How to Travel Light

Traveling is awesome. Luggage is not. Join the minimalist revolution to keep your luggage as light as possible to save money and time. Then you can have more fun.

You can save money by packing lighter because you will need less space. This translates to less luggage fees on planes, smaller rental cars and smaller hotel rooms. It will save you time because you’ll have less chance of forgetting the essentials, of losing and retreiving items and of hauling items around.

Packing lighter translate to more freedom and more fun at your destination.

How to Travel Lighter

Choose one bag. Choose one bag, backpack or small suitcase to pack your items. Making this a rule forces you to only pack what can fit in the bag. Having one bag is easier to carry around too.

Halve your clothes. People like to overpack clothes because they fear not having enough. One rule of thumb is to take the number of days you’ll be gone and divide by two. If you’re gone for four days, take two outfits. You can wear each one twice and save a ton of space.

If you have access to a washer that’s even better. With laundry, you can take a max of four outfits and wash a load every week.

Essentials are essential. Only take what you need. Most likely that’s clothes, hygiene products, tickets, ID, and any medications. Other than that, where are you going and what are you doing there?

Are you going on a beach vacation to Ocean City? Okay, a bathing suit and sunscreen should be packed. Some shades and a towel too.

Digital entertainment. Make entertainment digital. You can do a lot on a phone or tablet and they are lightweight. Use them to their advantage.

You can travel lightly by questioning everything you pack. Determine whether you truly need the item and what can you live without until you come home. Vacations and travels shouldn’t be about the stuff. It should be about the experiences.