Minimalist Wallet Contents for a Traveling Woman: 11 Items

With this day and age, our society is continuously coming up with fantastic ideas for consumers such as rewards programs, cash back, and miles being offered. There's just one problem, how can you be a minimalist if you carry all of them with you? Your wallet starts expanding, you have to take it out of your pants in order to sit down, time is wasted shuffling through the plastic rectangles, etc. I finally had enough when I thought I had lost my credit card. Turns out, it was only sitting behind my Kohl's charge card.

Not being able to find anything, especially after working 12 hours, and rummaging through "junk" is so frustrating! This post is another step towards minimalism and I hope it becomes a motivating tool to live better with less. Stop wasting precious time digging through mountains.

11 Item Minimalist Wallet:

1. ID - Carefully edited by me
2. Insurance Card
3. PNC Virtual Wallet - Debit Card
4. Capital One Journey - Credit Card
5. Sam's Club Membership Card
6. Cash
7. Pink wallet with zipper pouch - Great for coins and SD cards
8. Carabiner
9. Pocket Key Knife
10. Honda Car Key
11. Rite in the Rain Trekker Pen - for writing experiences in my Rite in the Rain book

Goal: 7 Items

I'm going to try and downsize this even more. Some companies allow customers to use their phone instead of carrying physical cards. Eventually, I'd like to find a waterproof book case with a phone and ID holder so I can just carry my Rite in the Rain book!

What about carrying a purse? 
Umm,.. yea... about that. Nope. 

The Holstee Manifesto

https://www.holstee.com/pages/manifesto

I am thoroughly impressed with the message this poster conveys. Originally created by Dave, Mike, and Fabian, they wrote down their personal definitions of success and thus, the Holstee Manifesto was created. "The goal was to create something they could reflect back on if they ever felt stuck or found themselves living according to someone else’s definition of happiness."

This has been a very important part of my life. My reset button. Since stumbling upon it from a friend, my life has been positively different. I used to have anxiety worrying about the future, where I'm going to be, wondering if I'm making the right decisions in life. This was a tool to help me take a step back and appreciate each day at a time. It's been over a year and I've leaped on multiple opportunities. I quit a job from being miserable. I've skydived and met new people on a spur of the moment road trip to just get away. I've been happier than I've ever been.

Read it, use it, share it. Be successful.

Minimalistic Wardrobe for a Traveling/Working Woman

This mountain equals about 4 loads of laundry. After taking an entire day to wash and dry everything, I've realized that this is just laziness. I needed to put a stop to it, so I decided downsizing my wardrobe would be my first project for this blog. On top of downsizing, I would be able to find and wear that favorite shirt a little more often. Below are the steps I took to reduce the clothes from my closet.

Obviously the first step is to wash everything. Then dump it on your bed.

Make a list of essentials. I used pictures from Google images as inspiration to cut down. I'm a simple woman so I don't need many accessories. However, if you feel you need them, write them down. The following picture was found on http://lifestyle.sg.88db.com/things-to-do-that-dont-cost-money/. It helped me tremendously put together my first list.

Transitioning from the mountain to a list was a difficult task. It requires a lot of patience and retraining your brain to stop from thinking you need everything. Eventually, I will try to downsize again, but for now, this works for me.

My list of essentials include:
10 Pairs of Socks
4 Bras 4 Sports Bras
10 Underwear
8 Jeans
2 Shorts
4 Tank Tops
8 Shirts
4 Dress Shirts
5 Dresses 3 Formal/2 Semi-Formal
*Uniforms: Paramedic/Nondestructive Technologist
Bikini
Shoes: Flip Flops, Sneakers, Work Boots, Flats, Heels, Furry Boots

Everything I wanted to keep, was separated and folded.

The remainder of my items were placed in garbage bags and moved under the bed. This allowed me to adjust to my new wardrobe and if I did absolutely need anything, I could grab it. The clothes are staying under my bed for about 4-6 months. If in that time, I don't grab anything, they will be donated or given to friends. This is just my personal experience downsizing. If you feel you're okay with going straight to the donation center, I admire you.

So far, the results have been pleasant. I'm on week 2 with my downsized wardrobe and have only worn the clothes I really enjoy. I feel fresh and dressed for any occasion. I've had nothing but compliments recently. It's definitely motivating.



**As time goes on, I'll update this post to share the changes I've made, including more pictures. Til then, I want to hear your minimalistic approach to your wardrobe and the steps that were taken to reduce it! I would also like pictures of the results!



01-06-15: I went to London with just a backpack. See my minimal list for the journey here.


05-25-2016: It's been well over a year since I've written this post. At this current time, I feel that it is a tad misleading since my work has changed.