This might not make sense to those unfamiliar with The Big Bang Theory.
Take a good look at this picture. Does something seem a little off to you? When I was in the store this week I grabbed these 2 bottles and just tossed them in the cart. I wanted mustard, I wasn’t looking for a sale and the price was good. At the time I assumed that the big 40% and 50% More sections at the top of the bottles were an indication that the company was including some extra product for the same price as a smaller bottle.
Nope.
This is what I’d consider deceitful packaging. Why would the company make a ridiculous statement on a label like “50% More than our 12oz.” if they didn’t know we are already preconditioned to assume this was a bonus size bottle. Ridiculous.
“Minimalism is Back” and “Beautiful Simplicity” are the newest messages sent to us courtesy of The Gap.
Now how exactly did the store know that A. minimalism is back and 2. that it was ever gone? I’m sure those are questions that’ll never be answered. I stopped by the mall to grab something specific and was surprised to see the clothing behemoth using these words to describe what they refer to as “the new spring tops.”
We all have some versions of cord clutter in our homes. There’s the entertainment center clutter: cables running from the TV to the cable box to the DVD player to the VCR (yup, still have one) to the game system to the power strip and finally to the outlets. And I don’t have to remind you about the cords required for your computer, printer, monitors and hard drives.
But, that’s not the cord clutter I’m talking about here.
I’m talking about the perfectly good cords that we accumulate when we purchase or replace electronic items. When you buy a new DVD player, for example, you just unhook the cords from the old player and plug the new DVD player right in. What you’re left with are the new cords from the new DVD player and they are “too good to throw away.” I learned at an early age that keeping extra cords and wires around was always a good idea because you never know when you are going to need one.
I thought I’d check out what I had in those boxes and see what I could declutter. I found a lot to declutter…this much in fact:
…and this picture doesn’t include the items I decided to keep.
Some of this stuff has never been used. I had USB to USB, USB to mini USB, several wall chargers that I have no idea what they go to, a few cigarette lighter adapters, some various versions of audio and video cables as well as some other junk. I categorized the wires and cables and kept a half dozen or so that I feel would be useful. The rest? After I double check to make sure the cigarette lighter and wall adapters don’t go to anything, they’ll all be hauled to my local Best Buy. Did you know that Best Buy stores have bins for recycling phones, cords, remotes, CDs, DVDs and such? And if you have larger electronics items, Best Buy will take them for free and send them to be recycled. So check all the closets and drawers, gather up those stray cords and, at the least, get them organized in one place, and at the most, make a short stop at Best Buy for recycling.
I followed along with great interest and enthusiasm as Rolf Potts took a 6 week trip around the world. His trip consisted of 30,000 miles and 5 continents while carrying no luggage or checked bags and was dubbed the No Baggage Challenge. He accomplished this feat by flying to all the cities, staying in hotels and eating in restaurants. Those factors combined with the handy use of Scottevest travel clothing meant he carried nothing in a bag, it was all on his body in one pocket or another.
I urge you to watch all the videos from the trip, they are informative and entertaining. But if you only have time to watch one, this is the one that shows you how little Rolf took on his trip.
During the 6 weeks I was reading Rolf’s blogs about his trip I was planning a small trip of my own, nothing like what Rolf was doing but it was a trip away from home nonetheless. Inspired by the idea of traveling lightly it seemed the perfect opportunity to try out his technique. I would be traveling with people I knew but not with any other family members which made it all the better to test things out…no communal belongings. Because at the time I didn’t own any Scottevest clothing but wanted to test my mettle against Rolf’s I confined myself to one small bag. I brought along my daily use Mountainsmith messenger bag which holds (according to the manufacturer) 400 cu. in. / 6.5 L.
Like Rolf I would be staying in a hotel and would eat all my meals out so it was the closest I was going to get anytime soon to meeting all the necessary requirements for making this challenge work.
Here’s what I took with me on my 4 day, 3 night business trip.
CLOTHES
I took one pair of pants: nylon cargo pants that are durable, lightweight and comfortable. My shirts were these four: a wrinkle free button down plaid shirt for a nice evening out, a cotton polo shirt to wear at the trade show and 2 polyester t-shirts to serve as undershirts. I took 2 pairs of boxers, 2 pairs of synthetic socks, a belt, a pair of hiking shoes as well as a polyester half zip lightweight pullover and a fleece jacket. Obviously I wore some of this from moment one: a tee, the half-zip, boxers, the pants, belt, socks, shoes and the fleece jacket. So for clothing I was only packing the 2nd tee, boxers and socks as well as the polo shirt and button down shirt.
TOILETRIES
I took a small nylon sack with the following toiletries: toothbrush, travel toothpaste, small deodorant, flossers and q-tips for each day, daily medication, some just-in-case Tylenol, a razor and a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap. I also brought along a Tide pen to take care of any stains I might get on my clothes. I would use the soap and shampoo provided by the hotel and use the Dr. Bronner’s for daily washing of the previously worn set of clothes.
STUFF
Inside the messenger bag I also brought -inside a small pouch- a pen, some post-its, a few business cards, a mini first aid kit, a pair of sunglasses, my ipod Touch, headphones, mobile phone, charging cords for both devices and a USB wall charger that charges both devices at the same time. I also brought a tiny flashlight, mini swiss army knife, small bottle of hand sanitizer, some gum, cash and my wallet with license, credit card and insurance card inside. (phone, iPod, cables and charger didn’t make it into the picture)
I’m proud to say that this whole experiment worked beautifully. I washed my clothes while showering -didn’t wear them while doing so- and hung them to dry on the towel rack after wringing them out. There was nothing I lacked and there were a few things I actually could have left home: the knife, flashlight, Tylenol and Post-Its. But these items didn’t weigh much nor take up much space so I think I’d bring them again. I actually did use the first aid kit (cut my finger) and the Tide pen. Using such a small bag also meant that I was restricted from bring home many souvenirs. Only a couple things came back with me and they were things that were useful, not decorative.
I look forward to trying this again someday, next time utilizing my new Scottevest Tropical Jacket/Vest that my wonderful wife got me for my birthday.
So, maybe sometime when you are going on a simple one or two night trip somewhere, try leaving most of the stuff at home that you’d usually take “just in case” and instead, travel lightly. I think you’ll be impressed with how much you don’t need and how much fun it is to pack up your hotel room in 3 minutes or less.
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