If you’ve been around Simplicity Relished for a while, then you know that minimalism is a lifestyle approach that is dear to my heart. Living with less by buying less, accumulating less and doing less means that I am less likely to trip over all the mental and physical clutter that gets in my way. We hope that a minimalistic lifestyle will help us to have more time and energy for the things that really matter to us– friends, family, community, and faith.
We also love to travel, and are strong believers in traveling a lot, whether it means exploring new local destinations or jet-setting somewhere overseas. But travel, however it is defined, is no small feat for anyone. And believe me, we are not jobless twenty-somethings with an endless credit line. We’re real people, and we know that travel requires resources, free time and lots of emotional stamina.
So when people ask us how to travel more, the answer is pretty simple.
So how does travel become possible for us? Well, our minimalist philosophy is a huge contribution to that. While we sometimes travel with generous family members who take us on awesome adventures, other times we’ve foot the bill and eaten the costs of our travels.
In order to do this, we’ve needed to think carefully about our everyday lifestyle– and a lifestyle characterized by minimalism is a huge bonus for being able to travel, and to travel light.
Canyonlands National Park, Utah
How Minimalism Allows Us To Travel More
1) Minimalism means less unnecessary spending.
The first thing most people think of when it comes to travel is how expensive it is. Yes, travel is expensive. No matter where you cut costs, travel will never be cheap.
So, it helps that we rarely go out for food and drink. This is a personal choice we’ve made– to eat in, cook our own meals, and share meals with friends in our apartment. We’ve learned that we can eat much better at home than out, and some of our friends say our food is better than restaurant food anyway!
It also helps that we try very hard not to purchase items that are completely frivolous or useless. I have an unofficial “replace when broken” policy with most of my things, meaning I will not buy a new wallet until my current one literally falls apart. Having a capsule wardrobe helps as well– I’m not constantly browsing online for new clothes.
2) Minimalism means fewer unnecessary commitments.
Yes, we all have commitments to our communities and our jobs, and we do not shirk those responsibilities. However, we try not to be overcommitted. We highly value unstructured free time, so we don’t think it’s cool to be busy all the time.
We like being flexible, so we avoid scheduling jobs and regular meetings during our downtime. This means that it’s easy for me to be gone over the weekends, as no one is expecting me to be around.
And finally, while we don’t have tons of vacation days, it’s a huge perk to be able to set my own vacation days. Working freelance is not the easiest thing, but taking a vacation is actually one way that I show my clients that I am serious about my job. That said, this means that I am not paid during vacations– which can be a bit nerve-wracking, but I’m teaching myself to forget about it. When we’ve budgeted well, I realize it’s okay for me not to make money all the time.
3) Minimalism makes us flexible with food and accommodations.
True, who doesn’t love to stay at a luxury resort? But we don’t have to. We feel less burdened by the idea that each travel scenario has to be perfect. We don’t have to stay at Pinterest-worthy hotels or eat Instagram-worthy meals.
That said, we spend money according to our priorities too. Just because everyone ascends the Eiffel Tower does not mean that we have to. Just because everyone gets drunk on the beach does not mean we do. We shape our travels according to our interests and refuse to be told what we have to do while abroad.
4) Minimalism means we’re not leaving too much behind.
A real concern when traveling is the question of who will care for our things while we’re gone. And though we have a pet fish that our super generous neighbor feeds daily, we’re not worried about the items in our home being damaged when we’re away.
As young adults this is less of an issue for us, but we know that it can be pretty burdensome to travel when you have a lot of things. It can even be costly to have people care for your property when you’re out of town.
And this is why we’re split on whether we should adopt a dog… more on that later.
Overall, the influence that minimalism has had on us helps us to just pick up and go— whether it’s weekend getaways, weeklong trips, or even monthlong summer adventures. But we know that none of these things will fully pay for a trip; they just make traveling more of a possibility.
Do you love to travel? What are your tips for making travel more likely? I’d love to know!
*These photos are from our current adventures in Southern Utah! To see more, click here and here.
Mallory! Thank you so much for reading and clicking around. 🙂 I completely understand the feeling you get after spending time living with less– it’s amazing how much clutter people live with, especially here in the US. That said, I also love notes and handmade gifts and rarely get rid of those items. Little things with sentimental value are worth holding onto; it’s the huge high-maintenance things that can bog us down. And your point about cooking at home is so good; we hold to that one as well! Thanks for stopping by!!
I came across your blog today and I can’t stop clicking through all of your links! I’m trying to become more minimalist everyday. Right after I graduated college, I moved to Japan for two years, and it was there that I realized how unimportant (most) materials things are to me. I was so out of touch with the latest and greatest (living in the countryside can do that to you), but I loved my simple lifestyle out there. Knowing I would have to move home also helped me try to keep my stuff to a minimum… which I still need to work on. I have trouble throwing away notes and art that people give me. Travel is one of the most important things to me and part of why I save is so that I have the opportunity to travel. Some advice that I also hold to are cooking at home as much as possible and when aboard, not to eat expensively and to stay in guesthouses or hostels.
I hate to travel. Due to obesity and other health problems it’s just too uncomfortable, impossible.
Big money saver to just stay home. Lol
Melinda
Thanks so much for reading, Brittney! I think there’s a strong consumer culture among American families– even the ones that try to be “frugal”! I’m glad that you’ve taken the initiative to decide how you want to spend your resources. Everyone’s values are different! 🙂 And you definitely should visit Utah– it contains some of the US’s best sights!
I love everything about this post. Though I don’t consider myself a minimalist per se, I have definitely cut back my spending in a lot of ways to save for the more important things in life, like travel. I was raised in a family that would spend pretty frivolously, so I’ve had to re-educate myself to be this way. My mom came to visit and commented on how “frugal” I am (I was at Express and had a coupon) haha. Beautiful photos. I’ve never heard of Canyonlands, but it’s gorgeous!
So glad to hear this resonated with you, Brittany!! And it’s encouraging to hear that you have a doggy and things are going smoothly so far– we still haven’t decided!! I took a look at your blog and your pup is SO cute. My heart is melting!!
Hi Daisy! My husband and I move so frequently – we moved to South Korea with only two bags each and I’m still coming across things that were unnecessary for me to move with. I love the points you make about the relationship between minimalism and travel – not only saving money but you explain so well how the type and frequency of travel are eased through a minimalist approach. I nodded my head through this whole article. And we added a doggy to our family about a year ago and are planning a move – she works well with our lifestyle even though we love to travel. I’ll have to go look at your puppy pros and cons post!
Thank you so much! xoxo
Ah thanks lady!! I hope you’ve had a wonderful Easter 🙂
Love this post, so very true in life and travel! Thanks for sharing.
Ashleigh | Mermaid on the Move
Such an inspiring post! Travel is such an important part of life. It feeds our soul! Thanks for some tips to make traveling more doable! 🙂
xo Erin
http://www.winkandatwirl.com
Ah yes!! So glad you can relate– thanks for stopping by! 🙂
This is so true. My husband and I are definitely more about “experiences” rather than “things”. Memories last so much longer!
Thanks Daisy – that does help a lot! I’m having a blog planning sesh with my friends tonight so I will definitely keep these thoughts in mind. 🙂
Thanks Catherine! Yes it’s a huge bonus to be able to work remotely– good for you guys! And it’s also great to hear you’ve had positive AirBnB experiences. My husband just booked one for when he’s out in Nashville in the fall for a conference, but I’ve actually never used AirBnB before. Seems like a great deal!!
Aw Gina! That’s so kind of you. I’m really grateful to have found kindred spirits like YOU in the blogosphere and exchange thoughts, encouragement and gorgeous photos! 🙂
Ah thanks lady!! You guys do some pretty awesome traveling yourselves! Travel does tend to remind me of how little I need in order to learn thrive, and be adventurous. That’s for sure!
Love this. We choose to for-go certain luxuries when traveling to just make it possible to go! We don’t mind staying in an airbnb apartment and purchasing groceries or we’ll walk several blocks instead of taking a taxi. We both knew we had made the right choice (him freelance, me retail) when we both were able to go on a 17 day European vacation, no problem. Jordan usually has to work a little while we are away, but thankfully his work is easy to do remotely!
Haha thanks Shireen! It’s hard when you’re a beauty guru like you are!!
Wow, thanks Lisa!! This looks amazing.
Hey Caroline! 🙂 the question about minimalism and blogging is a GREAT one.
As far as the answer, I think it depends. Bloggers who don’t want their lives to revolve around blogging do have to draw boundaries with their computers, social media and blogging commitments. I think it’s possible for a blog to grow without all the extra “stuff,” but it can take pretty darn long.
The key is to think carefully about your goal for your blog. Is it to meet like-minded people or to promote an idea? Or just to keep family and friends updated? Or to build a business? Mindset really matters, and once you’ve got the right goal, you can work towards it as you would anything else!
Anyway, I wrote a couple posts that sort of get at this issue, because blogging can become so burdensome if left unchecked!
Here’s one on social media: https://simplicityrelished.com/basic-no-fuss-approach-social-media/
Here’s one on whether your blog is a hobby or business: https://simplicityrelished.com/blogging-hobby-or-business/
Hope that helps! 🙂
Also, don’t forget to stay up late to see the stars. It is one of the darkest accessible places on earth to see a true dark sky!!
http://www.nps.gov/nabr/learn/nature/darkskypark.htm
Thanks Carmen!! And yes, exactly– it’s amazing how much we save just by avoiding restaurants… it adds up fast!
Thanks so much friend! 🙂
Ah thanks Heidi!! 🙂
Thanks friend! And haha, it’s a journey and I write about it a lot, but minimalism has helped me let go of a lot of the insecurities and stresses in my life. 🙂
Exactly! I’m so glad you can relate to this 🙂
Oh trust me, the “busy trap” is a real thing and I know tons of people who keep themselves way too busy for their own wellbeing! To each their own right? 😉 Still, I think you may find that once you’re less busy you feel much better on a day-to-day basis.
Ah so glad you can relate to this!! And amen to more experiences and fewer things!
Yay!! So glad to hear you can relate to this! And yes to bringing sandwiches– that’s exactly what we did a couple days here in Utah.
Oooh yes! Do you now what you’re doing for your gap year(s)?? I took one between high school and college and it was truly wonderful.
Hopefully flexibility finds you well! It’s REALLY hard to travel during a lot of post-college jobs, as I’ve seen among lots of friends. The key is definitely choosing something that has real vacation days. All of this “unlimited vacation” nonsense is just a company’s way to get its workers to NEVER take vacation days (and it works).
And thanks for the tip on dog-sitting. That’s our concern! We have friends who’ve already offered to care for ours, but we don’t want to have to hold them to it for years to come!
That’s so great to hear Kiki! And yes, I had to find that same balance in college– especially because we had to pack up at the end of each school year! Also thank you so much for stopping by 🙂
Ah thanks girl! And yes… the idea of traveling light (in life) is so much more enhanced by the actual ability to travel light literally!
Oh yes, the transportation aspect of traveling is probably the worst! I’ve finally found a motion sickness pill that works for me (hint hint it’s foreign) but yes, I feel that.
You couldn’t have said this any better! Your thoughts here are golden–I love how minimalism and travel seem to pair so effortlessly together. I really liked what you said about your “replace until broken” rule; I think that’s really refreshing! It’s actually just refreshing in general to hear your mindset on minimalism and the fact that just since everyone does something like go up the Eiffel Tower, doesn’t mean we have to. We can do things that are more important to us! This is so, so true! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Daisy. Your blog is a breath of fresh air, especially for me when living at college seems to be an environment of materialism and other perspectives like that. I’m glad you’re able to live out your dreams, work hard, travel often and share your story! 🙂 So grateful for you!
Yes, yes, yes! Everything about this! I feel like you reached right into my heart and wrote these words. The moment I realized I don’t have to do what everyone else is doing — whether that’s decorating my home, taking out new car loans every few years, traveling luxuriously — it changed everything. Another thing I love about minimalism and travel is that I feel inspired to live even more simply when I get back. We live in so much abundance here in America, and I love exploring places where people have so much less stuff and less space. It reminds me what it looks like to cultivate the things that really matter. Glad you guys are having so much fun on this trip!
I should really take a page out of your book, Daisy. God knows I need some help in savings department. Thank you for this post, I definitely need to reevaluate my spending habits.
Shireen | Reflection of Sanity
I definitely agree, and traveling with a minimalist mindset probably makes traveling much less stressful! Just wondering, have you ever thought or posted about minimalism when it comes to blogging? The blogging world can be noisy and pressure-packed, so I can see maintaining a successful and consistent blog colliding with minimalism sometimes. Do you ever experience that?
These are terrific tips, Daisy. We rarely eat out either — only very occasionally as a celebration. It’s so nice to save that money for something that has more value, well at least to me.
:] // ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲
This is such a great post on a lovely philosophy. Thanks for sharing!
http://www.tailoredandtrue.wordpress.com
This is so true! Saving a little here and a little there can really add up fairly quickly!
Heidi
http://www.wishesandreality.com
Gorgeous photos! I am truly inspired by your minimalist lifestyle! Every time I read your posts on minimalism it makes me want to simplify!
I’m also a big fan of the minimalist way of living. Honestly, it’s a relief to think less about spending or dealing with owning so much stuff. I get so excited about packing light and treasuring what I do have. This is a great post to promote the benefits 🙂
I’m currently working on #2. I don’t know where I got the idea that being busy means being productive but I know better now. Now to just make the lifestyle change 🙂 Enjoyed this post!! x
We adore traveling as well! I find that striving to simplify my possessions a bit more definitely help to keep our finances in check, which in turn allows for the ability to travel more 🙂
More experiences, less things is definitely my motto!
We LOVE to travel too! We cook at home to save money AND while traveling. We bring snacks and sandwich supplies for road trips and a bottle of wine for the hotel. Our family knows we have spontaneous travel tendencies and gifts us with gas cards for holidays. Sometimes the only cost is the hotel and with rewards even that works out to be minimal! ENJOY 🙂
I don’t know if it’s realistic of me, but I do look forward to being able to travel during my gap year/years. Sure, I’ll be working, but somehow I feel like there might be a little more flexibility then than there is with school right now. As far as the dog thing goes… my family has three, and we love them to death, but going on trips is always an ordeal. Finding a good dog sitter is easier said than done.
As a college student, I find this post really relevant to my lifestyle as well! I’m trying to hit that fine balance of making my dorm room cozy and homey, but also not bringing a truckload of things with me each time I go to move between living spaces. Thanks for a great post, you’ve given me some things to think about on how I could be more minimalist in my day to day life!
xo Kiki
https://colormekiki.wordpress.com/
I just noticed your tattoo, how lovely! I’m really working more towards minimalism just for the sake of simplicity and having LESS, but I also love your points about how it could free us up to travel more!
I don’t think I enjoy traveling quite as much as you do (sometimes I just get tired of public transportation), but I really respect your choice to make what you enjoy most a priority by cutting out other things that weren’t as ‘worth it’ for you.