341

 Slow and near travel

My partner and I are taking some days away from work. We decided to go to Bornholm for a couple of days and stay at his mother's summer house. To get there, we will take a train from Copenhagen to Ystad (a town in Sweden) and then a ferry to Bornholm. We will then walk from the ferry to the summer house. We want to connect with nature, especially magical Östersjön (Baltic sea). I always travel light. I will wear the same outfit I wear every day. Sweatpants, basic top, and a loose linen shirt. I will also wear a snood that my partner gave me (it was his old one with a hole that I repaired). With me, I am taking a backpack with my laptop, phone, bank card, a cotton tote bag for groceries, reusable water bottle, personal care items, and clothes. As for personal care, I will bring a bar of soap, bamboo toothbrush, and toothpaste. I use soap as a body wash, face wash, hand wash and even in place of shampoo. As for clothes, I will bring only shorts and a couple of cropped tops. It's not yet warm, but living in the Nordics shifted my perception of warmth. When I lived in northern Sweden, everything above 0 degrees was warm. Here in Copenhagen, around +9 degrees feels warm and I begin to wear shorts and forego wearing a jacket. I hope that I will be swimming in the sea. 

340

Living simply

The other day, I walked past this door. It's absolutely magical. It made me think about the next chapter of my life. I will be moving in a few months. 

I live with very few possessions, so there was nothing to downsize or let go of. My partner and I revisited some of his possessions, and we gave many away. There were many items of clothing and shoes that we gave to charity. There were some items that we brought to a local byttestation (swap shop). We recycled old and worn out textiles and other items that couldn't be used by fellow humans. We found some personal care products that we will use up. I felt that our lifestyles were converging. I've lived an extremely minimalist life for many years now, and when we moved in together, we began practising minimalism. We invited furniture into our life. We live with many more items than I used to live with. Over time, it feels like I came to terms with living with more, while my partner felt more empowered to downsize. We live in an apartment block, and we have a storage room downstairs. Such storage rooms are common in the Nordics. I own less than 50 items, so I keep nothing in that storage room. But there are some items that belong to my partner and our household. Currently, there is an old small piece of furniture that has sentimental value to my partner. There are some of his suitcases. A few boxes with his possessions such as his camera, books, art supplies, his father's artworks, some inherited objects. There are a few items of clothing and shoes. There are pieces of gift wrapping paper. And several boxes that we will use when we move. 

I will be the first time when I move with many objects. When I left my family home, I moved with a tote bag and a backpack. I was moving countries. I used that opportunity to ask myself what I really needed and what I really wanted to live with. Before that, I had been living mostly with the objects that my family chose. Moving felt like a rebirth and stepping on a path of authenticity. I had no doubt that I wanted to take none of the items with me, apart from the very basics (laptop, phone, documents, clothes, personal care items). I wanted to live simply.