9 Tips On How To Travel Light If You Overpack Everything During A Trip!

If you are new to the concept of traveling light, here’s the most important part of it: traveling light does not mean you don’t carry important, or enough, things. It means you reconsider your travel checklist and eliminate all that you need. Traveling light is also more about finding many purposes in one item so you don't have to carry ten things for ten different purposes.

Traveling light is great if you don’t want to lug around heavy bags and pay extra to get them on a flight. It also allows you to stress a little less because you will, potentially, be carrying fewer bags in general. Not just that, traveling light forces you to travel sustainably, too. So, how does one ‘travel light’? Here are a few steps you can follow in order to effectively reduce all sorts of loads when traveling! Let's learn how to travel light!

9 Tips To Travel Light

1. Write An Itinerary

Before you start packing, make a rough itinerary of all the places you want to visit. This will give you a clearer idea of all the clothes, accessories, and footwear you’ll need to carry. No, it doesn't have to be a well-defined itinerary containing the most minute details, just make a rough itinerary to know where you'll be going and what you'll be doing. Not just that, you’ll also be able to decide what kind of luggage you want to carry - trekking backpacks, trolleys, or duffel bags. Gauge your need and pick one.

2. List The Essentials

When it comes to how to travel light, it has to boil down to the essentials. Think of all the essentials you simply cannot spend a day without or survive a trip. Things like power banks, earphones, sanitary items, etc can be considered essentials, for example. So, once you do make this list, strike off all the multiples, all the extras, and all the ‘just in case’ items. Whatever you are left with, is your list of essentials that you actually need to carry.

3. Choose A Smaller Case

Here is where we actually start packing. Once you’ve figured out what you want to carry, the next step is to figure out what are you going to carry it in. Traveling light, inherently, requires you to carry fewer things. One of the best ways to do that is to restrict the amount of space you have. Of course, don’t go for the smallest bag available, though. Choose a bag that is one size smaller than what you would choose regularly. Two sizes, if you’re feeling adventurous. However, don't go for a small bag where you'd have to end up stuffing all the essentials in. We also recommend making use of items like travel cubes and vacuum-sealed travel bags to organize better and save space.

Also Read: Which Winter Gears To Invest In Before Taking That Snowy Trip?

4. Pack For A Week, If Traveling For Over A Week

This is only applicable to your clothes and only when you're traveling for over a week. Almost all the places you visit will have some sort of laundry service. If not, all places will definitely have cloth detergent bars and other supplies. Choose one day to do all your laundry and you’ll be sorted for another week. For long-lasting results, repeat this process once, every week! You can carry just a few extra pieces of clothing in case you miss out on laundry, but try to avoid that if you want to pack light.

5. Minimize Bulk

By ‘bulk’, we mean bulky pieces of clothing and other items. You don't need to pack your straightener or curling iron, it is usually available at many hotels for a small fee. If you're going to a chilly place, you can carry 2-3 heavy-duty jackets that you can swap on alternate days instead of carrying a new jacket for each new day of the trip.

This can be less of a problem if you're traveling to a hotter place as you'll automatically carry lighter and fewer pieces of clothing. When you minimize bulky items, you're essentially saving your shoulders and hands from quite some weight!

If you want more help on how to pack a suitcase, read our blog!

6. Mix And Match

This is the golden rule of traveling light. When you’re packing your clothes, avoid keeping individual outfits for individual locations. Instead, scroll on apps like Pinterest for inspiration to swap and style clothes in unique ways. Look for similar outfits on these apps and see how they've been styled. Keep a bunch of items of clothing that you can pair with the rest of your travel wardrobe. This way, you can carry almost half the amount of clothes you would carry otherwise, while also having enough outfits to last a lifetime!

7. Accessorize For A Fresher Look!

Since you’re carrying fewer clothes, it is going to be a challenge to have a fresh look every day. Keeping accessories will be like a real-life cheat code for this issue. However, do not load up on every piece of accessory you own. After you’re done picking your clothes, pick and choose accessories that are statement pieces. That way, you get the opportunity to add one more aspect of style and flair to the outfits you’ve already mixed and matched!

Also Read: The 5 Outfit Formula That Saves You From Overpacking Every Single Trip

8. Carrying Electronics

By carrying electronics, we mean carrying only the necessary electronics. Instead of a laptop, a GPS device, and a few books to read, carry a tablet or an iPad with the digital versions of the books you wish to read. Both these devices will weigh approximately as much as a book would, and give you access to maps, apps, websites, cameras, and any e-books or audiobooks you might want to carry.

When it comes to carrying chargers, carry just one brick and the minimum amount of cords you’d need to connect your devices to that brick. This way, you won’t just save up on space and weight, but also won’t have to worry about forgetting, losing, or breaking one of your chargers. 

One trick is to carry the charging brick with the most electrical capacity. For example, if you are using Apple products, carry only the brick for the iPad. It will work with all your devices, and the higher amperage will allow you to charge smaller devices faster. 

Also Read: The Carry-On Closet: Building A Travel Capsule Wardrobe That Works

9. Use A Bag That Opens Fully

This hack is more for convenience and speed than for anything else. Carrying a bag that only opens a specific way or has a very narrow opening, means you cannot access every bit of space in it. It also means you have to maneuver your things in order to make use of the limited space that is available. If possible, look for bags that fully open, making it easier for you to organize items inside the bag.

Author's Note

I have traveled solo around 4-5 times and the hack that helps me travel light the best is re-using and re-styling a limited number of clothes and shoes. In fact, one can wear a single pair of shoes or just a couple of shoes for the entirety of the trip - read it in our How To Travel With Just One Pair Of Shoes blog. When you have limited clothes and plenty of inspiration to style them in different ways, you also end up avoiding decision fatigue during the trip.

Summing Up

After everything is said and done, traveling light is just one way for you to make the most out of your travels. It is not a set of rules that you need to follow and definitely nothing that will take away from your experience if you do not follow. So, make sure you don’t carry unnecessary weight, but don’t sacrifice your comfort to an extent where you would be struggling with yourself every morning. Most importantly, big bags, small bags, or no bags, make sure you have fun and stay safe. Happy travels!