Lighten Up: Tips for Traveling Light
Traveling is, by far, one our favorite family activities. So much so, that we’ve set the goal to visit all 50 states as a foursome. We’ve managed to check off 20 states so far and have learned that it can be best to travel light. Here are a few of our best tips:
Double Down on Doubling Up
When packing your suitcases, save space by challenging yourself to double as many items as possible. I like to start by choosing about two-thirds of the amount of shirts as vacation days. Next, choose two bottoms for each top, but require that each bottom also pairs with another top. With this method, you should be able to pack 3-4 shirts and 3-4 bottoms for a seven-day trip, but not repeat any outfits. Anything that can’t be doubled – including shoes, which can take up the most space - isn’t invited on this trip.
Double up space in your suitcase. Nestle socks and underwear into the domes of sunhats, tuck jewelry and hair accessories into your shoes, share as many toiletries, combs, and sunscreens as possible. When traveling with my extended family, my sister and I will even coordinate on sharing curling irons, strollers, and swim toys.
If you’re heading to a warm location, you can really flex your packing ninja muscles by utilizing casual dresses. Wear them as a swimsuit coverup, by themselves with casual sandals or tennies during the day, with a t-shirt knotted over the top to change it up, and with a cardigan, jewelry, and dressy sandals for dinner.
For kid-clothes in warm locales, be honest with yourself if they are truly going to wear them. Most beach trips have my kiddos wearing two swimsuits for the majority of the trip. Think about counting your boys’ swim trunks as bottoms and choose t-shirts that will match. Same with your daughter’s swim cover or dress, or even bring shorts that could be worn to compliment a one-piece. Don’t skimp on suits, though. I always bring two swimsuits for each person; there’s nothing worse than slipping on a damp suit.
Consider choosing lodging with access to laundry so that you can bring less clothing. Save even more space by purchasing your travel-sized laundry detergent when you arrive at your location. Up your game even more by trying to keep your family within 2-3 color palates so that everybody’s clothes can get easily sorted into 1-2 laundry loads and you can do a small load of laundry each day.
You can also save space by wearing your bulkiest items on your travel day. Wear your tennis shoes, jeans, ball cap, sweatshirts, and even a jacket around your waist at the airport. Layers never hurt, anyway, as you can never predict if you’ll be shivering through the skies or sweating.
Taper the Toys
Our family has found it helpful to lean hard into screentime when traveling. Tablets and headphones take up a lot less space than most other kid-entertainment and give you a lot of bang for your buck in the amount of time they will keep kids occupied. An added benefit? When our kids are plugged into their devices, my husband and I get to enjoy some long-overdue, uninterrupted conversation. Our mini-van also has a DVD system so we stock up on DVDs from the library before pulling out onto the open road. Remember, vacations are departures from your ordinary, if some extra screentime helps you out, go for it.
Still feeling a little resistant to all that screentime? Check to see if your local library has access to audiobooks on apps like Libby or Hoopla. Prior to departure, let your kids pick out a few titles to download and enjoy. Just make sure everything gets downloaded to the device before you are on the road without wifi.
No tablets? Check out your library’s audio section for books on CD and consider kicking it old school by purchasing a small cd player for the trip. (Yes, they still exist!) Or, see if your library has Playaways. A Playaway is basically an MP3 player loaded with a book , book series, or musical album. All you have to do is add a AAA battery and headphones.
Streamline the Snacks
Snacks are synonymous with vacation, but before you know it, they can take up a ton of space. Before roadtrips, I do like to give my kids free reign in the snack aisle to pick whatever they’d like, but before packing those bagged snacks, I open them, let out the air, and reseal with a bag clip or clothespin. They are just going to be inhaled and littered across the floor of the van tomorrow anyway, they’ll be fresh enough.
Now that my boys are a little bit older, I’ve also started packing them each their own gallon-sized baggie of individual snacks that stays in the car by them. They can eat whatever they want whenever they want, which gives them a lot of independence and saves me from dealing out snacks for the entire trip. Plus, the smaller bags seem a lot easier to Tetris into the van than a large one.
Drinks can also take up a lot of space and too many drinks can lead to, well, too many stops. Start everyone off with a water bottle that can be refilled at stops. I‘ve found those water bottles can be really valuable to have after you arrive at your destination, too. Seem a little boring or worried that you’ll miss the fun travel drinks? Instead of a cooler full of drinks, bring a roll of quarters. Growing up, my dad was never one of those dads who refused to stop, he actually loved it. He also really loved treating us to our pick from the vending machine at the rest stop or from the rainbow of sugary choices at the gas station. Stopping and trying something new can be part of the experience and what it may cost you in time, it might save you in space.
If you are planning on needing groceries on your trip, jump online and scout out your grocery store options well before you leave. If at all possible, get groceries after you arrive. And if at all, all possible, see if there’s a store that will allow you to order groceries for pickup or delivery. Pro tip: schedule your pick up for about an hour after you arrive. You might need a little wiggle room to unpack a trunkful of vacation gear before you reload it with groceries.
Free Your Mind
Do all of these tips make you feel overwhelmed? Are you cringing imagining bringing fewer toys and snacks? Would you be happier with more outfit choices? Then bring ‘em! There is no perfect way to travel and no vacation is perfect. Lighten your mental load by freeing yourself from the expectation that your vacation will look like anyone else’s or be perfect. This is your trip, enjoy it as perfectly you.
