Hey Reader,

Do you have enough "white space" in your life?

Or are you someone who loves maxing out the space that is available?

For example...

• Your daily schedule might be packed full on any given day.
• Your home might be packed to the brim with furniture, gadgets, and collectibles.
• Your carry-on might be crammed with as many clothing items that fit and still allow the zippers to close.

Maximizers of the world thrive on this concept, but me... not so much. 🤷‍♀️

I neeeeed that white space - aka the space that is free of input or clutter.

I need that breathing room to be able to relax, recharge, and focus on what's important.

• It's the reason why I've gravitated towards packing less and less over the years (until I reached handbag level packing).
• It's the reason my partner and I decided to not purchase any new furniture or extras for our new apartment, even though we had the space to get bigger and better.
• It's also the reason why I put myself on a self-prescribed 4-week work "sabbatical" last month. (Mental white space is so, so important - especially when you work for yourself.)

Why Is White Space Lacking from Our Lives?

Because maximizing, as society portrays, is the opposite of being lazy. Maximizing is the opposite of being wasteful.

More is better, right?

It's that whole concept of: "Well, if I have the space, I should probably fill it".

And honestly, maybe a little white space feels uncomfortable... for a myriad of reasons I'm not even going to explore right now.

(I will say that the white space created from not allowing myself to check my work stuff first thing in the morning felt verrrrry uncomfortable at first.)

And unfortunately, it's that discomfort that often keeps us stuck in our old patterns of thinking/doing - whether that be over-scheduling our lives or overpacking our luggage.

Did you know?...

Lack of white space can steal your time. 🤯

Well, sort of.

​Visual clutter has a way of skewing our perception of time. If we look at an open scene or space (like an open field or an empty warehouse), we think we look at it for a longer timeframe than we really did.

But if we look at a cluttered space, then we actually experience more "time constriction."

Isn't that fascinating?

That would help explain why we get that feeling of unrushed calm while sitting at a mountain overlook or even at a bench in a park.

The Good News...

You can cultivate more white space for yourself. (10/10 would recommend!)

When you do, you'll feel more calm, creative, and energized.

You can start by simply:

• Decluttering your living room
• Planning a trip to the great outdoors instead of to a busy city
• Freeing up space in your luggage (perhaps with a little help from Baggage Freedom Express)
• Saying no to a couple of invites or events when your calendar is super full
• Or scheduling in your own self-care retreat or work sabbatical

Let's make it a point to embrace more white space in our lives. I know I am!

Happy packing,

Brooke

P.S. If you want to free up some space with your luggage, I highly recommend getting on the waitlist for the next Baggage Freedom Express masterclass. I'll be offering up something special for our next class registration during our Black Friday sale - but ONLY for waitlist members :)