Packing Light and Packing Right: How to Be a Minimalist Traveler
Packing for travel is essential! Everyone needs enough clothes to wear for the duration of a journey. Depending on the situation, everyone’s needs will vary when it comes to packing.
The Challenge of Packing
How do you know how much to pack? What clothing accessories are required? What type of trip are you taking? All these factors are subjective and determine the way you travel.
As a travel writer on the autism spectrum, packing caused me much anxiety. During my family travels as a kid, my parents would pack my clothes, and the bags would be checked before claiming them at baggage claim at our destination.
Understanding how to pack for a trip can be anxiety-inducing. Too often, this has occurred for me, and I want to break down how you can travel better and minimize stress when it comes to packing.
Farpoint 40 Osprey Series the bag I use to pack my clothes. It is easy to carry and lightweight.
Determine the Duration of Your Trip
First, figure out the trip length. A week-long family trip requires extra shirts, pants, shorts, and socks, while a weekend getaway needs less.
A week-long trip will be different than a month-long journey. Even a short weekend getaway factors into how much to pack.
Avoid Checking a Bag (Recommended)
If you remember my Navigating Airports with Ease: Tips for Travellers on the Autism Spectrum, I provided a key tip to avoid checking a bag. Avoiding checked bags saves time, stress, and baggage fees. Airlines can lose checked bags, causing anxiety. A small backpack or carry-on is ideal for packing light.
Pack Light
For many years, I stressed over packing and bringing more than I actually needed. Packing light makes life easier for autistic travellers by reducing stress and stimuli. For cold weather, more gear is needed, but for warm climates, packing light is easier.
Note: Travelling to cold winter climate destinations means more gear is needed. This will cause the bags to go over the weight limit, requiring that the bags will need to be checked. Prepare wisely before deciding to visit a cold weather destination.
What to Pack and Being a Minimalist
Now that I have explained some tips, let’s break down a list of what it means to pack light. I have put together a list of clothes and a system I follow, which has made my life traveling so much easier:
Osprey 40 Travel Bag
Clothes:
4x t-shirts
4x socks
2x shorts
2x pants
4x boxers/underwear
1x light sweater
1x gym shorts
1x bathing suit
Belt
Running shoes
1x large ziplock bag
10x medium-sized ziplock bags
Toiletries:
Toothpaste
Shaving cream
Razor blades
Small shampoo
Toothbrush
Deodorant
Medicine
Ciprofloxacin (prescription required)
Gravol
Tylenol
Advil
Epipens (for peanut allergy)
Cold medicine
Band-aids
Polysporin
LOWEPRO Bag (Smaller bag)
Laptop
Folder with travel information
Flight documents
Hotel/Accommodation documents
Travel insurance
Visas (if travelling to country where visa is required)
Upper Pocket
Passport
Nexus card
Aventura Rewards Travel Credit Card
Combo lock
Lower Pocket
USB phone charger cables
Laptop charger cables
Anker charger cable
Spare wallet
Bottom Section
MacBook adapter charger
Nikon Camera
Nikon Camera Charger
Primary Ruxin travel adapter
Lowepro is the smaller bag I use to pack my important travel documents, phone charger, travel adapter and accessories I can easily access such as my passport.
While this system doesn’t apply or work for everyone, that’s totally fine. However, packing light with this current formula I have developed has enhanced and created a more comfortable and different experience traveling.
Can You Do Laundry While Traveling?
Absolutely, yes! For long trips, plan to do laundry. Hotels offer services but can be expensive. Local laundromats are usually cheaper and still highly efficient.
Conclusion
Adopting a minimalist packing approach has reduced my travel anxiety. I encourage solo travelers, especially those with autism, to follow a similar system for a more enjoyable journey.
