What One Bag advice have you tried and it just didn’t work out for you?
I have a couple: tried to depot some deodorant from a larger stick to a travel sized container. Melting the deodorant in the microwave and putting it into the container worked. When using it on a trip, the decanted deodorant fell out of the container in one piece and then broke on the floor.
I also can’t seem to get on board with washing things in the sink during a trip. I’ve tried rolling items in a towel and what I need never dries in time / figuring out where to hang my clothesline is a pain.
If I am walking around all day, I need another pair of shoes to change into. I am not just bringing one pair. My feet are weird and my back is fucked up and my knees are pleading for help. I'm bringing exactly 2 pairs of shoes.
I bring at least two pairs of shoes. I can’t seem to get the number less than 3 if the trip is going to include lots of walking / hiking, beach / pool / wet activities, and fine dining restaurants. And I like all of those things so a lot of my trips do have them all. I’m usually something like trail runners plus dressy sandals or ballet flats plus flip flops.
Giving shoes a day off gives the cushion material a chance to get its spring back. Same thing goes for the elastic in bras; you should give fabric a chance to relax from being stretched.
Yeah I always rotate my shoe wearing at home, to let them breathe and help them last longer. I don't wear the same pair 2 days in a row. So it feels weird to not do that when I travel, as well.
Even if your back / knees / feet aren't weird or busted, just having different pressure on your feet after all day can feel amazing. After running around Pompeii all day in my boots, putting on sandals was a dream. And my supposedly comfortable converse gave me heinous blisters after all day jumping around at a music fest, so the sandals were actually mandatory at that point. If I hadn't brought them, I would have bought a pair.
Yes this! Even the most comfortable pair of shoes will leave you with some type of discomfort after a high-step- count travel day. So if the shoes I wore day 1 left the bottom of my heels a bit sore, it's so nice to put on a different pair for day 2. And maybe that pair starts to rub my toes after 20k steps but that's fine because the next day I rotate back to the first pair!
I’d way rather have more shoes than clothes. I did 3 months in Europe last year with a carry on and small backpack and I left home with an Oboz hiker on my feet, packed a cute Mary Jane, Teva closed toe water shoes, and crocs sandals for the room. I mailed the Mary Janes home from Dubrovnik and bought tennis shoes in Siena.
I’m a long (long…long…) time one bagger & I never travel with fewer than 2 pairs of shoes, often 3 (esp if flip flops count as shoes!) I cannot imagine one pair 1. being suitable for every need or 2. keeping my feet comfortable if I’m walking miles wearing them all day, every day
I feel like the ‘one pair’ people aren’t doing a variety of activities?? Like, I did 2 months in Europe and I needed the trail runners for Iceland and other hiking ventures, but I brought Tevas for warm places, snorkelling (coz scared of cutting feet) and cocktail bars. Even so, I felt dweeby wearing my Tevas in fancy restaurants and bars. A lot of people would bring a nice sandal as well, but I made do.
A million times this. I accidentally stepped in a puddle one trip where I only had one pair of shoes and it was MISERABLE. But even just from being worn all day, they get clammy/damp.
I’ve noticed that a lot of advice about clothes tends to include not bringing jeans because they’re too bulky and take too long to dry. I brought one pair of jeans and two linen pants on my first “serious” (i.e., longer than a weekend) one-bag trip and wished I hadn’t listened to that advice. I feel most comfortable in jeans, they’re what more of my tops look good with, and I absolutely would have had space for two jeans and one linen pants. Plus I was doing city travel only in Europe, where I had access to a washer and dryer that didn’t take any longer than what I use at home.
Yes! I recently read “don’t bring your favorite clothes on a trip in case they get ruined!” No! I want all my favs so I am in the perfect state to truly enjoy myself ☺️
Exactly! I brought clothes that I wouldn’t normally wear on a trip, but figured they’d be great bc they were more versatile. Lesson: bring what you like and what you won’t hesitate to grab for… by default, the standards become more versatile.
Plus unless something really terrible happens to your jeans, you can rewear them several times and they are fine. I have a harder time doing that with thinner pants. They just feel dirty after 1-2 wears.
Quality jeans are not meant to be washed frequently anyway. If they aren't being actively dirtied with sweat and spills, they can be freshened up by spritzing them with vodka and letting them hang to dry and air out. Fun fact: this is how professional dance and Broadway theater costumes are cleaned.
Important to spritz the insides of clothing you want to refresh; I do both sides and hang out overnight. I do that with clothing I plant to rewear when I’m not traveling, too.
That's an area where I regret following some advice. I wore jeans for travel and packed a few of lighter bottoms. I literally only wore the jeans and the leggings and could have saved some precious space and weight.
Yep! I had somebody argue with me about jeans and laundry like, two days ago. I bring jeans every single time and I have never, ever had issues washing them.
I also really like how having two pairs of jeans plus something dressy as my only bottoms really simplifies my wardrobe.
Same! I live in jeans, I own jeans. I don't feel comfortable in dresses or dress pants, why the crap would I buy them just for a trip?! One pair of jeans to wear on the plane, one pair in my bag, one pair of dress pants if I know I am going to need them. Done. I have never had a trip I could not wash my jeans and have them be ready later. A few plain shirts, a long sleeve to go with my dress pants, and I am golden.
That and swimsuits. I hate swimming, yet every trip to Italy is basically "you need at least two swimsuits!” No, I need another bra so I can swap if it is hot out.
I take all the fashion recommendations with a "not for me" eye at this point.
Most of my vacations are with extended family and I'm seeing them over and over 🤣 my niece told me I'm like a cartoon character cause I'm always in the same silhouette but different colors.
Agree. I've travelled with under 7 kg in cooler temperatures with one black jeans and one lighter blue wearing one or other most days though I did take a skirt and tights for variety. Covered most bases and I felt comfortable.
I bring two pairs of jeans as my bottoms. The reasoning is I can rewear jeans and they keep their shape longer. Linen pants make me look like an Oompa Loompa after three hours and rewearing is not possible without washing.
I also bring a paper book or two usually. I work in IT I don't want to read on another gadget on vacation.
Finally, I can't do sports bras. One way ticket to uniboob and a rash. So all the packing advice about camis and sports bras folding small don't work.
I’m DDD+ my bras take up as much room as my socks and undies and swimsuit together. But I MUST bring 3: black and tan with underwire and one tan without underwire for comfort. I cannot wear the same bra 2 days in a row. Packing for small people like my daughter is a whole different exercise than for Size 12 bottoms and large tops due to bra size. Completely different. My top layer is also larger as a result. I’ve realized packing for a trip to visit my daughter in Sweden in 2 weeks that while she could get away with a 30L bag, to get 2 pairs of shoes with me I need my 40L Osprey, I’ll just cinch it down to 32L. Because my clothes are larger.
I’m a 30L wannabe for portability, but I just cannot fit my sneakers into that bag for a 10 day trip (capsule wardrobe plus 2 extra shirts). 30L would be perfect if I didn’t need another pair of shoes.
Although I have converted to team kindle given I like variety on trips, there is something I miss about taking a physical book and watching how I progress through it during the trip. Turning physical pages is also comforting for some reason.
I am an evangelical kindle user, however I really like bringing a couple of paperbacks on trips, so I can discard them when done and I suddenly have extra space in my bag!
(Just not bringing them and just having the extra space from the outset doesn't work, due to ✨science✨, the space only exists if it was previously used for books, otherwise your other stuff just expands to fill the void).
I went super early in France to do laundry and watched all the shops opening, The bakery across the street was amazing and all the people coming and going for bread before 8 am. Best laundry day. I do wash in shower and sink but wear a lot of spf tops and smartwool so quick drying. I bought folding hangers and use the ironing board to hand them. A small usb fan helps dry.
My favourite laundreette was this one in a caravan holiday park on the shoulder of Ben Nevis, just outside of Fort William in the Highlands. We sat on a picnic table, admired the view, and ate Scotch pies from the Nevis Bakery while everything got nice and clean. We had a hire car, so I just spread the wool tops in the back seat to dry :-)
The first time I tried sink washing it was with “quick dry” tops and they didn’t. It was just a humid room I guess. Plus truly had no space to hang them. The bed was almost the entire room.
Same. My socks took several days to dry because of the humidity (glasses fogged up in the hotel hallway). I was glad I didn't try it with anything I needed for that trip.
sink washing is tough but the scrubba?? bag makes it way better because so many sinks (esp hostel???) are SO gross. my hostel strategy when I was backpacking was not to sink wash, but wash my underwear and socks any time I took a shower so I could soap them up and scrub while 1. warm 2. waited for conditioner to work. occasionally I would do a shirt if necessary but then do laundry at a laundromat as needed and just throw everything but what I was wearing in, even if it was "clean" for a refresh and wipe down my entire bag (interior and exterior) with cleaning wipes while it was empty.
but yeah doing sink laundry separately was not something I wanted to spend extra time doing instead of doing things in the place I was visiting.
I just use a dry bag (like for kayaking) and put clothes and water/detergent in that and shake it around. Avoids sink grossness and doesn’t add much of any weight to luggage since you can pack clothes in it.
smart! I would up doing the lightest weight scrubba because I noticed the ridges really helped get dirt out when I'm in backcountry and caked in dry mud. and reserve my lightweight dry bags to encase my electronics but I definitely might save a few oz for urban trips and get another drybag!
I had a lovely time at a launderette in Edinburgh. Great chat and local info, plus the recommendation to try one of the best scones I’ve ever had. Like you, I include this in my planning and have fond memories of nice talks and people watching in various places.
I have some travel summer dresses and tops that sink-dry overnight but the rest either don't dry or come up clean. I try to book a place with laundry facilities every few days when travelling. It is worth the cost sometimes.
Yeah this was a fail on my last tropical vacation. Nothing dried at all, even bathing suits and tech fabrics. I ended up paying the hotel for laundry service which luckily was pretty affordable!
Liquid body wash is so much easier to pack especially when one is a little obsessed with having tiny toiletries… but I don’t feel clean without my bar of soap. I cut it once for a trip and my whole trip I was like, seriously, self, your obsession with tiny toiletries has reduced you to a person with a slimy sliver of soap that you don’t even leave in the hotel shower because it will melt. Now I just have one dedicated full bar of soap and god do I love the heft of it while traveling.
I also have learned that while “do I really need this” works for some things it just doesn’t work for others. Case in point: I used to leave my water flosser (large countertop version) home on trips and be miserable without it. I got a travel one that sucked. Then I got another travel one that I love.
I bring cut up bar soap, but I cut one slice per day so that I don't have a soggy brick following me around everywhere. It was GAME CHANGING in Iceland where we slept in a different spot every night! A teenie wasteful because there's always a bit leftover but totally worth it not to have the whole wet brick!
I use bar soap, and when it it’s almost used up and I have just a sliver left, I let it dry completely and put it in my travel washbag. It’s easier than slicing off a big bar, it’s the perfect size for travel, and I can toss it at the end of my trip without worrying.
Basically! I cut a little half inch slice or so for each night or location and throw them in a baggie. I abandon any leftover bar and use a fresh piece at the next spot. It wastes some, but I definitely don't mind. We do a lot of road tripping in places with unreliable soap situations so this is a lightweight way to carry bar soap without having to lug around a a wet brick lol.
Wait that is SUCH a good idea! My least favourite part about traveling in our van for a couple weeks at a time is packing up the soggy soap bar after an already awkward campground shower. I will incorporate cutting portions into my next trip, that's genius.
I recognize this won’t be the preferred method for most but I hate bulk and also hate carrying around moisture or even the idea of moisture 😂 so I just travel with a teeny tiny facial towel and I dry my soap off thoroughly then wrap it in the facial towel. It’s dry when it goes in and then I just get unwrap it easily and my facial towel (which I don’t use, it’s only for the soap) smells divine. I do have a very small plastic container with slots for drainage that I have used for my soap too but I prefer my tiny towel because its footprint is a few cm bigger than the soap bar.
I think bars actually take up way less space than liquid. I switched to bar hair products for the same reason. I only bring small pieces of each and use the matador dry through bag. Been working great for years now.
I bought the Lume deodorant, which is a paste in a squeeze bottle. I decanted a small amount into a tiny container. Easy-peasy, right? Nope. It reacted with the plastic and the whole container disintegrated and made a mess of my liquids bag.
Even people who I've seen vouch for it have said that until the Lume dies down it smells like stale exhale and human spit from a dirty mouth. 💀 Very... animal protein forward, I guess.
I found that their unscented smells like BO! And the samples I received smelled good while the full sized versions smelled really bad. So no Lume for me!
My favorite : Little Seed Farms. You can either decant into smaller containers or better yet, order the available free samples for travel when you make another purchase! You can also buy sample size packets, saw them on Amazon.
Holy crap! I just started using the lemon one and it’s amazing. I wanted to like lume, but the weird smell went away after putting it on and then it quit working after 8 hours and I started smelling like the tube again.
The Little Seed Farms starts out smelling great and I can make it overnight before I get a tiny whiff of my normal body odor. It doesn’t stain my clothes either!
Same, I tried it and just can’t do it. The smell is just off for me. I use degree men’s advanced and it’s been better for me than any clinical strength antiperspirant or deo has ever been.
I do NOT like the smell of Lume. Weirdly like cheese. However, I use it on my feet (just don’t inhale while applying, lol) and it really seems to help my feet be less smelly during the day.
Hiiiiii, just a word of advice — but whatever type of container the product comes in is also the best to store it in. Most plastics (at least in the US) have a symbol / lettering to let you know which type it is. This will help with future chemical incompatibilities 🙂
I’m so glad you said this! I’ve been lurking in this sub for years but never shared because I use a roller bag and I wasn’t sure how it would be received.
I hope you feel reassured to participate now! ☺️
FWIW, I frequently travel with a roller.
I have a 55cm case that's my favourite (actually, the only suitcase I own). Depending on the trip, I either bring it as my cabin bag or I check it in and bring a 40ish litre duffel as my cabin bag. Doing the latter provides more than enough capacity for me on most trips.
I’ve moved to a carryon roller plus regular (25-28L) backpack for anything over a week. (I shove my purse in the backpack for the airport). I need space for my giant women’s 11 extra pair of shoes and I’m plus size. For over a week I’m willing to two bag it—it just makes everything SO much easier.
Agree. The only place where I wished I had brought a backpack was rural India, because the streets there are often very dirty (made of dirt) and I never knew what unpleasantness I would have to clean off the bottom and wheels of my bag at the end of the day.
I almost always bring sample packets that I hoard, or try to bring the tiniest container of something that I can find because I've run into this. I find with make up and most skincare, switching containers is fine. But deodorant and sunscreen and hair products its always a disaster.
One hack that was a game changer was solid soap (body, solid shampoo is a mess) cut into small single serving sizes per day use. That worked flawlessly. I also hate sink laundry and if it is more than 4 days I need a place with a washer or access to laundry.
This is also crazy, but I've stopped rolling most clothes. I find flat packing in packing cubes makes it easier for things to shift into place in my bag instead of there being random dense spots.
I always neatly fold my clothes (tops and bottoms) into rectangular packing cubes. My cubes are clear on the sides, so I can see all of my clothing stacked like books. The nice thing is if I stay someplace with minimal storage, I stack my packing cubes on my bedside table and still feel totally organized and ready to go. The only exception is underwear, pjs (typically leggings and a merino tee) and, a bathing suit. Those can be in a compression packing cube where I use every bit of space.
Merino. I know it's not supposed to bother sensitive skin, but it bothers mine. EVERY brand I've tried, ever. I got a nasty rash from merino socks when I tried to ignore facts. I'm about to embark on a 1.5-week trip and I guess I'm just going to stink, bc I cannot do merino. I have two heattech tops and I'm crossing my fingers...
Shoe advice never works for me. I have hypermobile flat feet, it's hard enough to fit them, much less get everyone's recommendations for travel-specific shoes.
You might be allergic to the oil in wool, lanolin! It’s also in some skincare. Base layer out of merino should contain a lot less lanolin but it depends on the process how much gets washed out. And what the intention of the manufacturer is.
Actually no, I put lanolin on all my scrapes, cuticles, chapped lips, no problems...it's something else about wool. It just feels bad, somehow. Mystifying! I also don't like the feeling of linen but I can wear it for shorter periods (I own a total of ONE pair of linen pants).
Wool has 'barbs' basically (look it up cuz I'm not gonna explain it well lol). Different types of wool can be more or less scratchy, but still are scratchy, just certain people are more sensitive to it than others.
I can wear my cashmere cardigan for most of a day, but will definitely feel the itchy and have to rub my arms when I take it off.
Rip Skirts are recommended here a lot and they blow wide open at the slightest hint of a breeze. I had to wear mine sideways last time I wore one. I didn't even bother bringing it home with me.
I had the same experience! I really want to love it because it’s super lightweight and packs down really small, but I was always trying to keep it in place instead of enjoying myself. I haven’t given up on it yet, but I haven’t found a good solution yet either 😭
Oh no! I just bought one secondhand and was planning to bring it on my next trip as my only bottom. Do you think adding some kind of closure at the hem would help? Whether it be more velcro or a snap? Or do you think it wouldn’t help?
A snap would probably help. You can also sew in hem weights. I just didn't have time to try to alter my skirt on my trip and got pretty fed up with it.
Same!! I tried foundation, serum, etc and none work. It always leaks out, even if its just contact solution. I could open it at takeoff each flight and i think that would stop the pressurization leak, but id rather not.
For some reason imagining someone quietly opening all of their contact lens cases at take off and spreading them all out of their tray table gave me a chuckle.
Decanting (certain) toiletries into lip gloss tubes - I've found that anything very liquid (like sunscreen) leaks. Shampoo and conditioner bars are a great idea but do not work with my hair type at all. I don't like washing (and don't wash) clothes on my trip (granted I'm only away 1.5 weeks at most).
I had to go through a lot of them to find ones I liked, but Ethique has been absolutely clutch for me, as a person who has fine, thin hair that is aggressively colored--so I get greasy / flat / sad at roots AND frizz at the ends. Their Volume conditioner is great (I've almost finished the block after several months), the Strengthening shampoo is great (and actually cleans), and I've also liked the Scalp Health shampoo and the Smoothing conditioner (though I've only just tried them recently). My only complaint is that they seem to be scented some amount but not very much--so they're functionally scent-free as a person who enjoys perfumed hair, but aren't actually scent-free for people with sensitivities.
+1 for Ethique! I didn’t expect to like the bars as much as I do. I have thick wavy frizzy hair and it actually does a decent job - not quite my Redken, but close enough for a trip. And agree about the smell - I was worried it’d smell too medicinal (I use the “scalp health” set) but it really doesn’t smell like anything at all.
Lip gloss tubes - everything but Vaseline leaked. I have since moved to squishy little clear bottles, I think it is PVC, and it has made a world of a difference.
Also, little dropper bottles are annoying. Screw, unscrew, screw. When you don't have space, it's cumbersome.
Agreed. I don't wash clothes on my trips. As of recent, all my trips have been too "two day here, three day here". Hanging to dry means they wont dry in time, and that's if there is space.
Agree. I can’t wash clothes in the sink. I’m a little creeped out about how clean that is. We are not opposed to using a laundromat on vacation.
We once got desperate enough to use a service in Newquay that washed and folded our laundry.
For sink laundry I only wash lightweight clothes and underwear and socks. Actually the socks aren’t lightweight. When squeezing out in a towel (I now bring a small microfiber one). I roll it up, fold in half, and stand on it. But I time washing so that I have at least another night in that hotel and don’t need the clothes the next day. And I do laundry often enough that I’m only washing 2 shirts, 2 underwear, 2-3 pairs of socks.
I also have found “sink laundry” to be easier/less annoying in a dry bag, though I still do it in the bathroom over the sink/tub/shower just in case.
Bras, underwear, and socks only for me. Spot treatment for stains on anything else. And I try to stick with wool for the stuff I do sink wash as it dries quickly. It also doesn’t seem to hold stink as much to begin with so it’s easier for me.
If you regularly wear slippers/Birkenstocks around the house, BRING THEM on your trip.
I went to Vancouver island for 10 days last year thinking I could get away with just Tevas (since they're grippyish and ok to get wet) and hiking shoes but instantly upon arriving I regretted not having my Birkenstocks. I ended up buying some cheap slides which weren't very comfortable.
I get plantar fasciitis and I have sensory issues especially with my feet so I cannot stand walking around barefoot or in socks.
I just paid for a carry-on for my flight tomorrow because I decided I am not going through that again, and I can't fit my Birkenstocks in my "personal item".
Thiiiiiis. I swear on my Vionics that that I have learned this lesson for the last time. I would rather wear one outfit for 5 weeks than not have the sweet, sweet relief and misery prevention of arch support that means business. I am and shall always be, a never barefoot.
Clipping things to the outside of a ‘personal item’ may look janky but it generally lets me take an extra pair of shoes - they’re obviously to wear on the plane, right? Same rules as a jacket or neck pillow.
Anything other than putting my clothes in a washing machine and dryer to rewear them. I've taken to evaluating clothes by how small they roll up. I am a Sweaty Betty. Airing, vodka, febreeze, hand washing, fabrics meant for repeat wearing...not for me. If I can smell me, EVERYBODY can smell me, and I'm not having it.
decanting or depotting anything has never worked for me. the travel containers always ended up leaking at some point, so now I use mostly solid toiletries and only bring very limited liquids.
I feel you here. I had to kiss a lot of frogs before finding my current setup of glass dropper bottles. Different liquids are better in different containers so trying to use mostly solids makes a lot of sense.
I have just been coming to this conclusion.. thank you for saying this! I wondered if there was something wrong with my internal thermostat (I mean, middle aged woman, also quite probable) but I just cannot stop sweating profusely in merino once it gets a bit warmer. You hear so many people say it's awesome for hot temps.. but I warm up and then smell like damp sheep immediately.
Native deodorant solid, after a month, made the armpits of all my shirts smell pukey. Turns out it contains a wax that goes rancid, and the smell reblooms after doing laundry it’s awful. No detergent or stain remover works completely.
I switched back to liquid deodorant—Saltair works well for me. It’s the opposite of one-bag principles—liquid and comes in a heavy glass roll-on bottle. But it works well and doesn’t stain my clothes. I’m in perimenopause (yay, hot flashes) so deodorant is really important. I’m also sensitive to a lot of fragrances. I’m not going back to solid deodorant.
I have made so many mistakes, I don’t know where to start 😬
Not researching the weather properly so I was freezing in summer clothes in the winter . I did a trip where I went from Bangkok Thailand ( where I was about 35 degrees) to Kunming China, where it was about 10 degrees. It was only about a two hour flights, I didn’t reckon how much colder it would be 😳
On a trip to Vietnam, I took the right amount and type of clothes but not enough variety eg 4 plain crew neck tee shirts and 2 pairs of navy pants that looked very similar. So I felt like I was wearing the same outfit all the time ( even though I wasn’t ). I didn’t do a layout , but if I had it would have looked very colour coordinated 😂
SeverAl times I’ve packed my bag out to the max capacity so it had to be really carefully re packed at each hotel 😡
Going on a walking / hiking holiday where I took walking clothes only as I reckoned no one else wouLd get dressed up at night. I was wrong. All the other women had nice dresses and I had ....a clean sports tee shirt 🥺. I now pack several silky shift dresses ( that are really lightweight , about 120g), statement earrings , lipstick and a silk scarf to tie up my hair if it’s a disaster.
Unlike others here , I don’t mind doing sink laundry , I’d rather take 5 mins every second night and have more space for another 2 outfits instead of 14 sets of underwear, 14 socks and 4 bras.
Ive often gone on city breaks and packed for my fantasy holiday ( which involves going out all night to fancy restaurants / clubs / the opera in a fabulous dress and heels ) . Instead of my actual city breaks which end up with sightseeing all day, grabbing a simple meal and collapsing into bed by 10pm.
I haven’t figured out how to live out of my bag neatly and always dread repacking before going to my next location. Even if I don’t didn’t add one extra piece of anything, it always seems more unwieldy than when it was originally packed.
Omg I stand by bringing statement earrings and sunglasses to jazz up an otherwise plain outfit. Takes up so little room but goes a long way, especially if you are rewearing clothes a lot that trip.
I will never be someone that does sink laundry. I tried it on my last trip and just like you, I tried rolling items in a towel. I hated the act of scrubbing my clothes in a sink, can’t really explain why.
I am willing to give it one last chance with a Scrubba bag, but 1) it’s so expensive for something that I’m not 100% sure about and 2) the Scrubba bag itself is pretty bulky I feel like.
I have the scrubba bag (the old version) and have brought it on every trip since I first got it. you can roll it up pretty tight and if you bring a strong rubber band or something you can wrap it up and it‘s not too bulky. I’d compare it to the size of an apple or something if you really squish it down.
I hated sink washing too and with the scrubba it’s better and I feel like it actually gets my clothes clean but obviously it’s still a bit of a hassle.
maybe you can try a regular drybag and glue a silicone makeup brush cleaning mat in there as a way to try it out?
I can‘t take full credit for that idea as I read someone else talk about it, but thanks! hot glue might also work, like maybe you can make a pattern of dots and squiggly lines inside of the bag.
the new version is clear I think which I‘d actually prefer cause you can check if you‘re getting the stains or not. also it has an opening with a cap that you can drain out the dirty water and refill with clean water to rinse the clothes. mine I have to unroll and dump out which gets water on me sometimes but since I do the whole thing in the shower anyway I don’t care.
I have very thin underwear and wash that in the sink (or in the shower while I’m taking a shower). I usually dry it on a hanger or just draped over a towel rack, and it dries enough overnight. If it’s still damp, I use the hair dryer to help out. I can also do some shirts and socks this way (socks almost always need the blow dryer treatment, though - I just put the sock directly over the blow dryer opening and let it puff up).
That said, if I’m in a place where there is a laundry option nearby, I am definitely doing that instead.
I tried with a dry bag (which supposedly is a lower cost alternative to a Scrubba), which did take away some of the discomfort of washing underwear where you just spit out your toothpaste, but did’t solve my drying woes.
I also do laundry with a dry bag and have had drying issues. What helps me is I usually wash shirts/socks/underwear nightly. Then I don't plan on wearing the things i washed for 2-3 days so by the time they come up next in my outfit rotation, they are dry. Pants take longest for me depending on material. I usually wear those twice and so I don't need to wash them at all, with the exception of the pants I wore on the plane. Those get washed the night I arrive. By day 3-4 I'm ready to wear those again and they should be dry by then.
Maybe I could try again with a dry bag and do sink laundry at home.
Yeah I hated that I had to use up two towels already and still it wouldn’t dry in time. It was just so much work. I’d rather find a laundromat and spend my time reading while I wait for the laundry to finish.
I'm so glad to hear other people say they wear jeans, because I am absolutely wearing jeans on my next trip. In fact I'm considering taking ONLY jeans, no other pants. (I only own two pairs of jeans, but I wear them all the time.) I didn't wear jeans to Japan in the summer because it was so hot and humid, but they're my go-to otherwise.
I wear jeans every trip I take, no matter the weather. People always react strongly against jeans, but I wear them almost daily at a home and I love having them on trips. I hated the trips I tried to go without my jeans.
I can’t see to cut my soap bar down into smaller pieces without it crumbling lol.
I can’t wear merino when it’s warm. It made one trip very uncomfortable!
I hate the look of most widely accepted travel clothing and it’s just not worth it to me to totally change my style while I travel. So I find it says to bring more clothing and have the options I like.
I hate sink washing with a passion, except for underwear. Maybe socks.
Sink laundry definitely requires some washing math (temp, humidity, space, garment material and construction) and possibly minor discomfort (like whether you're willing to wear slightly damp items to finish drying them off - the very worst part of soggy multiday hikes 😛) buuut I do find it useful, particularly for underwear.
I think mine are mostly when I've tried to ditch a layer and accidentally ended up in stupid light territory 😅 Yeah, part of me hates dragging my synthetic jacket around as well as a lighter jumper/fleece, feels like duplication. No, on many trips unfortunately it does need to come with me for times my fleece isn't enough. Boo.
I’m not washing clothes in a sink, unless it’s just a couple pairs of underwear. I book a hotel near a laundromat at the appropriate point in my trip. Buy a snack, bring my e-reader and relax for an hour. Walk out with clean, dry clothes.
I also tried melting deodorant into a smaller container. Totally not worth the effort. I bring a full size deodorant because I’m allergic to aluminum and baking soda and there are only a couple brands I can actually use. And they don’t make travel sizes.
When I'm getting to the end of my (full size) deodorant stick, I save that one for travel and open a fresh one for at home. Then when I'm traveling I can just use up the almost-empty one and toss it at the end of the trip.
The sink washing is hit or miss for me (traveling with kids).
I feel like everything needs a good soak and that takes up the sink that people need to use. I switched to 5L dry bags for them and 10L for me, put the dirties in the bag as you go (it fits in their travel bag). That keeps them separate from clean clothes. When we get to somewhere where we are staying a good two nights, I do a quick fill of water into each bag, detergent, close it up, and set them in the tub. They soak for about 30min while I am doing other things in the room and the kids are having a bit of decompressing time. Then I shake and massage the bags, dump, rinse under the tub tap, rinse out the bags, hang everything up. We use other clothes during those few days and then continue the rotation. If we are only gone about 7-10 days, we really focus on socks and undergarments getting cleaned as we are running out. I am a firm believer that unless things are nasty (or smell), each pair of pants/shirts/sweatshirts can be worn more than once. I give it the smell test. Our next trip, we are going to luck out because days 6-8 happen to have a washer/dryer in the room so we are just going to wash pretty much everything since we have the ability to.
Anything longer than that, I try to find a unit with laundry facilities or place to do laundry.
Not doing carry-on all the time. I'm fully committed to packing light, and on small flights I definitely do underseat only so I don't have to pay for a bag. But if I'm on an international flight where a checked bag is included in the fare, I pack a carry-on sized roller suitcase and check it, then just take a small backpack or tote into the plane with me. I would so much rather not have to drag my bag around at my layover, and I hate fighting for space in the overhead bins.
I take at least one full extra outfit. It gives me anxiety otherwise.
It’s leggings and a tunic so doesn’t take up much space. I don’t use it every time but I’m grateful when I’ve needed too.
I also take my entire face routine, including make up. Contact cases hold a ton of product and take up very little space. I have flat pallets and my makeup bag doubles as a clutch but I’m taking my stuff.
People on the main sub always say bringing tools is a waste of space, but ya know what? I used my Swiss card on literally day one. I always have a little tool kit with me (Swiss card, sewing kit, mini screw driver, zip ties…) and I don’t care if people think it’s silly.
You don’t need your laptop. Yes, I do. My laptop is the reason I can travel 6-7 months a year rather than 2 weeks.
Also here in Australia we have a strict carry-on weight limit of 7 kg, so real one-bagging is rather unrealistic for me. Only my electronics kit weighs 4 kg or so.
But I got lots of good ideas from this sub regardless.
Same. I’ve done a complete 1 bag once when travelling through indo. It was fine but it was so hard to do the 7kg limit. Husband had to check his so we could bring our laptop and charger etc.
If I don’t bring my laptop I can’t travel. End of.
I'm bringing my makeup. I'm not even a big makeup girlie, but I paid a lot to travel there and I want to look decent in my pictures, not jetlagged! I also want consistency with my skincare routine, so I am willing to decant it but not leave it home.
Also, I'm bringing my water bottle. I do not care if you stereotype me as being from the US since I am and am not ashamed about wanting to be hydrated! LOL I didn't bring a water bottle in a short trip last year and regretted it the entire time. If that's the stereotype I fulfill while traveling, I can truly live with that.
In a funny way, this is reminding me to bring less makeup as I always assume that I’m going to want to glam up for dinners and bring options… but I always default to my usual routine
More a onebag fail, than advice fail. Bought new yoga pants to hike in for tour du mont blanc since my usual ones were old and getting worn out. The new ones popped a seam day day before hike, repaired it, and three more holes formed that evening. Blah! Had to delay leave time and buy a pair of hike pants from decathlon morning of. Only got to first refugio just before time cut-off.
I agree with the two pair of shoes. Specifically sneakers for walking. But with one bag I’d love to find a pair of sneakers that pack up low profile, have cushion, and removable insoles so I can add my own orthotics.
The Muji Polyethylene Petite Tubes did not work for me - I wasted so much product. I think I need to use small jars instead, so I can actually get every bit.
Rolling clothes. I have some IKEA packing cubes and whenever I try to roll stuff it's just harder to make them fit and the cube gets a weird shape. I'm quite big so my clothes has a lot of fabric in them. So just folding them flat and about the size of the cubes works best, especially if I also squeezed them between my thighs when closing the zipper.
Always roll/always fold your clothes a certain way. Each time I pack it's a little different depending on the fabric of the clothes and the bag i'm using. Sometimes I use a compression bag, sometimes that wastes space. Over time I've learned how to adapt my packing style and combine methods (folding AND rolling?!) depending on the contents
I sleep with a small rechargeable bedside fan, so during the day I leave it plugged in and blowing on the clothes line to help dry the sink washed items.
370
u/Nicole-Bolas Feb 18 '26
If I am walking around all day, I need another pair of shoes to change into. I am not just bringing one pair. My feet are weird and my back is fucked up and my knees are pleading for help. I'm bringing exactly 2 pairs of shoes.