Many people correspond the length of a trip to the amount of stuff they have to pack in their luggage. The truth is that you can’t efficiently pack more things than you can use over a 1-2 week period. Whether you’re headed for a week-long holiday or visiting family for several months, you don’t need to carry much more than you can use over 10 days.
Over-packing Takes Away From Your Travels Before You Arrive
Over-packing so you’ll be prepared for a trip wastes the time you have at home – spending hours trying to get every single thing ready before you leave. Despite how much prepare, you’re bound to need something you forgot and won’t use many of the little travel goodies you’ve spent money on.
- The World Is Small – You can buy just about anything from the larger towns and cities in most countries around the world.
- Lighter – Don’t neglect the weight of your suitcase or backpack, which won’t look too heavy sitting on your bedroom floor. Aside from the strain on your back, you might end up paying a number of fees for going over luggage limits so put your backpack on a diet.
- Cost Of Time Over Money – It might be well within your budget to purchase every type of clothing for any kind of weather, but you can’t buy time. That’s time spent researching every possible contingency, searching for the absolute best deals online, or going back and forth to every store under the sun.
The physical weight of all the items you carry isn’t nearly as big of a burden as the mental stress of trying to remember it all. Not to mention you’ll also spend quite a bit of time re-packing once you’re ready to leave. You’re travels are better spent doing the things you love – traveling, eating danishes in Denmark, climbing volcanoes…whatever it may be. (I bet you wouldn’t put packing on that list.)
1-2 Weeks Is The Sweet Spot
Traveling (for most people) isn’t equivalent to moving to a new house. You’re taking a temporary supply of the clothes, electronics, and books you want to use and enjoy while away from home. What you pack before you leave on a trip isn’t absolute – it’s not like you’ve only got one chance to get it right or face catastrophe. People wear clothes and use toothpaste all over the world, you’ll find any essential items at stores no matter where your flight happens to land.
- Do Laundry – Washing your clothes (or having someone do it for you at a hotel) once every 10 days isn’t torture. Facilities can be found just about everywhere and you can even wash your clothes in the shower or bathtub.
- Take Only What You Need – It seems basic, but what are the things you’ll use more than once on a 1 week trip? Start narrowing down from there and stick to a single carry-on.
- Mix And Match Outfits – A few pants, shirts, accessories, plus plenty of socks and underwear can still do wonders for your wardrobe.
- You Are Not Packing For The Rest Of Your Life – We tend to use things in a cyclical fashion, think about your daily routine at home. Do you wear every single outfit in your closet, or do you have some favorites?
I’m willing to bet that you’d need to replenish essential supplies in your house within 2 weeks, but could probably last an entire season or two with a jacket, 5 shirts, and 3 pair of pants, plus 10 pair of underwear and socks.
Missing The Destination By Packing Your Home
Most of the most memorable events and culturally insightful anecdotes you’ll come across traveling happen during the ordinary. Going to a local market to find a necklace, stopping by a small shop to get toothpaste, or washing your clothes like the locals do is similar, but not the same as it is back home. Each culture takes human-common things and crafts them under their own lens.
Yes, people around the world wash clothes, go to grocery stores, and drink Coca-Cola, but how they do so reflects their culture and perhaps yours. If you’re packing to bring home with you, it’s possible you could be missing out on seeing anything else, and carrying more baggage than you think.
[photos by: Cayusa (over-packing), downtownBLUE (over-packed group), ohmann alianne (one week written on finger)]
Having overpacked on the last trip and incurred excess luggage fees, I’m all for packing light-er. It’s all these toiletries that take up room, nothing to do with packing x pairs of shoes 😛
haha, of coourse!
I think I pack more for a 2 weeks trip than I do for a one year trip. On this RTW I pack what I need for one week, more or less, and just do laundry. If I’m lucky enough to have a t-shirt that doesn’t smell, I wear it again. And sometimes I have the inner debate of ‘how bad does it smell?’
Was that too much information?
LOL – I think we all have that debate when traveling!!
So true, so true. I think we packed lightest for our one year RTW than we have for any other trip we’ve taken. Any time we go on a road trip, we take waaaaaay too much stuff since we have the entire car to fill, and fill it we do.
It’s also funny that I thought we would pack lighter when we got home from our trip, but the opposite has happened. Every time we’ve gone out of town since we’ve been home, we bring way more than we need, I think because we can. We have driven everywhere though, so it’s not much of a hassle. Flying changes everything with all the fees. It is nice to know that I can pack really lightly though when I need to. Sometimes I just don’t want to.
Yes, it’s definitely true, we have a tendency to fill up any luggage or container until it’s full. At least that’s a good side to the airline fees (well…close to good), it forces many people to pack lighter or less in general.
I agree and I definitely think that most people over pack. I learned how to pack efficiently on a trip to Cuba 4 years ago. My biggest problem is toiletries. There is just no way I can fit more than a couple of days worth of toiletries in a carry-on bag.
I think it’s definitely harder with all of the security restrictions as well. Hard to pack toiletries efficiently.
It all starts with the backpack/luggage! The smaller it is, the less you can fit and the sooner you’ll realize how little you actually need while traveling. But if you have a bigger pack, it’s just too tempting to fill it up with stuff you won’t need.
I completely agree! I think it’s impossible to not try and fill up a half empty backpack.
Excellent points. The smaller you backpack, the less chances you’ll have to bring everything and the kitchen sink with you. As you said, the world is small – there isn’t anything you can’t pick up once you arrive at your destination.
It’s amazing what brands and items you can find, even outside of the big cities around the world.
I’m not sure about the rest of you, but it’s not my clothes taking up all the room, it’s the tech! Ultralight notebook, DSLR and 3 lenses, iPhone and all the chargers…
I definitely carry a lot of gear – my biggest packing/weight issue. I don’t have the DSLR or lenses though! How do you pack it all?
I should put together a pack list on my website.
I have a 55L ultralight pack (use about 40-45L of the space) I used to carry the majority of my stuff, and use it on multi-day treks. I usually keep my notebook (11.4″) and 2 extra lenses in my daypack (12L). My camera can fit in there if need. That way I can have all of my pricey gear on me in my small pack.
The trickiest part is my hiking boots. They are pretty serious ones, and pay huge dividends when I’m trekking. When I fly they go in an overbag that I fit my 55L in when I check-in. Otherwise when I’m making a move (bus/train) I’ll put them on and throw my flip-flops in my pack instead.
I debated buying a 13″ macbook pro earlier this week so I could have a computer with a bit more power for working with my photos. My ultralight is a few times more powerful than a netbook, but still much slower than a standard notebook. The extra 0.5kg-1kg and size made it a deal breaker. That and the tiny hd in the macbook…
Thanks for sharing Dustin. I’m always curious about the tech gear people carry and how/what they use to carry it all. Too bad Apple doesn’t make a netbook, but if they ever do it’ll be expensive 🙂 I haul around 2 computers, one netbook for backup.
2 computers! I think you just one-uped me there 🙂
I’m not really an apple fan at all, but the battery life and med-range price appealed to me. They do have the Air, but it’s way too much $$ with an itty bity HD.
I do have a couple of things I have doubled up on. I have my iPhone 3G and a backup Palm Centro for use when I get to places that people might cut me for my iPhone. I also have an iPod Classic that I’ve managed to keep from sending home so far with the fear of 20hr + bus rides and nothing to occupy me.
I need the backup, would hate to have a hard drive die and I can’t work for a few days or weeks. I don’t have any mobile phone though so guess you’ve got me there! 🙂
I love that you include how you can actually have a fun experience trying to seek things out wherever you’re traveling. Errands are actually a great way to engage with locals and get a real feel for a place. It usually takes you away from the tourist streets and you meet people you might not otherwise meet.
I always tell people to pack their backpack and then walk a kilometer. Then, decide if you really need all that’s in that bag.
I completely agree – errands are one of the ways I feel can really connect you to a place – it’s one of my favorite things when traveling, more so than any monument or site 🙂
I love your argument that some of the best culture is shopping for everyday things in a different country – I agree 100%. Searching for face cream without whitening in it in Asia is always an adventure!
Some of my best memories in Xian China weren’t the Terra Cotta Warriors, but when my dad and I had to find our way to a local market and converse with the locals to try to find a kite and string.
I often find it’s harder to pack for a short domestic trip than a year of being gone!
One of my favorite travel examples ever!
“Searching for face cream without whitening in it in Asia is always an adventure!”
When you travel a lot on low cost airlines in Europe, the charges for checking baggage tend to focus your mind on travelling light.
Definitely – the charges are incredible. Now I guess on Ryanair can’t have any liquids hours before either, or pay a Euro for the bathroom!
While I don’t travel for extended periods of time, these are also some great lessons for someone like me. Also, sometimes just trying to pack light once makes you realize what you don’t need. On my week long last trip I forced myself to only bring a carry-on and I was more than fine. I’m so glad I did it because I will look at packing from such a different perspective in the future.
Plus no waiting in lines for your luggage after the flight!
I was thinking to bring all my favorite clothes and accessories for my trip.
but mix n’ match outfit sounds cool 🙂
anyway, I really like your blog. it helps me, really \m/
It’ll be much easier to get around that way! Thank you very much for the kind words and happy travels 🙂