Leaving luggage at a connecting city? Not unless you stay overnight in that city. Or you book two flights, one to that connecting city, and another from that city to your destination. I booked the cheapest tickets I could find from Minneapolis to Bangkok, and it just happened to have me fly through Tokyo and give me a three hour layover there. This got me excited, because Tokyo was my ultimate destination, and I thought that I could save myself the trouble of hauling extra luggage all over Thailand or shipping it separately to Tokyo. I was forgetting, however, the Convenience of Airlines, which is that you don’t have to worry about moving my luggage from one airplane to another when you have connecting flights. Convenient? Yes. Convenient for that minority of travelers that would like to leave their luggage at a connecting city? Sadly, no.

Now I have to change my plans, and instead of bringing everything with me on that flight from Minneapolis to Chicago to Tokyo, I have to be frugal in my packing and pack only what I will be willing to carry around Thailand on my back. Thinking about this, it won’t be too bad, because it will force me to pack only the necessities, and, honestly, what do I really need? Anyone can ask themselves this question, and find that they in fact do not really need to have most of the things that they do have.

Most of the things in your house fall under a few categories: sentimental stuff, just-in-case stuff, and survival stuff. Sentimental stuff is stuff that holds sentimental value. You could toss it in the garbage, but should you really toss out that favorite Christmas gift from your sister ten years ago? I’m sure there is a whole thesis paper in that question. Just-in-case stuff is stuff that you don’t need right now, but since you bought and used some of it a few years ago, you keep in just in case you will need it again. This is stuff that you certainly could toss if you want to tidy up a bit. You can always buy it again when you need it in a few years. Survival stuff is the stuff that is essential–this is the stuff that you pack with you when you go on an extended vacation, and it is this stuff that I need to identify and bring with me. So, in summary, when you are packing like I am, look only for the survival stuff, and buy the just-in-case stuff at your destination when you need it. Take photos of the sentimental stuff—it’s easier to organize and move.