Why Travel and Minimalism Go Together

Traveling is one of the best things you can do for your mental and emotional health. According to science, traveling is associated with better health, reduced anxiety, increased creativity, more happiness, and less depression. With stats like that, it's amazing that Americans travel far less than their European counterparts. While they say it's about the journey and not the destination, the journey can have some rough edges that make traveling feel like a chore. Exhibit A-- Packing: everyone hates it. It's an exercise in anxiety and worrying about all the 'what-if' scenarios-- Do I bring that extra pair of pants? How many shoes do I really need? What if I'm over the luggage weight limit? These are all small but frustrating pain points when it comes to getting ready for your science-advocated adventure. Right now you're probably saying 'okay, I know this can be a pain the butt -- what can I do about it?". Like most problem we come across here at Viscera, our solution is minimalism! You might be rolling your eyes at me, but hear me out!

Minimalism and travel go together like peanut butter and jelly. Minimalism is all about peeling away the excess-- after all, isn't that why we go on vacation in the first place? I'm a big advocate for only packing what you can carry on your back. Not having to check-in luggage is a huge relief. Instead of playing the "will someone steal my luggage on the carousel?" game, you can get off the plane and go! The power of minimalism is what it allows you to do when you aren't worried about being prepared or having 'enough'. Traveling lightly lets you take that spur of the moment detour, it lets you be flexible in change plans, and it makes it easier to find adventure at any turn. 

Rather than worrying about all the things you might need, focus instead on the key pieces that make you happy and you actually use on a weekly basis. When I travel, for example, I only pack black clothes-- I know this might be extreme for some people, but for me it's a huge relief. I know I have something to wear for just about any occasion and I don't spend any mental energy on getting dressed. I think about the things I want to do that day and then dress for that-- without worrying about matching colors or patterns. Packing this way also allows me to wear things more than once (face it, we all do it) because no one is going to notice I wore a black dress twice this trip (something you can't say about that floral print or bright pair of pants).

Time and time again, I've heard from customers that they almost exclusively pack things from Viscera for their trips because they're comfy and easy to wear. Hearing this makes me smile every time because I know that's why I built this business. We all so much potential and creative capacity, why waste any of that energy on stress when we have so much out there to explore? 

Let me know in the comments, what's your favorite travel hack?