Guide To Minimalist Packing
Early this year, January to be precise, I travelled to Lagos. It was meant to be a two-week stay but I ended up carrying a luggage big enough to comfortably last me for 2 months. It didn’t even help that it was a huge box and that I still had to carry a backpack for my laptop and blogging equipments and my handbag for fragile items especially my eyeshadow palettes.
While packing, it didn’t seem like I had overpacked but when I set for the trip and had to trudge along a hefty box, it dawned on me that I did. I wish that was all I had to contend with, after getting to my destination, I realised I left some important clothes like my sleep wear. So, the next time I was to travel, I took my time and researched on guide to minimalist packing and it paid off because I travelled with just my backpack and a little hand luggage.
Hence I have decided to share with you all a simply guide to minimalist packing. But first before packing for a trip, you should try to know a few details about your destination. Like weather and cultural differences. For example if you are travelling from Lagos to New York, you have to consider the season i.e winter, summer etc. Before you book your cheap flights from Lagos to New York to enable you know what and how to pack.
So here we go
Create A Travel Checklist And STICK To It:
Travelling requires planning and it doesn’t matter if you are a travel pro, you can’t have every detail stuck in your head. So it’s best to prepare a travel checklist prior to your trip.
A travel checklist should contain the following;
- Electronics ( charger, laptop etc)
- Clothing and accessories
I can’t overemphasize how important it is to create a packing checklist. It’s the first guide to minimalist packing. Take your time to write out what clothes, footwear and toiletries are essential to your trip. The keyword here being essential because most times we pack unnecessary things which we end up not using. So pack only essentials.
Embrace Marie Kondo’s Capsule Folding Method:
This folding method was popularized by Marie Kondo in her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo.
The capsule method requires you fold up your clothes in capsule like shapes. This keeps them from getting rumpled and they occupy less space. I wrote deep on how to embrace the Marie Kondo lifestyle in this post on how to declutter and breathe. Click to learn how to fold using the capsule method
Focus On Packing For Function Than Fashion:
This is a difficult step especially for fashion lovers. But the thing about minimalism is you have to forfeit some excesses. You can still look fashionable in functional pieces. So rather than pack various colours of tops and pants. You can go for two denim with different shades, two pants, one joggers and two shorts.
Try to choose safe colours like black, blue and white which can go with almost any other colour. The key is to think outside the box and task yourself for fashion inspiration on how to wear basics/functional pieces and still slay. If you need help, Pinterest is always there.
Choose The Right Travelling Bag:
This is very important because the right bag can either make or mar your minimalist efforts. As a blogger, when travelling I go along with my laptop and this applies to so many people as well. Hence it’s best to travel with a laptop backpack with several compartments. I highly recommend travelling with a Jansport backpack. Jansport is a bag company with over 40 years experience, they specialize in making unique bags to aid travelling, their bags come in different styles, colours and sizes. The best part is they come with lifetime warranty and yes you can get backpacks in Nigeria from them.
Invest in Travel Size Packaging/Products.
A lot of brands understand the hassle to get large products to fit into your travelling bag and hence they have created travel size products. However I will advice you get small-sized containers and share your lotion, shampoo, body oil etc amongst them. Remember to take only the quantity you need. For ladies, when packing makeup products, select versatile products. For example, a multi functional eye-shadow that has a wide range of colour selection rather than carry 4-5 eye-shadow palettes.
To make this a bit easier, I have created a checklist for clothing and accessories.
- Remember your underwear and sleep wear (
don’t be like me) - footwear also depend on the weather conditions of your destination. Will advice you go with a sandals, a black high heel shoe and sneakers.
- For Accessories (watch, necklace, earrings,hat, scarf and sunshade)
I followed these tips and they worked for me. You should definitely try them out. Trust me, minimalist packing takes away all the stress of excessive luggage that are mostly unnecessary.
If you are reading this, it means you are interested in travelling soon and if you need cheap travel options, you should definitely check out options for cheap flights.
How do you pack when travelling, light or heavy?. Have you ever had any too many luggage situation? please share with me in the comment section.
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Gift Collins is an ingenious creative. She loves to put her polished thoughts into words and pictures to create beautiful stories. She is a media girl-in and out.
An experienced Filmmaker, Scriptwriter and Blogger. She also has skills and experience in social media management.
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