Way back in September when I had to rush back to the UK to help with my Mum after her husband passed away, I only travelled with carry on. I left Red fending for himself in Turkey, but he’d only been there a week when he got a call to go and work on assignment in San Francisco. It was too tempting an offer to refuse. Have Paintbrush Will Travel. So he packed his bag and was on a plane within 48hours.
We had our Workaway trip to France planned, and initially we’d thought about going before the festive season, but the with it being my Mum’s first Christmas on her own, I changed our plans so that I could stay with her.
It was a magical Christmas, but before I could settle into decorating the tree and wrapping presents, I had to take a quick trip to Turkey to go and pick up mine and Red’s backpacks, and some clothes for our workaway adventure.
That was back in December. And now here we are in May, and I’m still living with that same collection of winter and travel clothes.
If our world was normal, we’d probably be planning an impending return to Turkey about now. But here I am, five months after my last clothes run to Turkey, and I’m not suffering from a lack of choice in the wardrobe department.
Now the good thing about travel restrictions, and lockdown is that I don’t have to go out much, and here on the farm nobody notices if you’ve been wearing the same pair of trousers two days running. I have a back pack full of clothes, but truth be told I have my favourite pair of trousers and jeans, and a small collection of tops that I favor, and I only wear other items when these ones are in the wash.
You really don’t need much. I actually get anxious when I think of the volume of clothes I had when we lived in Los Angeles. My closet was bursting at the seams, and I only wore a fraction of the clothes I had. I hung onto too many items “just in case”. And too many of those clothes got packed into the eleven suitcases we traveled with when we relocated to Turkey.
I even encountered that same level of anxiety when I went back to Turkey after our previous extended break away. Our walk in closet (a converted basement) was finally ready to organize, and so we unpacked all of our cases, after years of being tucked away in the spare room. Nobody needs that volume of clothes.
Am I looking forward to going back to Turkey to have more clothes choice? Well yes.
I have a winter wardrobe with me, and as it’s started to get hot in England, I’m beginning to wonder how long it’ll be until I start cutting legs off my trousers to make shorts, or sleeves off my sweat shirts to make tee shirt. I have a pair of scissors at the ready. I know they’re sharp. I already used them to cut my hair!
I've been traveling with a restricted wardrobe, and it doesn't matter. I have more than enough clothes to keep me covered. #Declutter You don't need that much. #Digitalnomad Click To Tweet
I would really need a lesson in packing less, I always tend to bring way to much. But to be honest, I am not sure that I could fit into a carryon…
excuse me confuse me, where are you now?
I’m in lockdown with my Mum in England at the moment. We cut our French trip short, and we’re kicking it here until it’s time to go back to Turkey.
It’s amazing how little you miss when you pack minimally. Once you get your head around having little choice & as long as it’s practical stuff, I could keep going for ages. But it is starting to warm up a bit here in the UK so good to hear you have scissors at the ready ;). The joys of lockdown include not being in any way bothered about how you look & I seem to have had the same clothes on rotation despite having a full wardrobe available. It just goes to show how little you really need. However, I hope you can get home soon & enjoy the excitement of finding all those hidden gems in your basement. Stay safe. x
Thanks Sue … I’m on the clothes rotation too. It’s so much simplier that way. As the travel years go by, I’m realizing that I actually need less and less, and I keep challenging myself to pack light. I wonder if I’ll ever be brave enough to travel with just a day pack? How freeing that would be!
Roving Jay recently posted..Video: Our Workaway adventure through France
The older I get and the more I travel, the more I learn to cut down on my wardrobe. I still have trouble if the weather will be unpredictable but once I realized that I won’t see most of the people again that I encounter I wasn’t so worried about having a wide variety of options. 🙂
It gives you such freedom doesn’t it? I love traveling light. I can’t believe I struggled with all of those clothes for so long. Traveling light is best!
Love that pack … looks like a good size. What make and size is it?
You’re right — how little we really need. I travel carry-on only for up to 3 weeks and I’m just fine with a few clothes. Then I get home and wonder why my closet is stuffed with so many choices. I hope you are doing well during this weird time!
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thanks for this text
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I hang on to too much clothes too. I really need to get rid of them!
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