Did I bring too much stuff

Packing your life in a suitcase is a form of art and many people I have met on the road seem to think that I am not a very talented artist. So I decided to write a post to explain in detail why it might be a good idea to pack some extra stuff after all. Did I really pack too much? Well, I don't think so. There's no item in my suitcase that I haven't been wearing.

It's all about shoes

So, my piece of advice is to throw away all those minimalistic ideas of packing as little as possible. Who started this "7 kilos miracle" kind of packing in the first place? Whose idea is it that backpackers should only have the bare minimum with them? Is it like "the less you carry the more successful you are, the better person you are"? It might be a good idea to think critically about your packing if you are going to be hiking in the bush for an extended period of time but otherwise it doesn't really matter. I have traveled in Australia by bus and plane and guess what? So does the suitcase. I don't have to actually haul it with me more than a couple of kilometers at a time, max. That's nothing.

I don't feel good about the idea of going shopping here. Even the second hand stores are expensive and it's difficult to find what you are looking for in a second hand store. There's never your size if you find a nice shirt and finding good-quality clothes might be challenging. I love op shops, but I wouldn't go there if I actually need something. Op shops are more for finding the special, rare things that mainstream shops have stopped selling years ago. And thinking about jumping to someone else's shoes just disgusts me to some degree. It's not nice to wear shoes shaped by someone else's feet, sweaty, worn, old shoes. Not cool man.

I want to have many different kind of clothes, clothes for most of the situations I might find myself in. I like shopping, but it's only fun if you have a source of income. I still prefer eating over spending 20 bucks for something I could have easily brought with me. After all, I have an endless selection of clothes back home.

We go everywhere together

And honestly, laundry is simply a pain in the ass in the hostels. One load costs 4 dollars and drying the laundry costs another four. We hand wash our clothes if we can't find a place where to do laundry for free. In this light it is quite nice to have more than 2 t-shirts, especially so because the laundry takes ages to dry on this humid island they call Australia. Reminds me of Ireland. Moreover, you don't have a place where to hang the clothes to dry, you just have your bed.

When all the nice combinations of clothes are waiting to be washed, you can use your imagination with what remains. This habit goes by the name backpacker fashion. You'll choose anything that's reasonably clean and neat. Same leggings go for gardening, looking for a job and for sleeping. I might start a fashion blog next. LOL. By the way, I have never done this much mending before. It's nice to have some clothes that still look relatively nice and the ones that don't, well, I'll just throw them away when the adventure is over.

Marking one's territory 

Shoes are also quite heavy but still I managed to carry 5 pairs with me. Two of those are already gone and I need to buy some new pairs. My flip flops were gone a long time ago and I had to replace them in Cairns. And you'll need to pack something warm because it gets cold here, especially in the south. guess how much a winter jacket weights? And guess how much it costs?  I am truly thankful for my ability to believe I am always right. It prevented me form believing all that "leave behind half of what you packed" nonsense. Personally I'd say that's bull shit. Even six months would be a long time to run around bare-assed.