Travelling brings a lot of joy and abundance and is one of the most relaxing ways to spice up your life. In order to reach your beloved travel destination, the first and foremost thing which you need to do is pack. A lot of us don’t like this tedious task of packing and find it a little burdensome. But don’t worry, this article got you covered and is all about how to travel light and enjoy the benefits of wandering when you have minimal stuff to carry around.

At A Glance

If you are somebody who is often tempted with packing your whole wardrobe for a 1-2 weeks trip and finds trouble in restricting yourself to basic and necessary items, then this article is meant for you. Traveling with more weight not only lands you up in paying the extra baggage amounts at the airport, but also restricts your freedom on the trip, slows down your movement, and might also end up in some rashes and bruises due to dragging the heavyweights. Here’s a list of 7 quick tips which you can start implementing from your next trip onwards and enjoy your vacation a little more.

Tip 1

Choose a suitcase or a backpack which is smaller in size and measure its weight - Well this is psychologically true that the bigger the size of your suitcase, the more tempted you will be to fill it up to the brim and vice versa. This tip proves to be a gamechanger and will make you choose wisely as to what items makes the priority space in your reduced-size suitcase of yours. In this way, a lot of junk that was previously adding unnecessary weight to your luggage ( just because of the availability of more space) will be eradicated. 

Not only this, but it is also wise to measure the weight of your luggage instead of just assuming it. When you will be aware of the size and pounds that you are currently carrying, then you can make required adjustments accordingly, and thus save yourself from paying those extra charges which otherwise were implacable to you.

Tip 2 - Follow the packing essential list 

it is very important for you to realize what are the priority items that are needed on your trip and which ones are not. Instead of doing last-minute packing and missing essential items and keeping some “just in case” things, and thus overloading your luggage, it is advisable to prepare a list well in advance of your trip and try to restrict it to essentials only. I am sure you can do well without a hair straightener on a one-week trip and thus if it is not on your packing essentials list, then this item is not going to accompany you on your trip.

 Tip 3 - Wear heavy and bulky items while traveling 

If you have any heavy weighing clothing items such as a puffer jacket or a hiking boot or some heavy pair of sweaters and jeans, then consider them for wearing on your flight or during the time of the journey in order to avoid the heavyweights which otherwise would have been enforced upon you. The temperature near the airports and on the flight is usually cold, so wearing the bulky layers won’t be an issue for you. If you are traveling to some hot place, even then try to wear your big set of shoes, some funky jewelry, and other weight-consuming items in order to travel light.

Tip 4 - Mix and match your outfits  

The idea is to plan your clothes ahead of time rather than on the fly. You'll be able to create more outfits with fewer items if you can find garments that you can mix and match in terms of style and color. As a result, you won't require nearly as many clothes as you initially thought of. Try to keep dark-colored lowers and jeans which can go well with multiple tops. Also, no need to wear a new outfit for every new location, some of the clothes can be repeated with different combinations such as a previously worn top can be carried out again with a different set of jeans and so on. In this way, you will realize that there is essentially no need to pack half of your closet for a 10-day trip, and most importantly you can still look charming and stylish with less clothing luggage.

Tip 5 - Don't carry all your shoes 

On the same lines as the previous tip, you need not carry all of your shoes and footwear for such a short span of your trip as Shoes take up a lot of pack space, so you have to be extra careful while packing these. You will be tempted to carry your hiking shoes, then those silver sandals for the white dress, croxes for the beach, bellies for the road trip, and the list goes on and on. It is wise to stick to a maximum of three pairs of shoes, plus a pair of flip-flops for getting out of the shower and going to the beach / walking around, in order to be a smart packer and traveling light.

Tip 6 - Share your toiletries and a few other essentials with your travel partners 

I am sure that you won’t be needing a full bottle of shampoo, body wash, and conditioner for a 1-week trip, then why unnecessarily carry the bulky weights of these. Here’s a pro tip, you and your partner can always split up on such items and can carry these on a sharing basis. Also, no need to carry the big size volumes of such items, instead a pocket pouch or a small sashe will also serve the purpose with comparatively less weight. In this manner, not only the chances of missing important toiletries will be reduced, but also the weight of your luggage will be reduced to half.

Tip 7 - Avoid roaming around with “ Just in case” items

You need to realize that you are going to a vacation location and not some remote village and thus most of the items will be available there locally too. You are not expected to carry emergency, “ just in case”, unnecessary and bulky items in your luggage. For example, if we talk about medicines, If you haven't taken a particular medicine in a few weeks or months, you're unlikely to do so while you're gone. All of those "just in case" medicines might add a lot of non-essential bulk to your medicine cabinet. And also, there is no travel destination where a hospital and a pharmacy are nonexistent. So you need to be wise while placing the items in your suitcase considering all the factors and existing realities in mind.

Bonus Tip - “ Follow the 1-2-3-4-5-6 rule” 

Well, you might be wondering what this tip is all about. This is a very important clothing tip, which you can start practicing from your next vacation itself and reap the benefits of traveling so free-minded with minimal weights to worry about.

Clothes comprise the main part of our packing journey and thus a 1-2-3-4-5-6 rule can come into the picture to handle this critical aspect of packing well. Pack one cap, two pairs of shoes, three bottoms, four tops (short or long-sleeved or outer layer), five pairs of socks, and six pairs of underwear according to this rule. This should keep you going for two weeks. Additionally, personalize your packing list to include swimwear, rainwear, and other trip-specific goods. You may not require all of it (pack even less if possible), but it should last you six days before you need to do the washing. No matter how long your trip is, aim to keep your apparel to no more than seven days. Get in the habit of wearing the same outfit multiple times (no one really notices or cares). Also, make plans to wash laundry.

Benefits Of Traveling Light

So far we have discussed how to travel light and the ways and tips that need to be followed. But here the question arises, why do we have to travel light at all, and what is the benefit of doing so. So here’s a list of advantages that a person with light luggage has over the heavyweight luggage travelers:-

• The first and foremost advantage of traveling light is that it saves you from paying the hefty excess baggage fees and also the extra trolley fees at the airport.
• There are chances of getting bruises and rashes while you struggle with moving your heavy luggage in and around your travel destination. But if you traveling light, then you needn’t worry about these inconveniences.
• If you are traveling light with less luggage, then it also becomes easy for you to quickly pack and unpack at your home and travel destination, thus saving that extra time for other recreational activities
• There are usually chances of reaching somewhere at the last moment and a few other instances where you might need to run and catch the train or escape from other mishappenings. In all these cases, your movement will be restricted if you are with heavy weighing suitcases and vice versa

List Of Most Essential Items You'll Need

So far we have discussed what to avoid and not keep in your luggage bags, but here in this section, we will talk about the list of most essential items that you will necessarily need on your journey and which you must put upon the travelling essential list. These items are -

• Important documents - such as passports, visas, identity cards, travel tickets, travel wallets, and credit cards
• Clothing- jeans, lower, comfortable t-shirt, shirts, undergarments, socks, base layers, thermals, and jackets depending on the weather of the place
• Medicines and skin care - personal medication, first aids, sunscreen lotion, hand sanitizer, moisturizer, and vitamins
• Personal Hygiene - toothbrush, towel, shampoo, soap, razor, mirror, and sanitary pads
• Gadgets - mobile phone, charger, power bank, earphones, and laptop

Still missing out on some important essentials? Don’t worry, we got you covered, you can look over here for the comprehensive traveler’s checklist.

Conclusion

So this article was all about what you should carry and what not on your vacation so that the weights of your bag are as light as possible and thus giving yourself more freedom on the trip. I am sure that if you start implementing these tips from your next vacation, then slowly and gradually you will establish yourself in the category of smart packers.

FAQs

Why to pack light for winter?

We all know how dangerous bruises and rashes get in the cold winter months and due to the heavyweights of winter layers, jackets, boots, sweaters, and other thermals, the weight of our luggage is likely to shoot up, thus making it difficult for you to lug around such heavy luggage and ending up in discomfort. Therefore it is advised to pack light for the winter.

If you are still confused about what to pack and how to proceed with it for your winter trip, then do check out this article from Kosha 

How do you pack light and look good?

It is all about smart packing and what items make a priority list in your backpacks. Make combinations of items that serve multi-purpose and can go along with several outfits. Also, don’t pack any item which you are going to wear only once during the trip. Avoid all the heavy jewelry and jeans, and instead, go for the lightweight latest collections which will reduce your luggage weight and will also make you look and feel good.

How do you pack light for a month long trip?

The key to traveling light for a month-long journey is to pack lightly and wash frequently. It is expected of you to carry around a week's worth of clothing that you will need to wash frequently in your hostel's or a laundromat's laundry services. Other than that, follow the above-mentioned tips such as sharing the toiletries, making dress combinations, and so on and so forth, and thus experience the lightweight traveling for the whole month of your journey.

If you are planning your vacation during spring break, then here is all that you need to know while packing for the trip.