"Is that all you brought with you?!"

"Is that all you brought with you?!" - That was the first time I realised that I was a light packer. I was at Sydney International Airport about to embark on a 2 week trip to New York City with 7 other girls. As I looked around, my suitcase was by far the smallest, and by almost half. In fact, up until that point, I actually thought that I had overpacked, cramming almost every item of winter clothing that I owned in preparation for December in NYC.

Travelling to NYC ignited a sense of wanderlust in me that had been laying dominant and it could not be silenced. It wasn't the first time I had travelled overseas and it wouldn't be the last, I was truly bitten by the travel bug. Within a few months of returning home, I had booked a 10 week around the world trip with my partner at the time. From the hot sandy beaches of Greece to the freezing cold winds of Iceland - there seemed to be a lot of things that I needed. I had given myself 108L of baggage and I strategically planned out my clothing choices - making sure every item of clothing that I packed co-ordinated with at least 3 other items and that they were practical both in terms of comfort and living out of a suitcase. I had enough clothes to last over a week without washing and enough underwear to last 2 (it's an incredible weakness of mine). My bags weren't quite full and for my first big adventure I learnt a lot about living out of a suitcase and what sort of things I really needed day to day.

Whilst my 4 trips overseas since have not been as long or had such extreme climate changes, I've become very proficient at living out of a suitcase - in fact on 3 of those trips I travelled for up to 3 weeks with nothing but my 38L carry on backpack. I'd like to think of myself as a bit of a pro for doing this so comfortably.

The last 6 months of 2016 saw a lot of changes for me, and with it, a lot of moving around. At the start of it, I packed up my 1 bedroom flat and sent myself back home to my parents. I travelled overseas for 3 weeks, spent 5.5 weeks working interstate on a project, house sat for 3 different people all over Sydney for a total of 5 weeks, spent 2 long weekends away with friends and most weekends at my partners place, plus the occasional weeknight. No more than 2.5 months were spent back in my old childhood room - it was a no wonder why I would wake up in my own bed and not know where I was!

I still have half my life in boxes and am pretty much still living out of a 38L backpack - with a few more luxuries like quick wardrobe changes. Recently I watched the Minimalism documentary on Netflix and I was drawn in. I can comfortably travel with a very small percentage of my possessions - why could that not be transferred over to my normal day to day life? The concept behind Project 333 in the documentary seemed like the perfect starting point. I am a massive fan of the regular wardrobe purge and always wanted to have a more simple wardrobe that wasn't full of shit but instead carefully selected basics and some key signature pieces that really spoke to my personal style. With a 3 week house sitting stint about to start, I thought that there was no time like the present to trial this concept...

I'm almost half way through and my little temporary wardrobe which would take up about 1/10 of my one at home has been doing the job! In fact, there are even some things I haven't worn yet and I'm not missing anything that I didn't bring with me. Having less clothes to choose from, and again well co-ordinated pieces, has made getting dressed quick and easy. Not once have I thought "I have nothing to wear" like I would if I was at home.

I'm really feeling this capsule wardrobe vibe!

✌