On Jan 31st, 2015, I packed up, got in a van, and drove to Ft. Lauderdale, FL to live there for a month. When I left New Jersey, it was 8 degrees outside. The best part about driving south was feeling the air get progressively warmer as I went along. By the time I arrived in Fort Lauderdale, it was a beautiful 75 degrees.

I arrived at a newly renovated house. It was nice. New hardwood floors, paint, tile, appliances, and kitchen. It had an interesting layout, one that I’ve never seen before. Oh, and no furniture. One hundred percent empty.

I wasn’t about to go and drop some cash for furniture that I would only need for a month. I would have to live without it.

I walked upstairs and selected the master bedroom as my main room. Huge bathroom and double sinks. Nice! I did bring a small twin-sized bed for the trip, and placed it on the floor against the wall in the room. I tossed my suitcase right next to it. Home sweet home.

The best way to travel? Minimally. List of items for the trip:

• Three T-shirts, two pairs of jeans, two pairs of shorts, five pairs of underwear, and five pairs of socks.
• Toiletries (Tooth Brush, Mouthwash, Razor, etc.)
• Laptop
• Backpack
• Kitchen items (Dishes, silverware, pot/pan, trash bags, paper towels, cleaning supplies)
• Twin-sized bed
• Motorcycle, Motorcycle Helmet, Motorcycle Gear (I know, not minimalist, but I love motorcycles)

Everything that I brought, with the exception of the motorcycle and bed, can fit in a standard sized suitcase.

Living in that house for a month with no furniture taught me some interesting things. To start off, let me state the obvious:

You don’t need a lot of furniture.

Outside of the bed, the only thing I ended up needing was a chair and a table to eat on, which I received for free from a friend. Everything outside of these two pieces would have been extra fluff.

No, I’m not suggesting that you go and throw out all of your furniture. I’m simply stating that most people have more furniture than they need. Which brings me to my next point:

Excess material possessions and TV’s are like boat anchors chained to your legs.

Living in this house gave me a feeling of inner peace that I haven’t felt in a long time. My mind was clear, I had no distractions, and I was able to get a TON of work done. It gave me a great sense of freedom.

It’s like having a ton of notifications, unread messages, emails, and warnings on your phone and pressing the clear button.

Minimalism is talked about all over the internet. It’s eye-opening to actually experience it for yourself.

I do not watch TV, and the house had no TV, so I didn’t expect to notice a difference. Well, I was wrong. I discovered that living in a house with no physical TV is better than living in a house with a TV and choosing not to watch it.

The former not only reduced my mental baggage, but helped me feel more connected to the world around me. The latter comes close, but falls short because its physical existence in the house creates mental baggage. Also, other people in the house may watch it, which can force you to hear it or accidentally see it. Not good.

If you enjoy watching TV, try giving it up for a week. You’ll be surprised how much clearer your mind is and how much extra time you’ll have for productivity.

Living next to a train sucks.

Seriously. I was located two blocks from freight train tracks. Every day and night, without fail, the train would zoom by. At every intersection it would blow its horn. Coupled with the train crossing bells, guys on Harely-Davidsons revving their engines at the red light a few hundred feet up the street, guys in straight-piped trucks with a lead foot, mopeds zipping by, and a construction site close-by, it sounded like a straight war zone outside at times.

The train was the loudest though. It’s horn would shake the entire house. Apparently, by law, they’re required to blow it when crossing intersections. Oh, and you only have the right to complain if you moved into the area before 1879. So make sure you go to city hall with your 136 year-old grandmother if you have something to say.

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Overall, Ft Lauderdale was an amazing learning experience. Ditching the cold February weather wasn’t too bad either. Now I’m staying in Key West. (March 1st, 2015.)