Amy Reynolds My last few international trips have been done in a 40-litre backpack weighing less than 10 kilograms, and I won’t ever go back. From huge savings on checked baggage fees to a seamless airport transfer experience, the benefits of the less is more lifestyle are endless.
Here are four of my top tips for packing light (or at least lighter).
Carefully consider your clothing
The main factors that should weigh in to your clothing choices are comfort, practicality, and versatility. If in doubt, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do these clothes fit me comfortably? Will I still think so 8 hours and 20,000+ steps into my day?
- Do my outfit and shoe choices suit the weather, terrain, and cultural norms/expectations of my destination?
- Can I mix and match the clothing pieces I’ve brought?
- What activities will I be doing and do I need any special clothing for these?
- Will I have access to laundry? How much maintenance do these fabrics require (e.g. ironing, handwashing)?
Keep your habits in mind
A holiday is not going to be the time to finally get started on those New Year’s resolutions: if you don’t enjoy going to the gym regularly, you’re wasting valuable packing space on all that extra activewear. Likewise, if you don’t spend hours in front of the mirror each morning at home, you can probably ditch heat tools for your hair and choose a select few multitasking makeup products. Similarly, you should remove the ‘just in case’ additions that you’ve never had cause to use during your travels, with the caveat that this absolutely does not refer to ‘in case of emergency’ medical items.
Make the move to miniatures
Ditching full-size toiletries can save a lot of luggage space. Whether it’s investing in travel-size products or decanting your everyday essentials from home into smaller tubes or containers (a great environmentally- and budget-friendly option!), this can be a great way to save weight on everything from toothpaste to perfume right through to your entire skincare routine. If you underestimate how much you’ll need and end up running out, you can simply restock wherever you’re travelling.
Don’t fall for gimmicky travel gadgets: is it worth its weight?
We’ve all fallen for something that is going to simplify some process for us, that just ends up shoved in a drawer somewhere. When travelling light, it’s incredibly important to consider the practicality of an object against its weight and the space it will take in your bag.