MR. MINIMALIST

Getting Started

Welcome! Everything on this site falls into one of three buckets, and they overlap enough that it's worth spelling out the difference before you start reading. Most posts are tagged with one or more of them, so once you know which one you're after, the category pages will take you the rest of the way.

Minimalist travel (the mindset)

Travel with as little as you can get away with, question every "need," and accept the trade-offs. This is the idea the whole site grew out of; for me it means a 21L backpack, three sets of clothes and laundry in the shower. It works for a weekend as well as a year, and it's more about how you think than what you pack.

Then read A "True" Minimalist, the story that inspired the site, and browse the rest on the Minimalist Travel page.

Long-term travel (the trip type)

Months, or an indefinite stretch, away from home. Bag size matters less here than preparation: passports and visas, insurance, mail and documents, phones, and the expectations you take with you. Long-term travel changes what's worth packing, which is why so many posts here are written with it in mind.

The full prep series, in order, lives on the Long-Term Travel page.

One-bag travel (the packing method)

Everything you bring fits in a single carry-on, for any trip length. It's the practical cousin of minimalist travel: the bag, what goes in it, and the methods (packing cubes, laundry routines, shoe choices, airline limits) that keep it small. You don't have to be a minimalist to one-bag; a full 40L pack still counts.

More on the One Bag Travel page, including sizing, laundry and the most common mistakes.

Not sure which one you are?

Most people end up somewhere in the middle, and that's fine. The Five Types of Minimalists is a (completely made-up) way to find your spot on the spectrum, and the Pre-Travel Questionnaire is the list of questions I'd ask myself before any long trip.

Read these no matter what

Still have questions? The FAQs page covers the ones I get most often.