From 600 Sqft to 60 Liters...

My new home - 46L Osprey.

In 2 days I'll be moved completely out of my 600SF apartment into my 46L backpack... my new home, complete with compression straps! In order to bring Maggie Maps and Boomerang along, I'm throwing in a 14L sling pack to carry a GPS, small computer, odds & ends. In total, 60L about 35lbs of stuff. This bootstrap startup is going on the road! 

What a journey already...

We all know that cleaning out any home after years of dwelling is usually a back-breaking affair - there's heavy furniture to move, ancient sugar & flour to throw away, that T-shirt you worn in the 90s to him and haw over keeping... add in meetings with random strangers from Craigslist who might want to buy your electronics and you've got a full week. And this time it's not a move from one place to another, but an extreme downsize. In full disclosure, I'm not ridding myself of ALL belongings - it's probably a 70/30 split. Keep 30%, and liquidate the remaining 70% by any means possible. And that has been more difficult than I imagined - we really are weighed down by all of our 'stuff'! As an example, this morning I'm trying to use up all my baking supplies in one batch of muffins to throw away as little as possible. Super muffins! 

But in 2 days time, this process will be over and it'll be on to the fun stuff.... The trip starts in South Africa, then its SE Asia, and finally off to S. America for a while. I'll be mapping along the way, and looking to help out local organizations in any way possible. There are a few leads out there, but I'll be networking as much as I can! On the blog I'll be sharing stories, maps, and photos for those who might be interested. Any tips, advice, comments, questions, favorite places on the route? Let me know!

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The route! More maps to come - the muffins are burning!