As part of getting ready for the trip, we are donating or selling almost all of our possessions. We’ve left a few less replaceable items with relatives, but most of what we keep will be carried with us.
Of course, we want the stuff we do take with us to be the best.
Early in trip planning, I found lists of recommended travel equipment and bookmarked items to purchase. Brian began researching the features and benefits of an overwhelming number of maximum-size-to-carry-on-a-plane backpacks, and I imagined that I’d replace my clothing with special travel clothing that dries more quickly, doesn’t stain, and… travels well? (I’m not even sure what qualities I was looking for in travel clothing. It mostly just seemed like a good idea based on the name.)
Then, I began to rethink that “of course” from a couple of paragraphs back.
After all, we aren’t climbing Mount Everest. We are just living our daily lives, albeit in different places each month. Chances are, we own 98% of what we need for this trip, even if it might not wear the label of “travel” whatever. Wanting to find the perfect set of travel gear just fits with my (exhausting and unnecessary) tendency of trying to DO EVERYTHING PERFECTLY.
So, for now at least, we are trying to cull down our existing possessions to what we want to take, versus buying shiny new possessions in advance. We did already buy one new backpack, but considering the holey state of the backpack Brian was wearing to work, I feel okay about this purchase.
As we travel, we’ll replace stuff as it wears out or as we discover things that would significantly improve our lives on the road. Iterating through possessions will be part of the fun of the trip, and we’ll almost certainly have the opportunity to live with far more interesting gear than if we bought a heap of stuff before leaving.