While I like to embrace a “just in case” mindset when traveling because “you never know,” I found that maybe there’s more truth in a less is more mindset.
When you’re traveling abroad and potentially facing snow in one country and warm spring weather in another, it leaves you with a packing dilemma—do you overpack so that you have enough clothes for different weather conditions, or do you under pack and hope that what you’ve packed will be enough?
One thing I’ll say upfront is that I overestimated how many different outfits I would need and underestimated how many clothes I would re-wear. Because the weather for most of my trip was colder than I anticipated, I wore the same jacket most days as it was my warmest clothing item.
So, here’s the overpacking I did. I hope it comes in handy on your next trip!
1. Clothes
I packed way too many extra jackets and extra leggings. I was thinking more about “different outfits for different days” than I was considering keeping warm. I packed skirts, shorts, and a dress—and never wore them!
It’s helpful to consider how often you wear your clothes at home and apply that to your packing. If you get a week’s wear out of the same jumper, pack one jumper for one week of traveling. If you get two weeks wear out of jeans, apply that same principle for packing. You’ll likely end up packing a lot less, but the bonus of under-packing or “sufficiently packing” is that you can always buy more—part of the fun of traveling is exploring different shops. Packing fewer clothes will give you more room for gifts or purchases, and your suitcase will be much lighter!
2. Books
I had an expectation that because I was on holiday, I would read a lot of books. I wanted a book for all the trains I was going on (and that was a lot of trains). Also, the fear of being without a book in my hand scared me, so I overpacked.
The reality was that when traveling, you often don’t know what kind of mood you’ll be in. One day you might embrace the “book in hand while leaning against the train window, sun streaming on your face,” and everything feels bliss. On other days, you might feel like watching a movie or chatting with the person next to you.
I realised that I like to read casually (aka when I feel like it) and slowlyyyyy. I would read a few pages here and there on the train and finish the rest of the chapter another day. I found that reading on holidays (unless you’re on a beach) is more disjointed and therefore you read less.
I also love exploring bookshops, and when I do, I enter a zone: it’s called, I’m not coming out of here for a while, and I am 100% sure that even though I’ve overpacked on books, I will definitely buy at least one book.
So, my advice is this: just bring one book from home. You can always buy one more at a local bookshop overseas (or three more). Plus, it’s fun buying books overseas because you come home forever remembering that that book was the one you bought overseas!
3. Shampoo and conditioner
I like my home routine and taking my own products with me. However, I underestimated how many hotels provided shampoo and conditioner and how good they were. A couple of hotels I stayed at had great shampoo and condition that I took with me for the rest of the trip, meaning I didn’t even touch my bottle of shampoo or conditioner I brought from home.
But this is a gamble—some toiletries aren’t great. My suggestion is to take a mix of both. Pack some small bottles, but don’t overdo it. Plus, your bag will be slightly lighter the less you pack.
My perspective was this: does it really matter if you use a different shampoo or conditioner for a few weeks? I realised the hotel ones were better quality than mine and enabled me to wash my hair less, but it gave a more thorough clean, so I embraced this to a tee!
4. Shoes and socks
So, when I say “too many shoes,” let me elaborate. I really mean one extra pair of shoes. I packed two pairs of shoes for three weeks of travel and wore the same shoes every day. I understand that perhaps this isn’t normal behaviour. But if you’re traveling when it’s cold, this is realistic.
Perspective: if you’re a shoe person, then go ahead and pack as many as you like. I travelled at the end of winter and the start of spring, so I thought two pairs of closed-in shoes would be ample. I didn’t expect to wear the same pair of shoes every day, but somehow, I did. So, there you go, it’s possible!
Now to the socks—I packed 18 pairs of socks.
Is that crazy? I didn’t think it was. Plus, I wanted a fresh pair of socks every day. But the reality was that my socks were fine after each day. They felt clean, and I had aired them overnight. Perhaps it was the fact my shoes were new and super clean on the inside, so my socks hardly got dirty—and most of us reuse our socks anyway (shh, we just don’t tell anyone). So next time, I’d probably pack half that amount to save space in my suitcase.
5. Suitcase
Now, I’ve included this one here because while I didn’t “overpack” on how many suitcases I took—I only took one—I did opt for a large suitcase, and in hindsight, I probably could have taken a smaller suitcase.
My mindset going into travel was that it was a few weeks, and I wanted extra space to bring things home. I also needed to pack bulkier items because of the cold weather. But the downside was that I could keep filling it with more. My suitcase was also extremely heavy. While it wasn’t a huge problem most of the time, it was difficult pulling it upstairs.
If I had taken a smaller (medium-sized) suitcase, it would limit what I could bring and likely make me more decisive in what I packed. I also realised that even if I wanted to bring home gifts or buy items, I could always buy a duffle bag and carry it on the plane or buy a small suitcase and check it in when returning.
Overall thoughts
So there you go—clothes, books, shampoo and conditioner, shoes and socks, and my suitcase. All things that next time, I could pack less or go smaller.
Maybe you’re planning a trip and considering what you need to pack. Remember, we can live on a lot less than we think. If you under-pack or approach it with a less is more mentality, you’ll likely appreciate and get more use out of the things you pack.
The Editing Eagle 