When you fill a suitcase, you may be tempted to cover every eventuality. Are you hiking? Having drinks on the beach? Going out for meals? Meeting up with friends? Unsure of the weather? Instead, if you focus on ways to take as little as you can, you’ll not only lighten the load, but be a more responsible traveller.
If you try to cater for every scenario, you’ll be bumping up against your weight allowance before you know it. But if you can think of ways to take as little as possible, it not only makes travelling easier and more convenient, but it is also better for the planet.
Before I start doling out advice, first a confession — I was once a hopeless overpacker. Way back when, as a younger, less experienced traveller, I had the misguided notion that I should bring absolutely everything with me. What if we went to a nice restaurant and I needed to wear something fancy? What if I wanted stylish shoes for every occasion? What if the spirit moved me to accessorise with a series of cute hats? (I was a teenager at the time, after all.) What if, what if, what if…
And do you know what? More often than not, the ‘what ifs’ don’t come to pass, because it makes more sense to know what you actually want to do, and pack accordingly. Otherwise, your belongings are getting a nice holiday while you just have more stuff to keep track of.
So I learned quickly that I didn’t need so much ‘just in case’ filling my case. The majority of those things in my bag went unused, and they only ended up being more things for me to drag around, through airports and rail stations, along pavements, up (and down) flights of stairs. I was overburdened, weighed down, and only making life harder.
But beyond our own comfort and convenience, packing light is essential for eco-friendly, responsible travel. For it turns out our heavier luggage, with its increased weight leading to higher carbon emissions, takes a heavier toll on the environment.
Rather than a lot of items you may use only once, focus on multi-purpose items of clothing and footwear that can be worn many times. Be sensible, with one pair of shoes that are suitable for nearly everything being a far superior choice to three pairs, two of which may only be worn once, or not at all.
And resist the temptation to add just one more thing, ‘just in case’.
Layering — particularly in changeable climates with warm days and cool nights, for example, or alternating dry and rainy periods during the day — is key, with several lightweight layers you can add to or remove being the ideal.
And speaking of the climate and weather, don’t fight Mother Nature either; do some quick research into the conditions you can expect to find during your visit. There are many resources online, plus a host of phone apps if you’re checking on the go.
If you’re a toiletries addict, concentrated, waterless options are a great way to shave kilos off your baggage, reduce the amount of plastic you travel with and minimise the waste you leave behind. If you do prefer the liquid alternatives, a good set of refillable bottles that you can use over and over again is more practical than their full-sized cousins.
If you find you do need something you left behind, unless you’re going somewhere incredibly remote, you can pick it up locally.
Embrace the opportunity to contribute to your destination’s economy and buy it there. Have an adventure and try Australian shampoo, Greek toothpaste or Mexican soap! Grab a sunhat in South Africa or a jacket in Jakarta. The fascinating journey around the supermarket or local shop makes the exploration well worth it, in addition to benefitting the local economy.
There’s still plenty of room for spontaneity, sure — but even the most spontaneous journey doesn’t require a wardrobe change at every turn. On the contrary, it’s the serendipity of not having something that can be most interesting of all.
So, fellow travellers, if you haven’t already seen the light, it’s time to lighten up!
