attire)

• Sneakers (not pictured) for walking, hiking, everything)

• Black slides for something other than sneakers where jandals (sorry flip flops!) won’t cut it

• two one piece swimsuits

• Crepe twist dress, plus black slip for underneath. My one ‘nice’ outfit, that being the fabric it is doesn’t come out of your bag needing to be ironed or anything. Bonus!

• Bose headphones, tripod for photos, portable keyboard (to journal and write blogs like this one), kindle, and two power adapters/chargers

• Herbal teas, dandelion tea, Nutraorganics turmeric broth

• Young living oils - Peppermint, Lavender and Digize, plus Universal Armour Vagal Switch (to get into parasympathetic state - learn about this here).

• Toiletries - toothpaste, toothbrush, thieves hand sanitizer, organic body wipes, deodorant, moon cup

• Not pictured - Oil cleanser, sunscreen