Even though I aspire toward minimalism in many aspects of my life (Gabe’s toys, my wardrobe, and how I’d rather get rid of stuff than organize it), I have never been a light traveler. The cliché five pairs of shoes! What if it’s cold? Rainy? Warm? I need options! Not to mention all of the paraphernalia for traveling with a little one.
However, our last two trips (to Puerto Rico in December and to DC last weekend), I was a minimalist packer – as you can see above. Okay, so I wasn’t that minimalist, but for traveling with a toddler, it was as good as it gets for me!
The anatomy of packing light (for us)
– Wear the same clothes more than once. I brought a pair of jeans, three shirts, yoga pants, TOMs, Tevas, a swimsuit, and a dress for a 5-day trip. For a 9-day trip, I also brought a skirt, a pair of shorts, and another shirt or two.
– Use the hotel Pack N Play, let Gabe sleep in our bed, or use his air mattress instead of lugging his Pack N Play around. Save space, save baggage fees.
– Want to be able to walk around easily? Time for a backpack!
– Wash stuff if necessary. I’ve washed things in my hotel sink and hung them to dry. And when we stayed an Airbnb place, we had access to a washing machine! It was glorious.
– The stroller with clip-on diaper bag makes sightseeing with luggage super easy.
Mike called it our hobo cart when we’d get Gabe out and play at park.
The perks of packing light:
1. Save a little money.
It (usually) costs money to check baggage. By not bringing Gabe’s Pack N Play and a suitcase, we saved $100! That’s $100 we could spend on gelato.
2. Less clutter to bring home.
With less room in our luggage, we are ruthless about keeping “mementos” of our trip. Instead of saving every museum pamphlet and postcard, photos are our keepsakes from trips.
3. Packing and unpacking is a breeze.
It’s so much easier when we get home after midnight with a sleeping toddler to be able to just carry a backpack up to our apartment instead of lugging 12 million odds and ends. Also, we unpack in 10 minutes since it’s a less daunting task.
4. Getting dressed each day is easier.
Less choice means the process of getting ready for the day is super easy. It’s like a hardcore Project 333, where I learned that fewer choices made my life easier.
5. Hop off the plane and go!
This is possibly the biggest perk for me – instead of having to haul our stuff to the hotel after we landed, we were able to just take the Metro, go to out breakfast, and hang out on the Mall. All of these pictures were taken while carrying around luggage after we landed and before we left (our flight wasn’t until 9:30 pm):
Mmm. Chocolate breakfast.
At the National Mall. Gabe is less angry than he looks.
Sculpture Garden – we had a photo workshop ask to take our photo there!
At George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Well, in the giant front yard.
Instead of going straight from the hotel to the airport, we were able to explore Old Town Alexandria, where there was a jazz festival going on.
I am a convert. I want to always travel like this. No more big suitcases for me!
We recently went to the mountains for a getaway and I found myself over packing shoes, because Tennessee’s weather is unpredictable. We usually just pack one suitcase and put everything in it, but I might try your way because I think I become too overwhelmed with choices. We have laundry options at most places we visit, I should start looking into less clothing!
I consider it a huge victory to pack as little as possible for a trip, and use every single thing we pack. It gives me a thrill. (I am wild, I know).
That little suitcase for all three people? I would have high-fived myself all over Puerto Rico.
AMEN to leaving the pack n play at home. Ironically, we NEVER traveled with ours. We used it during Gavin’s infancy instead of a bassinet and on occasion if we had guests who needed to sleep in G’s room. That said, Sweets needs to read this post. He is the WORST at over-packing. I mean, gotta love the guy who wants to make sure he has the right jacket for every possible weather condition, but dude, jackets take up a lot of room! I’m going to have many words with him as we gear up for our 2+-week trip to Italy this fall … if we can get away with two roller bags and two carry-ons, I will do a happy dance!
You are amazing with your packing! I am REALLY hoping that we can manage not to check any bags on our big trip this summer. We will be gone for 12 days, to places with different temperatures, so it won’t be easy but I am determined!
SO fun to meet you! And I was VERY impressed by your minimalist packing!
LOVE that you travel minimally and can then just head out to town after arriving in a city! Your “hobo cart”, LOL! We don’t travel quite that minimally, though it is MUCH easier to travel with a toddler as opposed to an infant. I’ll take your advice and wear clothes over more than once!
That’s awesome! I once packed for a 5-day trip to St. Thomas (for a wedding) with a carry-on. everyone was shocked and amazed. All I needed was shorts, a few tops, my swimsuit and the b’maid dress. I’m ashamed to say I am a bit of an overpacker and realize it halfway through the trip so I’m sure I’ll have to stop doing this! I don’t mind packing more than I need if we are driving, though…
Awesome photos and Gabe melts my heart all the time.
Wow, great tips :D I find it hard to travel light with Topher, since he has so much STUFF (ie babies he can’t leave home without!) – and both of our strollers are massive. We’re planning a trip back east this summer and my goal is to travel light so we can bring more things home :D I’ll bookmark this post for future reference!
Great tips for packing lighter! I’m guilty of being an over-packer, so I’ll have to keep these in mind for my next trip!
I’m totally impressed and amazed and inspired! I long to be able to travel that light! This definitely gets me thinking!
If I wasn’t a National Park cancellation collector I probably wouldn’t know what the George Washington Masonic National Memorial is…but I’ve been there and I do :) Thanks for the helpful tips of encouragement for being a better minimalist!! You rock.
Great post! Seems like most minimalist travelers are the rugged backpacker types, so it’s cool to see a family utilizing the same philosophy! Beautiful pictures too :-) keep up the good work!
Vince
Just checked out your website – great stuff that you’re doing!