Living Out of a Suitcase
You’re racing around your bedroom, folding clothes and grabbing other belongings and shoving them into a suitcase designed for a weeklong trip. As the space gets smaller and smaller, you are forced to decide between items. You ask yourself what’s essential. You squeeze things in and force things out until you have just enough for your time away. Have you ever felt this way as you prepare your things for a vacation?
Our lives are full of stuff. Cars, clothes, decorations, furniture, cookware, and more. But what happens on a trip is that we are forced to minimize our possessions into a suitcase for a few days. Life becomes simpler, no matter how big or small the bag you’re carrying. You automatically bring less than you own, and choices decrease for the duration of your trip.
Does this time of living out of a suitcase ever make you contemplate how many things you own? So often when we misplace an item or don’t have it with us, we don’t even notice until we find it again. It’s like it didn’t matter in the first place. This is because while there is value in possessions, there is not value in an excess of possessions. Maybe you realized this as you packed for a trip once and you asked yourself, “why do I have so many ___________s?” Whether it is hoodies, sunglasses, cooking pans, or water bottles, chances are you probably have a lot of at least one thing. But what if it was different? If living out of a suitcase is so doable for a week, couldn’t we replicate a similar lifestyle for a lifetime? The short answer is yes. Yes you can.
Obviously, we can’t fit our beds or couches or TV in our suitcase (and there is value in owning these things) but we can simplify our lives. We can intentionally own and give away the possessions in our homes. Perhaps you don’t need 25 work shirts, maybe you only need 10. Maybe you don’t need three TVs, maybe you only need one. I don’t know what that one thing is for you, but I guarantee there is something for most people.
Choose one category in your life. From that item, consider how you can simplify it like you’re about to transition into living with a suitcase. Ask yourself what you need to keep, sell, or give away, and you might find that life gets a little more joyful, purposeful, and essential. It might even cause you to choose another item after that. As your possessions begin to become simpler, so will your heart, mind and soul.
