BarryMorris.net ~ Live More with Less

The 30-Day Live-Like-You-Travel Experiment

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You know the feeling

You lock the door behind you, sling your bag into the trunk of your Uber or taxi, and head to the airport with everything you need in your carry on suitcase or backpack. You have a spring in your step and an energy that’s simply infectious. You tip your driver a bit extra because of how great you feel.

You bound past the curbside check-in and go directly through security and arrive at your gate well in time for your flight. You break out your book or just engage in some people watching while sipping a nice cuppa. 

or… 

You lock the door behind you with a furrowed brow because you’re almost certain you forgot to pack something vital into one of your three suitcases— suitcases that will end up costing a fortune to check to your destination. Just to be sure, you unlock the door, make a quick trip through every room one more time but don’t find anything silently shouting, ‘You forgot me!”

A honk on a car horn interrupts your search-and-rescue operation; your Uber driver is waiting. Hurried, you leave the house and lock up, still uncertain that you’ve got what you need. You get into the car and take off, mildly agitated while wracking your brain for a clue to the identity of the forgotten whatsit. You arrive at the airport, clumsily schlepping your three cumbersome bags to the curbside check-in while virtually pinky-swearing to yourself and any attentive travel gods that you’ll change your ways so as to never again experience this level of travel frustration. 

If you had to choose …

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Moving Out of My Home in 30 Minutes

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The following is an excerpt from a wonderful book I’m reading on my Kindle. It’s called Goodbye, Things – The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki.

I can move out of my home in thirty minutes.

This spring, I moved into a new apartment. I didn’t do any packing beforehand and yet it only took thirty minutes to take everything out of my home, including the time it took to remove the light fixtures and unplug the washing machine. That’s how long it might take a person who needs time to decide what to wear before they leave their home. But in my minimalist style, I no longer need a lot of time to pack up my possessions. I’m able to move anywhere I like with the same casualness as stepping out for coffee.

While some might find this possibility absurd or impossible, I find it to be exhilarating.

The ability to move about the world at will and on a moment’s—or a 30 minute—notice is one of most exciting choices I think anyone could ever make. It represents a degree of freedom that I’m not certain I’ll ever attain, but one that I’m continually aiming toward.

The closest I’ve ever come was traveling for three weeks via planes, trains, and yes, automobiles across the US and back on a solo journey where I only used a Swiss Gear 20-liter backpack. It held everything I needed. 

While I might not be able to move to a new home in 30 minutes, I find it a worthy objective on my lifelong journey to live more with less.

Why I’m a Minimalist – My Top Reasons for Living with Less

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There are as many reasons to be a minimalist as there are people on the earth. While there are some that are more popular than others, reasons for becoming a minimalist are as diverse as the people who practice it.

Because I’m a classic introvert, I can react negatively, both psychologically and physiologically, when I’m with a crowd for a prolonged period of time or when I’m in an environment that’s untidy or unkempt.

After an hour or so in such an environment, I need to seek out a quieter and more isolated setting, sometimes by myself, in order to recharge. After about 15 minutes or so, I’m good to go again.

Add to this mix my empathic nature and I can become stressed without any apparent cause. It’s how I’m wired.

My top reasons for practicing minimalism are as follows: [Read more…] about Why I’m a Minimalist – My Top Reasons for Living with Less

Minimalism at 60 – 5 Benefits from Living with Less in Our Twilight Years

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Baby Boomers have accumulated a lot of stuff over the decades and now is the perfect time to embrace a lighter footprint.

I was born in 1957 and that means that I’m in the middle of the Baby Boomer generation. “Boomers” are generally those born within the 20 year period following World War II, roughly 1945 – 1965, and we are retiring in unprecedented numbers. 

Many of my fellow Boomers from high school (Alive in ’75!) are either considering retirement or have already done so and in the process have been forced to downsize their belongings in order to relocate to their chosen retirement location.

Downsizing, in this usage, simply means getting rid of all the crap we’ve accumulated over the last 40 years.  [Read more…] about Minimalism at 60 – 5 Benefits from Living with Less in Our Twilight Years