Pack your dress shirts in a fedex envelope

I recently saw one of these at REI.



Unfortunately it's made in China and 25 dollars. Being the conscientious cheap skate I am, I decided to find a way to travel unwrinkled for less:










I already had a clip board and the Fedex envelopes are free. (Note: you can replace Fedex envelope with USPS envelope without disturbing the functionality)

Dirt and Stones

"How long will we fill our pockets like children with dirt and stones? Let the world go. Holding it, we never know ourselves, never are airborne" -Rumi

This quote particularly touched me and seemed very relevant for this blog. When I was young, I used to collect rocks. Every family outing, every vacation, I would return with some new and interesting find. They would pile up in a box in my closet: cats eye, obsidian, et cetera. I had a little pouch that I carried with me full of the smallest and most favorite. At some point I stopped. I stop buying stones, stopped picking them up on vacations, and stopped carrying them around with me. I don't really know why, but they impressed me less. They seemed less special and less precious. I had no more use for them.

Now I no longer carry any stones with me. In my rucksack, I barely have over 100 possessions, and barely over 30 pounds of "stuff" to fill my pockets, and yet I still want, still desire to possess the earth. I still have a long way to go. As long as I covet, as long as I read blogs that are based on consumerism and that next purchase, I will never be free. My pack will feel heavy until it is filled with a full life.