The following post has been prepared for your reading pleasure by my husband, Aldo. He writes about one of the most important aspects of traveling and how to accomplish it – traveling light. Hope you enjoy and are able to get back into the world of traveling once this period of “social distancing” and “self-quarantine” is over!
Less is More: Get More out of your Travel by Packing Less
I firmly believe that when it comes to travel, those that get the most out of their experience focus their planning on one thing above all else: packing as light as possible. Traveling light may seem like an obvious aspiration, but tends to quickly fall to the wayside. This is especially true if a meticulous agenda is deemed key to the “perfect trip.” The nice thing about a plan-to-pack-less is that you generally only have to do it once, as it will set you up for countless trips regardless of the destination! Once you get used to traveling less encumbered, you will never go back…
I love to travel and have been fortunate to have done a lot of it over the past couple years. I used to spend a considerable time prior to embarking on a trip, doing as much research as possible, and planning out each day – sometimes down to the hour! Over time, I realized that my agenda-planning was actually turning the trip itself into a checklist of to-do items. Even worse, by preplanning my trip I was diluting the most enjoyable part of travel – the discovery of something new and surprising. Ironically, another side effect of all this pre-planning was that I ended up packing even more… “Are we doing dinner at a nice restaurant? Let me pack my best dress shirt and shoes. We are going on a hike? Let me pack my favorite hiking shoes and cargo shorts.” When you have no clear set plan on where you will be going, you tend to pack with versatility in mind.
What ‘traveling light’ looks like for me…
I travel with a carry-on roller bag (4 wheels) and a briefcase that has an elastic strap on the back which makes it easy to slide over the handle of my roller bag. The briefcase is large enough to hold all my electronic gear and toiletries for easy access going through security. In regard to toiletries, try to limit yourself to a 5-day supply max. Consider that most hotels have most common toiletry items on-hand and available for free if you ask.
In my carry-on bag, I always pack the following:
- 5-7 Plain Versatile T-Shirts – By ‘versatile’ I mean these should be wearable with shorts or dressed up with crisp jeans and a blazer. Also, they should be a medium weight and wrinkle resistant [shameless plug: I literally created a T-Shirt line out of the desire for a ‘perfect t-shirt’ that meets these criteria – ifthenwell.com]
- 1 Pair of Dark Jeans. I particularly like Japanese selvedge denim as it is less prone to wrinkle and can look very dressy when paired with a sports coat
- 5-7 Pairs of Socks and Underwear
Trip/Destination Dependent:
- Workout Gear (not including shoes – see details below)
- One extra pair of dressier Shoes
- Swim Trunks and Shorts or Winter Gear (Sweater, Jacket, Gloves, Scarf)
On the plane, I will wear a pair of either dark jeans or other wrinkle resistant pants along with a T-Shirt and a sports coat over it. I will also wear neutral-colored comfortable athletic shoes that will serve as my walking/hiking/work-out/casual-out-and-about footwear. Traveling with a blazer/sports coat has been a ‘must’ for me. It provides an extra layer of clothing when needed, and makes a casual outfit look dressy, where appropriate.
If the trip is longer than 7 days, then you should plan on doing laundry at one of your destination points. Here, a bit of research pays off as you will want to find out how easily you can have clothes laundered where you are going and at what cost. If wash-and-fold service is likely to be unavailable or cost-prohibitive, then I would recommend just planning to wash your clothes at the hotel (I recommend the Scrubba Wash Bag, which take little space in your luggage and is easy to use).
Some of the benefits of ‘traveling light’:
- Flexibility to switch flights if your scheduled flight is delayed or an unexpected upgrade opportunity presents itself
- Impromptu day-trips made easier by using local storage lockers/options (obviously easier to do when you have less to store!)
- Eliminate the not-so-insignificant risk of your bag being lost by the airline
- Save money on bag fees!
I have literally circled the globe over a two-week period with just the carry-on described above. I never experienced a second of regret over an item not packed. The less you carry, the more you can experience. Isn’t that what travel is all about?
-Aldo
***
Enjoyed our guest post? If you have any suggestions or need help with packing for a trip, please reach out. We would love to hear from you!
Safe Travels,
Patrycja