«The lady checked in the luggage:
Sofa, suitcase, valise,
Picture, basket, cardboard
And a little dog».
S. Ya. Marshak
Last year, when I was returning with my child from the Crimea, one of the drivers of the bus on which we were traveling to Yevpatoria to the train station joked about my luggage: "Are you carrying your husband like a hare?» I joked that my husband wouldn't fit in there, but the second child and the cat would just fit. Jokes are jokes, but the bag reached almost to my waist in height and I moved it with difficulty.
And the situation in Istanbul with Vanya and the toilet at the bus stop in the middle of a high-speed four-lane highway showed that there is nowhere else to postpone and it's time to radically change the whole approach to travel.
©photo
While I am gradually determining the boundaries of my luggage by trial and error, someone is already able to travel light with five children for three weeks in Europe, with only small backpacks on their backs.
In his post «16 Essential Tips for Traveling with a Family» Leo Babauta shared his experience of traveling light with the whole family. And his family is quite large.
But a purely masculine and pragmatic view of travel is one thing. Men do not need so many personal hygiene products, cosmetics and clothing changes. With women, the situation is completely different. And it's not even that we need a lot more things. The fact is that we think so and it is quite difficult to convince us otherwise. Therefore, Leo decided to give the floor to his wife Eva, who in a very brief form shared her thoughts on this topic.
Clothing:
Cosmetics:
Other things:
And all this fit into such a small backpack:
When they set off on their three-week trip from San Francisco, Eva was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, a fleece jacket and comfortable shoes.
All family members had similar backpacks, and even the youngest of them (6 and 8 years old) carried their own things in their small backpacks. Thus, even such a large family can be very mobile while traveling and react quickly to changes in the outside world.
Shampoos and other hygiene products do not have to be carried everywhere. Unless, of course, you are traveling in the remote mountains, where the nearest settlement with a store is at least a few days away, and you need to wash. Everything you need can be bought in any small shop or pharmacy. And then leave everything with a light soul and a lighter bag.
The number of clothes is also not so important. No one will pay attention to how you are dressed. The main thing is to have at least one warm thing if it suddenly gets cold, and comfortable universal shoes that are suitable for both hot and cool weather. When we went hiking in the Crimean Mountains in early May, we had Ecco hiking boots on our feet, in which the foot was comfortable at temperatures from -5 to +25. Therefore, I think that with the choice that we have today, there should be no problems finding suitable, comfortable and light shoes. In addition, a large number of clothes = a lot of washing. If you wash with your hands — it's a long time, if you carry all the things to the laundry — it's expensive. Especially in Europe.
First aid kit… The most necessary antipyretic for children, iodine in markers, nasal spray and plasters will not take up much space. If you are not traveling abroad, you do not even need to take this with you. All this can be bought at any pharmacy. And for the rest, I have already made sure that no matter how much I carry a whole first aid kit with me, there are always only a few medications in use: pills for stomach problems (for parents) and nasal spray (for children).
Looking at Eva's list, I'm still not sure if I'm ready for such minimalism. But I am determined and ready to go beyond my comfort zone. What's in your luggage? Is there a proven minimum set of things?
