Water Your Worth

Since about second trimester or pregnancy my traveling has been with a bit more stuff, but I wanted to share some tidbits on some tips/tricks to living out of a bag minimally.

One of my favorite ways of traveling was when I had just one big backpack and a small purse type bag, it was a bit more weight on the body but it was efficient. I have always enjoyed making things fit when packing and it seems like I have a bit of a knack with it – sometimes I think I just have a tetris brain (haha). There have been a lot of times that I was in remote areas and very limited if any funds and so there is a level of creativity needed in order to keep self and clothes looking decent. I once made a nail file with a piece of sandpaper, seems like a duh but it makes a world of difference when you just don’t have those things. For whatever reason I have always been the Mcgiver type person, the one that had the random pocket knife, camera or glue on me when needed. Since my nomad days, it seems like all those instances weren’t so random after all but preparation.

Here are some things to consider, make your own or do when living super minimally and mostly off grid – these can also be good uses of time also:

• Repair clothes – that little sewing kit comes in handy for those little snags in your only pair shorts (if you don’t know how to sew – take a piece of thread, thread it through the needle hole, make a knot at the end, and then just do whatever makes sense to you to bring the ripped pieces together with the thread by putting the needle through the fabric on one end and then the other – you will get better as you see how it comes out). White shirt looks a little dirty now even though it’s clean? Dye it. Boots need a new look? Draw on them.
• I have made my own tooth paste and to this day, I still think it’s the best. activated charcoal from the fire pit, coconut oil (some places easier and cheaper than others), baking soda and essential oil.
• Shampoo..? Yep, made that too! Yuka is one of the most useful roots I have seen, you can just about use it for everything – fry it, bake it, bbq it, blend it with water and was your hair and body with it (mind blowing, I know).
• Hair style – well… I don’t really but every so often I have done my own trim.
• Water – a lot of places use a lot of chlorine in their water systems, even the supposed cleanest water claims still have at least chlorine. If you are not able to filter the water or collect rain water then put some baking soda in It and it helps neutralize the chlorine (I have also done this with bath water). *and yes, I’m sure those of you that have seen some of my hollistic water machine posts are gasping at me and I will share a post about that soon enough, for now let’s focus on survival tactics.
• Sleeping – while not the most preferred it is better than nothing, get a light weight hammock, mesh material, rope/line and a couple of clothes pins. Set up hammock and then put a line above it to pin the mesh on and drape over the hammock to keep the mosquitos and other things out.
• Food in a pinch – just be smart. I am vegetarian and so when I have been low on funds I tended to get black beans of some kind and a carb of sorts. I have lived off of rice, beans, yuka and even some roasted stew green bananas. Just think about what you have access to, the allowance you want to use and what your body needs. It is nice when there is something growing like yuka, mango and even hibiscus nearby.

Things are always changing as you adapt to one way of doing things in to the next level of living. The key is to progress and always be grateful. As I share even these simple travel tip blogs I am being reminded of a lot that has happened in this last almost five years of mine and it gets me even more excited about sharing the book.

Let me know if you have any questions or prayer requests.

You are worthy!