It's not unusual to find yourself reluctant to do this, even with Pile 3 items. A trick to help you is place the selected items together in a literal pile, or in a cardboard box and put them out of sight. Leave them for a week or two. Have you missed them? Probably not, so go ahead and get rid of them. Feel anything? That's the weight reduction. This process gets easier the more you do it. In time you can lose Pile 3 altogether and make inroads into Pile 2.

One way to test this idea is start small, and get rid of a few items from the Pile 3 in your life. These could be sold, given to friends or to charity. In all cases you'll reduce the 'weight' in your life and potentially add to someone else's Pile 1. Pile 3 items often include unwanted gifts, unread books and duplicated items.

The benefits of travelling lighter will only be felt if you actively pursue this reduction process. Many Eastern philosophies have travelling light as a central tenet, and these traditions have been around for many centuries. It goes without saying that this process benefits our planet, by reducing the production of un-needed items and benefits the individual by de-cluttering the living space, and with it, the mind.

Give it a go.