August 11, 2014

MINIMALISM PACKING

Is it an headache everytime you pack? And when you are done with your travel do you figure out you didn't wear mostly of the clothes or use few stuff you brought?
Today I will show you how I travelled 20 days in Europe with a three kilos backpack. Sounds impossible right? But actually I survived and didn't need to buy anything extra!

My first advice is to use a small packback so you have small space, you cannot overload it because there's no space :) I found this militar inspired packpack in C&A store, I couldn't find the real militar backpack or something I liked second hand. This packpack came pretty useful since has four pockets outside and one inside to keep my important stuff like coin purse and personal documents: this is perfect for organization, each pocket has a zipper and they are separated by kind. Example: One has underwear, the other only chargers, other with notepad, pen, map and sunglasses.

Also what is really cool is that during the day I could bring the backpack with me with essentials: leggins, jacket, snacks, cameras...
Want to take a peek inside my backpack?
As you can imagine I brought very few clothing with me. Three years ago I figure out that you don't need to bring a lot of clothing, since you can wash it and reuse! The only negative point is that you'll get sick of wearing the same thing again.
In this trip I brought: 2 dresses, 1 black leggins (Made in Portugal!! I'm struggling to buy only new items made in the country I'm currently traveling/living), 1 long sleeve black shirt (almost a dress size), 1 Blangadesh shirt to sleep, 1 pair of confortable sandals, wool coat. That's it!!

- Lether Hip Bag (handmade by Skakoshnine)
- Handmade water "container" from Guatemala
- The blue sac is for underwear. I brought: 4 underwear, 1 bikini, 1 pair of socks. I don't wear bra.
- Pouch (handmade by Glamour Damaged) includes: small shampoo + hair mask containers, small body lotion, deo, tooth brush, small tooth paste, swabs, menstrual cup and other small beauty stuff.

This is the reason my backpack is heavier, why in the world I need 3 camaras? Yes, one is not pictured here because I was using it to take this picture.
I decided to leave my small laptop at home, I regret sometimes because I wanted to write on the blog so hard but then I think that it was a relief for my back :) The electronicals I brought are:
- Samsung Galaxy 3 Tablet
- Toy analogic camera Holga 120 CFN [I haven't use! I need to learn how to use it first. Hah!]
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT25
- Canon Powershot SX510
- Nokia cell phone [I know, I know, I still belong to the grannie generation but for the first time I'm considering to buy a smartphone! Big step!]

Why two digital cameras for a minimalist packing? The lumix can take pictures underwater and I've been using it for 6 months so I know her. The canon was completly new for me and for the first time I'm gonna read an instruction camera book!! Don't understand a thing of the menu, not even how to change ISO!]

I'm pround of myself I didn't bring my dear Nikon D40, a reflex camara I own for 7 years and always came in my trips. It became too heavy and I needed another lense. This canon does the job pretty well and it's light as a fly :)

This is all the jewelry I brought in this trip and was on my body all the time. Now I look at the picture, it's all handmade!
- Macrame necklace from Nicaragua
- Metal bracelets my mother brought from Morocco
- Rings from right to left: from Nepal, my best friend ring (she has the same, if she didn't lose it again!!) and Tibet (I recently lost the star on it. Oh!)
- Ankle macrame bracelet I got from Festival MED 2014 in my hometown
- Lether bracelet with colorful beads from Guatemala

Other stuff I always travel with: notepad, small pen, sunglasses, business cards (to promote my blog and also to give to those people I connected but when we say bye there's no time to exchange phone numbers, facebook or emails), a book (not pictured here).

What items are important in your backpack/suitcase? Do you think there're items missing here?

4 comments:

  1. I like this post! Like the items, the ideas, the methods, and the business card idea is fabulous too and totally agreed! :-) Bon voyage (-:

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    1. Thanks a lot Monika!! I should update with my 10 kgs to California for... 2 months!! haha Cheers thrift stores, I love so much :D

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  2. I agree! Packing can really give you a headache. Hahaha! I can't believe that is all you had to bring on a 20-day vacay. That was really cool of you to lighten up your load, without sacrificing all the essentials. Kudos to you for being resourceful and efficient! Thanks for sharing that, Marta! All the best to you!

    Clay Delgado @ World Packaging

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    1. I can't believe either but I managed very well and my back was so thankful. I guess the more you travel, the more you figured out you don't need a bunch of stuff. You know where you pack a lot of clothes and then you don't even get to wear half of your suitcase?

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