Hi, welcome back to MonoCycle, a podcast by man repeller hosted by Leandra Medine.

Last week, we published an article that was called The Things You Learn When You Stop Shopping for a month.

It was born out of the decision that I made to not buy anything through the month of January.

The reason I made the decision is because I feel like I have a ton of stuff and like it's starting to overwhelm me,

to the point where cleaning out my closet becomes a thing that recurs on my weekend to-do lists over and over again for really no reason.

So in this episode of MonoCycle, I'm going to talk about that story, summarizing some of it, and ultimately

talking about what I learned. See, it all... A.B? Hi. My husband just got home. I wasn't

expecting that. I'm talking into a sound booth. And now I feel awkward. Moving on. My dad always used to tell me that

stuff ruins trips. What he meant was that overpacking is the bane of fun. I didn't know what

that meant until I realized it as I was lugging an enormous suitcase down Rue Saint-Anore in Paris with stuff falling out of it as I lugged.

That that was the worst experience of my life.

I mean, I'm speaking in hyperbole.

There have been much worse experiences, but I remember that moment so vividly, and I remember so vividly how I remembered the way my dad

used to say that stuff ruins trips.

This, I thought to myself, must be precisely what he meant.

Because you know, you're drowning in a sea of your own stuff in a place that's foreign,

which completely distracts you from appreciating the distance and discovering where you are. Obviously I'm very good at

compartmentalizing advice because I've never not once tried to apply this dearly beholden at age

to my life outside of trips. But guess what? Drumroll please. Stuff ruins more than just trips. So while I set out to attempt this January

quote-unquote cleanse, what I didn't consider is how difficult imparting the sanction would be on

myself, particularly in January because all of the sales are so enticing and so inviting.

The heavily discounted stuff

...