The Suitcase Rule

Originally published in Greek on 13 April 2025 – you can find the original version here.
This is the English translation (12/8/2025), adapted for an international audience.

In travel and in life, I follow a rule.
The rule says I travel with a suitcase of a specific size, packed only with the things I truly need.

Not long ago, the youngest member of our family challenged that rule as she was packing for a school trip.
She firmly announced that she could no longer travel with such a small suitcase.
“All my friends are taking those huge ones,” she said.

I chatted with friends and most of them told me: “Keep calm and just give her a bigger one.”
And there I was, left thinking about the rule I once set for myself.
As I was reflecting, I remembered three key moments that led me to the rule.

Just one drawer

The first key moment was from my childhood.
When I was a kid, my family used to move a lot. New homes, new cities, even new countries.
I remember living in a house where I had just one drawer for my things. That drawer was always overflowing and it was stressing me out. I used to dream that if I just had one more drawer, the problem would be solved.
Eventually, we moved to a place with two drawers. For a while, it helped but it didn’t last long. Soon, everything was overflowing again.
Same thing kept happening, no matter how big the home was. But I also noticed that every time we moved into a smaller place with just one drawer, I somehow managed to make everything fit again.
That’s why I grew up believing that we fill the space we’re given.

Too many socks
The second key moment that shaped my rule came when my older daughter was a toddler. She had a tiny decorative suitcase where she kept all her socks. Every morning she would open it and pick a pair with an impressive level of confidence for her age.
Until one day… Some friends gave us a bunch of socks their older kids had outgrown.
At first, she was thrilled. She pulled everything out, put it all back in, then pulled it out again. Eventually she sat on the floor crying, because this time she couldn’t decide. She’s a Libra, a sign not exactly known for decisiveness but the problem probably goes back to something my grandfather used to say.
He raised me during the summers in Crete, always quoting the ancient Greeks. One of his favourites was:
“The good is not in the many.” – Plato
Or in modern terms “Less is more.”
Because when we have too much, we’re not necessarily happier, but we are certainly more overwhelmed.

At the port of Mytilene

The third key moment that led me to what I now call “The Suitcase Rule” took place at the port of Mytilene, on the island of Lesvos.
I remember myself, many years ago, dragging a huge suitcase and carrying a backpack stuffed with everything that didn’t fit inside.
Under the blazing Greek summer sun, I was struggling to reach my friend’s house.
My shoulder was raw, my hands were bleeding, and I vividly remember thinking: “I never want to find myself in that state again.”
Because when you carry more than you can handle, you move slowly, painfully and with far less joy.

Life is a journey

These three key moments shaped my beliefs and became a personal philosophy. Because life is also a journey with a suitcase of specific and limited size.
Lately, that life-suitcase feels more under attack than ever, needing the rule more than ever. Constantly filled with news, updates, misinformation, notifications, emails.
It’s also flooded with good things. Suggestions for plays, movies, the top ten cheesecakes in Athens or the three hidden secrets of the city.
It’s even bombarded with knowledge.
Knowledge used to be something searched for.
Discovered, conquered and finally treasured.
Now it just shows up, on its own. And we’re left, constantly trying to close our life-suitcase.
And when we can’t?
We feel overwhelmed, inadequate to keep it all in order.
Like we somehow failed.
So, with all that in mind, I decided to stick to the rule.
I sent my little girl on her school trip with the same suitcase she’s always used. I don’t think she really understood why she didn’t need eight pairs of jeans for a three-day trip. But I hope that someday, when her own hands get raw, she’ll remember the rule. Because sometimes the only way to learn the lesson is the hard way.
As for you, next time your suitcase starts to feel like too much to handle and you can’t close it:

1. Open it.
2. Empty it out.
3. Choose wisely what stays.

The exception

Like every rule, this one has an exception too. The exception to the rule about fitting into a limited space is… dreams.
I hope yours are bold enough to fly high, take up all the space they need and guide you wherever you’re meant to travel.