We are often asked how we pack so light. We’ll be the first to admit that while we do a pretty good job of this, we know there are others who are better. We are still learning and are making progress. To be honest, if it weren’t for our SCUBA gear, or our desire to bring home a bottle of the local spirits, we could travel for weeks with one carry-on bag each. Learning to pack light takes practice and makes travel much easier. Once we check our dive bag, navigating airports, the boarding process, and deplaning are so easy.
This past summer, we took a week long trip to Cabo San Lucas. We didn’t pack that much. I tend to like dresses that could double as swimsuit cover-ups, so you’ll notice I went a little crazy in the dress category.
My Packing List:
- 5 Dresses
- 2 Swimsuits
- 4 bottoms (1 Maxi-skirt, 2 Shorts & 1 Capri)
- 4 tops
- 1 night gown
- 2 pairs of shoes (Flip-flops & closed toed sandals)
- 1 Infinity scarf (had to represent my Hawks on Blue Friday!)
- 1 Hat
This picture on the left shows everything laid out on the bed, the middle is everything rolled up and ready to go, and the left shows it all in the bag.
As you can see, I had quite a bit of extra space. I never wore one of the dresses, tops or the maxi-skirt. I could’ve packed lighter. I should point out that I always wear layers of the bulkiest clothing on the plane. On this trip I wore the capri pants, a top, the sweater, and the closed toed shoes on the plane.
Next up: Toiletries. We found a handy little pill container at the dollar store that has become one of my favorite travel tools. Each section has different over the counter items. We chose to bring Pepto, Naproxin, Melatonin, Dramamine, Acetaminophen, Ibuprofin, and Asprin on this trip. As we get older, we have found that these are great items to have on hand. We also travel with a little speaker for the phone so we can listen to music, as well as a reusable grocery bag to carry wet/sandy shoes or the like.
Once all of this was loaded into the back pack, There was room for me to put my purse in there, and a re-usable water bottle, which stayed empty until we were through security at the airport.
We have noticed that packing like this, and then functioning with a limited wardrobe is good practice for our future. We know that where ever we land at the end of our five year plan will include a much smaller home, with much more limited living and storage space. Traveling like this helps us to learn to live with less, even if it is just for a week or two at a time.
Traveling Team Fischer 
