When you’re at home and within a few feet of your bedroom, bathroom and closets, you may not pay attention to how many things you touch when you get ready every morning. From multivitamins to morning meditation clothes to facial toner, all of it matters before you walk out the door. And for a weekend vacation, these small things become big things if you leave them behind. When you’re creating a weekend trip packing list that won’t have you over (or under) packing, keep these items in mind.
Dealbreaker Luggage Items
These are the things that you can’t easily find a substitute for if you leave them behind. For example, packing contact lens solution but not a contact lens case or packing a toothbrush without toothpaste is frustrating. Or, maybe you’ll need high blood pressure medication or tampons each day. Think of anything that would be an absolute nuisance to replace before you return home, and put that on your weekend packing list first. You may not be able to find your silk pillowcases or your satin wrap cap at your nearest travel stop. Fold and bring those.
While some things may be very specific to you and hard to find on the road, such as conditioner for your hair type, if you wash and condition your hair before the trip, this becomes a non-issue. (That is, unless your weekend getaway involves swimming or roughing it on a camping trip where you will have to wash your hair anyway. In that case, skip the pre-packing hair day and wait until you get there.)
Take-It-Or-Leave-It Luggage Items
If you’re the type of weekend vacationer who stuffs a backpack or weekend bags to capacity, but then buys all new clothes that won’t fit in this same bag, reassess your clothes. Maybe just pack what you absolutely need (ex. underwear, bras, socks, combs and brushes, hair oil, footies or slippers). While some things can be bought wherever you go, from a popular retailer to a souvenir shop, packing the essentials keeps you prepared regardless. And by not packing things you’re sure to abandon as soon as you reach your destination, you’ll save a few dollars when airport staff tells you that your carry-on luggage is too heavy. Or, if it’s a road trip, all of your weekend bags are hogging up the trunk.
Leave-It-Altogether Luggage Items
Be honest with yourself. There are things that you usually pack for longer trips that will be suitcase decoration the entire time. Do you really need nine pairs of shoes for two days? Why do you need four combs for one head? If you’re going to wear your hair in a ponytail the whole time, what’s the curling iron for? If you haven’t used those ankle weights all year, is this hiking trip going to be any different? Sure, your Airbnb location has plenty of room for you to display all these fun items you never use at home. But if you’re not going to use them for the trip either, just leave them on the same shelf they’re already collecting dust on.
Fragile Items
Your smartphone, your charger and your headphones are items you probably don’t want to pack away because you’ll want them during your commute. Even if you’re traveling by car, if you know you’ll eventually want to use those headphones, it’s probably easier to just keep them around your neck than to try to make them fit back in the box they came in. The last thing you want is to find out your perfectly good headphones now have a short in them because they were smashed under something heavy. Pack a few extra earpads and earbud cushions too just in case one falls off. Leave the favorite mugs behind; you can drink out of them when you return. Keep a small case for electronics and any item that would be unsafe to put in luggage. Put it in your purse or a secure space in your laptop bag (if you’re bringing that too) instead.
Gifts and Hosting Items
If your weekend trip involves hanging out with family during a big event such as a baby shower, Thanksgiving or Christmas, don’t forget those gifts and any kind of hosting requests. Ideally, you would have had these things shipped to the family you’re visiting ahead of time to save yourself some weekend luggage space. Try to avoid packing wrapped gifts on transportation where they can easily be lost or stolen. It’s a little difficult to prove you’re the owner of that cast iron skillet if no one’s name is on it besides decorative snowmen. If you do pack gifts, keep them small, lightweight and easily available to store in your weekend bag. Do not wrap them in anything other than tissue paper or kraft paper to avoid breaks and scratches.
Just keep in mind that a weekend is two days, or maybe it’s a holiday weekend that stretches into three or four days. But you’re returning home. And the more you pack, the more tedious it will be for you to unpack all over again when you return.
