Last summer, my dad and I spent a month in Europe and before we left for our trip, My dad said, I challenge you to fit everything you need for a month in Europe. in a carry-on suitcase.
A small, little, teeny tiny little carry-on suitcase.
And yeah, At first I was like, there's no way.
Like there's actually no way. Because let me give you some background. on what kind of packer I am.
I am a prepared packer. Some people would call me an overpacker, but I call myself a prepared packer.
For example, I'm going on a trip for two days.
I bring six pairs of underwear and six pairs of socks.
Why? Because what if I step in mud four times?
And what if I shit myself four times? well, I don't want to be left without underwear and I don't want to be left without socks.
So I'm just prepared. Let's say I'm going on a trip for a week.
Well, I would bring 10 pairs of pants and 10 tops.
Why? Because I wouldn't dare wear an outfit twice.
That's sarcasm by the way, because Even when I was an overpacker, I would still end up wearing the same outfit twice.
Like I would still end up wearing the same outfit twice. the whole trip pretty much.
And half of my suitcase would remain untouched, but I... could not change my ways.
I used to be a chronic overpacker. slash prepared packer, because that's what we're calling it today.
We're calling it being a prepared packer.
But I wouldn't even end up using half of the stuff I packed for myself.
So anyway, that's my history. as a packer.
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Things people love. So fast forward to last summer, my dad says, I dare you to fit. everything into a carry on suitcase.
And I did it. And it was probably the first time I had ever packed that light for that long of a trip.
A month is a long time and a carry-on is small.
And I will be honest, it was challenging.
I was so used to the ease of having everything and more that I could possibly need. in my suitcase.
But I will say there was something about the experience of packing light that intrigued me.
I was like, you know, this is hard, but like, there's something here.
Because although it's challenging, I enjoy it immensely.
The challenges I faced packing light were number one, not being able to go shopping easily.
You know, every time I would buy something.
I'd have to either ship it home or ship clothes I had initially packed home. because I just didn't have space to bring stuff with me.
Challenge number two was things were getting dirty really quickly.
Like clothes were getting stained. They were getting dirty.
They were getting damp, whatever. Damp is such a gross word, but it's kind of true.
It was summertime and I was sweating so clothes were getting kind of damp.
Sorry. I was also going to the beach. Clothes were getting damp.
You get what I'm saying. But clothes were getting dirty quickly, which meant I was constantly doing laundry.
And challenge number three was I felt like I couldn't express myself properly because Since I was young, I've always loved dressing up on vacation.
It's one of my favorite parts about traveling.
I feel like I can express myself in a new way because I'm around complete strangers that I will truly never see again.
And so I've always loved playing around with fashion on vacation.
And I felt like I couldn't do that because I didn't have that many options. because I packed so lightly.
Also, it was stressful carrying around all these mini liquids.
It was also kind of an adjustment to only have a few skincare and haircare products when I'm used to having in abundance at home, but when you don't check luggage, When you're traveling, you can't bring all the... fun, liquid skincare and haircare products that you want.
You're limited to a quart-sized bag, you have no space for your products. naturally you have to scale down your routine and it's an adjustment for sure.
But despite all of these challenges, I loved... so much about packing light.
It was much deeper than just not having a lot of stuff with me.
So let me tell you why Packing Light was so magical.
Number one, it was easier at the airport.
When you're doing like a road trip, you can be a little bit more flexible about how you pack because you're just throwing everything in the car.
You know, I don't know, it's different, but when you're flying on the plane, it's a whole process.
You have to check your baggage if you have over a certain amount of stuff.
The process of picking up your baggage after... you fly can be a total bitch.
I've had to wait two hours. for my baggage to come out at baggage claim at the airport a few times.
And I will say it's not fun. So I think the first reason why I loved packing light was because it was so much easier at the airport.
I could just walk straight to security. I had all of my stuff with me on the plane so I wasn't worried about losing anything.
When I got off the plane, I could just immediately go straight into the car and be off on my way.
And everything was with me from the time that I got to the airport to the time that I landed at my destination.
And there was never a moment where I was stressed out about, oh, is it going to get lost?
Oh, you know, am I going to have to wait two hours at baggage claim?
None of that in and out. And when you're traveling to multiple different destinations, like I was that summer in Europe, This is especially helpful because...
If you're doing multiple stops on your trip and you're traveling by plane, You're going to be spending a lot of time in the airport.
And personally, I don't love spending time in the airport.
I hate the airport. I'm excited to get the fuck out of the airport the second I enter the airport.
Like, I'm already... looking forward to the second the plane lands and I am out of there.
I don't like how grimy I feel when I'm in there.
I feel like I'm in a casino. I can't tell what time of day it is sometimes. the plane gives me anxiety a little bit.
So I sometimes get pre-flying anxiety at tiny bit, just anxious about being confined to a small space for a long time.
Also just irrational anxiety about being on a plane. thousands of feet in the air.
Moral of the story is I don't like spending time in the airport.
When you have a carry-on with you and nothing else, you're in and out of the airport way faster.
So that was magical. But on a deeper level, Only taking a carry-on made me prioritize what I truly wanted and needed with me.
It forced me to choose what I really want with me.
And once I was on my trip, I didn't have a lot of options to choose from when it came to getting dressed in the morning.
I only had three or four outfits to switch between.
And when it came to doing my skincare and my haircare routine, I only had a handful of products.
So my routine... was very short during my travels.
And at first, this seemed like an inconvenience and like a shame to me.
Because I really do enjoy doing my skincare routine and doing my haircare routine.
And I really do appreciate... Picking out an outfit that's fun and exciting.
But once I got over the hump of that being frustrating, I realized, holy shit.
I have so much more time and energy to just go and explore.
And I got to a point where I couldn't really care about what I looked like because it sort of felt out of my control in a way.
I was like, I don't have the products to slap on a zit if a zit pops up.
I don't have... the clothing options to pick out a chic new outfit every day.
So I wasn't thinking about taking photos for Instagram.
I wasn't thinking about looking cool out on the town.
I was fully focused on the experience being there.
I really do think that having less clothing options, having less clothes, skincare and hair care products. really allow you to just let go and enjoy the new place that you're getting to experience.
Not having all of that stuff really made me realize how...
Warped my priorities were when I used to travel.
Because growing up, before I even was a public figure in any way, shape or form, I used to pack cute outfits and all these accessories and all these makeup hair. skin products so that I could look hot on vacation.
I wanted to look chic on vacation. And I used to make my mom and dad take photos of me when I was traveling and I wanted to have a cool new outfit every day of my trip.
And this was before I was even a public figure.
This was just when I had my own personal Instagram And I was just doing my thing.
And the only people following me were like people from my high school. and people from my town, that was it.
Even then, I was obsessed with the way that my vacation looked on social media and not the actual experience of being in the place that I was.
You know, I was not living in the moment.
And my packing reflected that, but I didn't even realize that.
I was so much more focused on looking cute, taking cute photos than I was... just enjoying what a special experience it is to travel.
I really, really used to take travel for granted, 100%.
And it was all about how it looked to other people.
So on that trip in Europe, I really truly realized how great it is to not have options when you're traveling and to just have what you need and fall into a simple version of your routine and focus on enjoying the environment that you're in. and to use it as an opportunity to let go.
When I'm home, I have so much more time to get dressed up in a cute outfit and all of that.
I have so much more time for that. I have no desire to go and explore Los Angeles.
Okay. I've done that enough. And I can do that whenever I want.
I live here. So there's really no need for that.
That's when I really want to participate in... in those types of activities.
When I'm traveling, the number one priority for me is having a great experience there.
And I think the best way to do that is to just strip down to your bare necessities and enjoy it.
The only exception is when I'm traveling to an event But even then, what I'll usually do is rent clothing or borrow clothing in the location that I'm at.
So I just borrow it for the night and then give it back.
Like recently I traveled to India for an incredible event.
And I didn't want to check a bag. I wanted to just carry on a bag as I do now.
This is my new thing. And so once I got to India, I worked with incredible designers there For my gowns.
And I went and I picked them up. I wore them to the event and then I gave them back and I never had to travel with them.
But that's like the only time. that it might be kind of hairy to bring only a carry-on, but you make it work, even in that situation. where I have to attend an event and look fancy, I make it work.
All of this to say, I would now consider myself to be a travel minimalist.
I'm not a minimalist in all areas of my life, but when it comes to traveling, I am a minimalist.
In every way, shape or form, I would say.
This is actually part two. of my little mini series about minimalism.
There will be three parts. One about lifestyle minimalism, one about traveling like a minimalist, and one about minimalism and fashion.
So go check the other ones out if you're into it.
This is part two about traveling like a minimalist.
So that's kind of my story and my journey, how I got to this point, why I travel like this now.
But I haven't really explained to you how I do this because it's not easy.
It took me a few trips to figure out how to travel like a minimalist in a way that works because I've run into my fair share of issues.
But I feel like I've really worked out the kinks and gotten it down to a science and I'm going to share it with you.
And maybe you can try it out sometime. Or maybe it's not your thing and that's okay too.
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Please fuse responsibly. Okay, so when I'm packing for a road trip, I'm much less strict.
Because... you can just kind of throw everything into your car and you don't have to deal with the chaos of going through airport security.
There's much less planning required when you're packing for something like a road trip.
So I'm not really going to be discussing that today.
I'm going to be discussing air travel. today because that's much more complex and requires much more planning.
You can't just throw everything into your car and call it good.
So if you want to take everything on the plane, you have to fit everything you need into one carry-on suitcase One carry-on bag, like a backpack or a large purse, tote bag, whatever.
And that's pretty much it. That's all the space that you have.
And you have to be able to fit all of your liquids into a quart size bag.
And all of the containers of liquids in that quart size bag must be smaller than 3.4 fluid ounces.
So those are pretty much the rules. That's at least for America, but I'm pretty sure that's worldwide.
Always Google your specific locations requirements because I've made that mistake before and Ooh, not fun.
So let me talk about my clothing formula, how I pack in the most efficient way.
So my formula looks a little something like this.
I'll pick out four staple pants. That's usually where I start.
And I try to choose pants that are all a similar vibe.
For example, on my last trip, I kind of had a utilitarian theme going.
So I packed four different types of cargo-y work pants.
I had a pair of cargo pants. I had a pair of like painter's pants with like paint splattered all over them.
I had a pair of jeans, like classic jeans.
And then I had a pair of like, kind of classic striped work pants that sort of match the vibe of the other pants.
And then from there, I start to pick out tops.
So I'll look at all my pants and I'll be like, okay, so what's the vibe?
You know, we have a lot of timeless going on here.
We have a little bit of utilitarian going on here.
We got some cargo pants. We got some painter's pants.
Okay. So then I'll kind of... analyze what pant vibe we have going on.
And then I'll find shirts that, that will match every pair of pants.
Now this takes some time. It's not easy.
But my goal is to try to find four shirts that will match every pair of pants.
So maybe I'll pull down like a light blue button up. and I'll sort of hold it up to all the different pants, and I'll be like, yep, see, that works.
And then I'll go back into my closet, and I'll be like, okay, we need to find something that's not blue, like a new color.
We don't want everything to look all the same, right?
We want there to be some variation. But it also needs to match all of these pairs of pants.
So then I'll go back into my closet and I'll be like, okay, let's just do a white t-shirt for this trip.
There we go. And then I might go back into my closet and find this cool pattern turtleneck that just by some miracle matches all the pairs of pants.
Pull that out. So now we have four pairs of pants and four tops that all match each other.
And if you do the math, that means with eight pieces of clothing, you have...
16 outfits. Is that right? That's 16 outfits.
That's pretty damn good. Okay, now you can scale this down and do three tops and three pants that all match each other.
That's nine outfits. So you see what I'm saying?
It's about the math. I think the mistake that I used to make when I used to overpack was that I would pack outfits... individually.
So I'd pack a top and a pair of pants that only match each other.
And then I'd pack another outfit that's a completely different vibe.
And I wasn't able to mix and match. And so that forced me to pack more outfits and take up more space than I really needed.
So that's my clothing packing formula. And I will say, it does make the packing process a little bit more challenging because instead of just picking out cute outfits and calling it a day, you're trying to basically do rocket science in a way. clothing rocket science, because it's kind of like a puzzle, to be honest.
My most recent trip was about three weeks long and I went to Miami and And then I went to New York and then I went to India and then I went back to New York.
So that was my most recent travel experience. extravaganza and I had to pack everything I could need for all of those different climates in a carry-on.
Now, this was particularly challenging Because usually I'm only experiencing one climate.
But New York was averaging around 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
In India... was averaging around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, okay?
I had to pack a winter coat and... lightweight t-shirts.
It was challenging. And Miami was hot too.
Miami was like... 90 degrees as well. And so it was like one of my greatest challenges yet.
There was actually a point where I thought I couldn't do it.
I spent eight hours, eight hours. packing for this and picking out the perfect pieces that I could mix and match. and layer, et cetera, so that I would be properly clothed All of those different climates.
And you know what? I fucking did it, baby.
I fucking did it. But it did take eight hours.
So I will warn you, hacking in this way can... be time consuming, but you will have delayed gratification because when you're at the airport, And you don't have to check a bag and you walk straight to security and it's, easy peasy.
And then when you get off the plane and you get straight into your car and You get straight into the Uber or whatever.
My God, it feels good. It feels good. And when you wake up in the morning on your trip and you say, guess what I'm wearing today?
The same fucking outfit I wore yesterday.
It feels good. It feels good. Another tip I forgot to mention when you're trying to pack your clothing is to not only choose clothes that all kind of fit in the same vibe.
Don't have a better word for what I'm trying to say.
And vibe is the only. it's the only word I can think of that makes sense.
And it sucks. It sucks. I need to grow my vocabulary more so that I never have to use the word vibe again, but I'm so sorry.
It just fits perfectly here. In addition to choosing clothes that all fit the same vibe, I think choosing a color palette is really helpful as well.
On my last trip, my color palette was pretty much brown, light yellow. red, green, blue.
I don't know, just classic timeless colors.
And so that was my palette. And I played within that world and it made it way easier.
So now let's talk about packing your skincare and haircare products. you're gonna have to scale down your routine a little bit.
You're gonna have to figure out what your priorities are.
For me, my priority is number one, having enough space for my shampoo and conditioner because I have Sensitive hair and I can't just use the shampoo and conditioner at the hotel because my hair will freak out.
So my number one priority is fitting my own shampoo and conditioner in my liquids bag.
After that, comes skincare products. I always bring my own face wash chemical exfoliant, hydrating serum of some sort, and then a moisturizer.
And that's it. That's all I need. maybe some Aquaphor or Vaseline or something for lips, my lips.
And if I ever get a little spot of eczema or something.
And then if I have room, maybe I'll pack a little bit of makeup.
But for the most part, I go makeup free when I'm traveling.
I have some mini sizes of makeup that I can throw in my bag.
But for the most part, I'm not packing makeup because...
I don't know, it's freeing and nice to just not wear any when I'm traveling.
But for those of you who like love makeup and love wearing makeup, you can totally fit it.
You just have to get the mini sizes. And the truth is if you run out of something, if you run out of shampoo, if you run out of conditioner, if you run out of a serum, I mean, unless you're traveling somewhere super off the map, you'll be able to find it.
So remind yourself of that. Hey, if I run out, it's going to be okay.
I can go and I can get it somewhere. that's always something I forget.
I always feel like, oh, if I don't pack it, I won't have it.
No, you'll have it You can find it. Worst case scenario, you could probably Amazon Prime it.
Okay, I'm not recommending that. I don't think that's the best solution.
But my point is you could probably find a way to get it to you somehow.
So that's my packing routine. It takes a lot of time.
You kind of have to go out of your way to get mini products and to color coordinate all of your clothing pieces that you're bringing and to vibe coordinate all of your pieces, but it's worth it.
So I also utilize... my personal item when I'm flying.
Because along with your carry-on suitcase, you can bring what's called a personal item.
So you can pack a backpack or a tote bag or a purse, whatever.
I always bring a backpack in little life hack.
I put all of my liquids in my backpack. Why?
Because sometimes when you're going through security, they say, take out your liquids.
And so I actually leave them in my backpack. this is incredibly helpful because the last thing you want to do is have to open your suitcase in the middle of security don't recommend it so i keep my liquids in my backpack in a waterproof like container because you don't want your liquids spilling all over the things in your backpack.
But Other than that, it's a great situation.
And honestly, I utilize my backpack. You know, sometimes I'll shove purses in there i'll shove accessories in there i'll obviously put all my technology stuff in there laptop, cameras, chargers, whatever.
But I really utilize... my personal item.
Because you can fit a lot in there and you should.
Because when you're only taking a carry on, you don't have the luxury of just. shoving everything into your big suitcase and checking it and just saying bye-bye to it until the end of your trip.
No, everything's got to be with you. But if you have a really good, large backpack, you'll be fine.
And if you have a really great. rolly suitcase, you'll be fine.
So when it comes to what I wear on the plane, I'm wearing my largest pieces.
I'm wearing my chunkiest pair of shoes. I'm wearing my thickest jacket.
I'm wearing the most voluminous things on the plane, even if It's 95 degrees, okay?
On my last trip, when I was going from Miami to New York to India to New York, obviously I had like a winter kind of jacket and I, I couldn't fit it in my carry-on at all.
There was no way. So I kind of had to wear it when I was going in and out of the airport in Miami and India, even though it was like 95 degrees.
Listen, it's not that big of a deal. You get through it.
I didn't even have to actually wear it most of the time.
I just kind of draped it on top of my suitcase and rolled it around with me and I didn't even have to wear it.
Big whoop. Okay. Big whoop. And yeah, were there sweaty moments?
Sure. There were sweaty moments, but It was worth it to me and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
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Mentos gum. Yes to fresh. So... Let's discuss going shopping when you travel because obviously shopping when traveling is amazing.
If you're traveling like a minimalist, shopping is your worst enemy because you are not going to have room for anything.
Unless you come with a virtually empty suitcase, which...
I've considered doing before, and I might try that sometime because it could be fun. to bring an empty suitcase with me on a trip and then, you know, find cool, vintage stores and stuff and just fill up my suitcase.
But we'll see if that ever happens. Kind of risky.
That's kind of risky, which is why I'm not fully sold on the idea, but the post office is going to become your best friend.
If you decide to travel like a minimalist, there are going to be times when you got to ship stuff home. if you're going shopping.
And there are pros and cons to this. The pros are that when you get home you have a beautiful gift that you sent yourself to yourself.
It's kind of a fun thing to return home to.
Also, you're less worried about it getting damaged during your travel day.
That's... A positive. A negative is that it can be pricey.
You know, shipping things is not always...
But at the same time, it's worth considering.
There's definitely a way to plan ahead if you know you're traveling to a place where you're going to do shopping.
You can simply pack less clothes and plan on buying things that you're gonna wanna wear.
Or you can just pack less outfits and just wear less outfits.
I do think there's something interesting about to be said about the sacrifices that you make When you travel like a minimalist.
You do make some sacrifices. And. I don't mind those sacrifices.
They can be frustrating in the moment, but I think...
Long term, they lead to good results. Like, for example, being frustrated that you don't have a lot of room to go shopping can force you to be a more mindful shopper when you're traveling. not having an abundance of clothing to choose from forces you to focus on the environment that you're in.
You see what I'm saying? Yes, there are sacrifices to traveling this way, but I think they lead to... really meaningful conclusions in a way.
And to address the last of traveling like a minimalist.
Laundry. you will have to do your laundry if you're traveling for a long time.
If you're not traveling for a long time, you can get away with not doing laundry.
Like, I think I can probably go two weeks in a carry-on without doing laundry.
Because I don't need to wash my pants often at all.
It's mainly tops... in underwear and socks that it's like, okay.
And workout clothes where you're like, okay, I can't wear this.
I can wear this maybe twice. and get away with it.
But after that, it's like, oh, well, now things are stinking.
So you will have to do laundry. I always try to stay somewhere. that has a laundry service or has a laundry machine available, but there's always a solution, you know? you can always find a laundromat, which could actually be kind of a fun experience.
You know, while your laundry, is in the wash.
You could go for a walk or something, maybe in an area you wouldn't have explored otherwise.
There's nothing wrong with doing laundry.
I used to never do laundry when I would travel.
No way. But... I don't know it's not so bad.
It can also sometimes be pricey depending on where you're staying, but sometimes it can be totally reasonable.
I've experienced both. Both sides of it.
But there are definitely reasonable options.
I personally haven't ventured out to a laundromat, but actually my dad did when we were in Europe last summer.
And he loved it. He was like so easy, literally like 50 cents.
It was so cheap. And He explored the area around the laundromat while he was waiting for his clothes to be done and he had a great time.
So... I guess the moral of the story is traveling like a minimalist is a challenge, but it's a challenge. worth taking on.
I really do recommend people to try it. and see how it impacts their experience on their trip because I think it's more profound than you would expect.
And I'm really grateful that my dad challenged me to try this because yeah, it's kind of, changed the way that I travel.
And it's actually made traveling even more enjoyable for me.
To finish off this episode, I'm going to share with you some of my travel essentials. that I've found to be very useful over the years.
These are like random things. These are not the obvious things like a good pair of headphones or a portable charger.
Or protein bars. No, these are like kind of unusual things.
Number one. very small pair of scissors now You can't always bring scissors on the plane.
What I found is you'll be totally fine getting a tiny little pair of scissors, almost like tiny little fabric scissors.
The blade needs to be pretty short. Like the blade on the scissors I have, it's about an inch.
I can't tell you how often scissors come in handy for me when I'm traveling and I never expect to need them, but I always end up needing them.
One time I did get a pair of my mini scissors compensated, but it's only happened once.
And it was just not allowed at that specific airport.
But for the most part, as long as your scissors have a small little blade, you'll be totally... fine.
Number two, travel utensils. This is a new addition to my travel routines.
But I always have utensils with me, preferably reusable so I can use them over and over again. and preferably kind of small because I don't need them to take up a lot of space.
But I take a little utensil set with me on every trip because sometimes I order... food delivery, and they don't send a fork with the order.
Nightmare. And then you're left eating with your hands.
I've done that. I've literally done that where I ordered food delivery.
It got to my room. It's late at night. I'm starving.
I'm like, I am not. calling downstairs and waiting 20 minutes for them to bring me up before.
Hell no. You know what I'm doing? I'm eating this Caesar salad with my hands.
I've done it. I've eaten so many things with my hands because they didn't. send a fork with the with the food delivery.
And I was at a hotel I've done it with a Caesar salad.
I've done it with Brussels sprouts, ate them with my hands, like roasted Brussels sprouts.
I've done it with Thai yellow curry. that was tough because that's like kind of liquidy and soupy and I'm like pulling the vegetables out with my hands and then drinking the, oh my God, can you imagine me doing this?
And then drinking the curry in between.
So I'd get like a full mouthful experience.
I've actually... had pasta with my hands, like a spicy rigatoni with my hands.
Yeah, I've done it all with my hands. But I've learned over time that you just got to have a pair of travel utensils with you.
A little fork and a little knife will do.
Maybe a spoon. Next, I love carrying around face wipes, like makeup wipes, pretty much.
Now, when I'm taking my makeup off and stuff, I try to use better products, but When you're traveling all day, there's nothing better than just getting out a wipe. a face wipe and just cleaning off your face.
I don't know, there's something about traveling that just makes you feel grimy.
And having those on hand is... So nice.
I'll take... the wipe and I'll wipe my face down.
And next thing I know I'm wiping my arms down.
And next thing I know I'm wiping my neck.
Yeah, so that's crucial as well. I also get really dehydrated on the plane, so I always have electrolytes with me.
I'll take Liquid IV. I'll take Ultima. There's so many great brands out there. but I always bring with me multiple options. packs of electrolytes, I can just pour it in a bottle of water and drink it on the plane.
And it just... Helps prevent that weird travel headache.
And last but not least, I never travel without two portable chargers.
Two of them. Now, this is totally going against this entire episode where I'm calling myself a travel minimalist.
And then I say, I'm bringing two of something, but Portable chargers are crucial.
And even the best portable chargers run out of battery. quickly when they're being used.
So I always bring two portable chargers with me just in case, because they're great for emergencies, which, you know, God forbid there's an emergency, but it's nice to have And also, I have a tendency to lose them.
So have them both juiced up. Some of them you can even charge your computer with them.
It's just nice to have two. And sometimes the outlets on the plane don't work.
So I'm always traveling with two portable chargers.
Anywho. That is how I travel like a minimalist.
I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, go check out my other two episodes on minimalism.
If they aren't all out when you're listening to this, they'll all be out soon.
Thank you for listening and hanging out.
As always, it was such a pleasure. New episodes of Anything Goes every Thursday and Sunday.
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