EIGHT DAYS TRAVELING
WITH ONLY HAND LUGGAGE
When we went to New York for two weeks I had about 200 kilos of clothes with me. “Yes, but it’s Fashion Week, I need to wear a nice outfit every day, so those two suitcases are very normal,” I kept hearing myself shout. And that may be true, the result was that I was not able to move by myself because those suitcases were so heavy. And at the end of the trip, it turned out that I definitely hadn’t worn at least 70%. That has to change. I don’t want to be like that. Today I am on a plane to Peru for a press trip (you will read all about it in the coming days) and I have given myself the challenge to travel for 8 days with only hand luggage.
“You will NEVER succeed,” everyone I told this to said. The funny thing is that most people who know me from Amayzine see me as a huge fashion doll who indeed doesn’t leave the house without at least 10 pairs of shoes and 23 dresses. Partly that is true, but somewhere inside me also lurks a huge hippie who becomes incredibly happy from dirty hostels and shabby restaurants. When I went to Rio for three weeks in December I had a backpack that weighed 10 kilos . Seriously. And for most of that trip, I wore pareos that I wrapped as a dress. Clothes are sometimes very unnecessary.. In Peru, I have a jam-packed schedule with a few domestic flights and the idea that I have to do all that with a suitcase weighing a thousand kilos made me nauseous. Besides, I am traveling with two men, who don’t care at all. And moreover, I am going to Peru, not Paris. As mentioned.
we travel a lot and we will encounter different climates, ranging from 18 degrees to a maximum of 35 degrees. I started this packing mission by thoroughly studying the program and looking up how warm it is in the different places we visit. Additionally, there are some general packing tips that allow you to really travel with very few clothes. – Roll your clothes up. I have said this before, but every time I am amazed at how much space it creates.
– Don’t take your large toiletry bag but buy a smaller one, or two. What do you actually need? Cleaning stuff, day cream, shampoo, body lotion, that’s about it. Moreover, most hotels already have all those items in the bathroom.
– Buy minis. I have mini bottles of my shampoo (I am quite panicky about other brands and only want to wash my hair with.
‘my’ John Masters ‘), a mini jar of Estée Lauder ( my ultimate favorite cream) and a compressed version of my deodorant. Saves a lot of space.– Stuff your shoes with socks and underwear. This way, the space is optimally utilized and an added benefit; your shoes won’t get dented.
– Think in sets. A shirt may only come along if it can be worn in three ways and a dress only if it can be worn both during the day and in the evening.
And then it’s really quite easy. You take a hand luggage suitcase and a ’handbag’ with you, the latter you take with you to your seat and use for your passport, phone, book, headphones, that sort of thing. Oh and make sure that bag can also be your day bag throughout your trip. If I can do it, everyone can. No more lost suitcases! No more waiting at the baggage claim. Oh oh how fun and light our lives are going to be.
When we went to New York for two weeks, I had about 200 kilos of clothes with me. ‘Yes, but it’s Fashion Week, I need to wear a nice outfit every day….
