After being on the road for six weeks living lightly as I could, then comparing the two lifestyles of home and away, it has frequently struck me how much “stuff” and outside assistance we humans seem to require to pursue the activities of daily life.
The Material World
I love this Colbert clip with the creator of the “The Story of Stuff” site and book by the same name, Annie Leonard. Colbert’s a genius.
The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Annie Leonard www.colbertnation.com
Ever wonder how our quantify and diversity of “stuff” compares to others in the world? Photojournalist Peter Menzel wrote Material World, which offers extraordinary images of families in front of their dwellings with all (or nearly all) of their possessions.
Pare it down, Tamela
One of the things I most anticipated about my summer roadtrip was the opportunity to pare down after a lifetime of piling on. Here’s a list of what I packed:
- Two of each, one to wear while the other dries for the following day:
- underwear
- sports bra/bra
- compression shirtsfor each weather extreme (hot/cold)
- compression shorts/pants (depending on hot/cold)
- socks
- Buffs
- Footgear
- motorcycle boots (mine double as hiking boots)
- sandals (summer)
- Street clothes
- one pair jeans
- one long sleeve shirt
- one short sleeve shirt
- denim vest
- skirt/shorts/skort
- Motorcycle gear
- jacket
- pants
- helmet (with an extra visor just in case)
- gloves
- CamelBak (if you get one with pockets & pouches it doubles as a handbag, ladies)
- Toiletries, pharmaceuticals & grooming tools (no hair dryer!)
- Communications devices (I carried my netbook and cell phone with their chargers)
I think about all the things I have at home that I can’t carry with me while traveling. It’s a good mental discipline to keep me driving past the mall.
Are you a traveler? How does my list compare to yours? Next summer when I take my road trip, I’ll carry stuff to camp with — tent, bedroll, pillow and perhaps some cooking/eating tools. Any advice for me?