How much do you take ?

rufydoofyM

Hi,
When we visit FIL my OH is always frustrated with how much stuff I give him to fit in the boot. I try to take everything we might need to avoid having to go shopping and I like to have a choice of clothes and take 3 pairs of footwear plus slippers.
FIL has carers so we cater for ourselves with the limited prep space and cooking options.
so here is the general stuff/amount we/I take,
Me, 1 med and 1 sm holdall of clothes and wash bag, a sm backpack. 2 small hessian bags with miscl stuff, papers and stationary.
OH, backpack with clothes and washbag.
We also take a couple of small cool bags and a couple of large shopping bags of food and sometimes utensils etc.
Its like going self catering but with minimum facilities. We have a large estate but still end up with stuff behind our seats and jackets etc on the back seat. We usually stay for 4 nights and its a 5 hr journey, but even on 1 night breakaways i still find it difficult to travel light.

Am I the only woman that takes too much and tries to cover all bases ?
I know I could do without some of what we take but i try to prepare and make life easy when we reach our destination.
I fear as I get older I get worse. The bigger the boot the more I seem to take. Bit like handbags !!!!

good_advice

Oh Rufy, you sound like me! My Oh always says take less too! Then is thankful and says after we get there Have you brought? where is?

We have 4 night breaks in a caravan park with our dog now instead of 2 week holidays,
I bring a small electric fire and my veg steamer too. We cook in the van.
I also bring a bag of towels.

Starrystarrynight

You're not alone, OP!
I've not taken any trips where I'd need to take food for cooking while we're there, just for eating on the trip to avoid motorway service station prices. I'm trying to pack a bit lighter, though, with my clothes. Everything I take will go with one pair of shoes, and I take one outfit for each part, eg if we're going to eat out, for the next day, travelling etc. I used to take a choice of clothes for each thing, but it did get a bit out of hand.

suki1964

Omg that sounds horrendous :eek:

I'm a strictly travel light sort of gal. Two weeks self catering will be one 25kg checked in suitcase, one holdall and my handbag, that's it for two of us

Overnight stays anywhere then it's a vanity size bag

rufydoofyM

suki1964 wrote: »

Omg that sounds horrendous :eek:

I'm a strictly travel light sort of gal. Two weeks self catering will be one 25kg checked in suitcase, one holdall and my handbag, that's it for two of us

Overnight stays anywhere then it's a vanity size bag

Horrendous is what OH thinks too. When I was younger a small rucksack was all I needed as I was used to camping on a motorbike and would only take hand luggage when travelling abroad apart from a couple of trips to the states and aus. As I've got older and wiser I seem to have thought of more stuff to take. Whilst away OH is happy that stuff is to hand but not so happy about the game of tetris he has to play in packing the car.

Gigervamp

I'm with your partner. Why do you need 3 pairs of shoes if you're only going for 4 days?
Also, you only need a couple of bottoms and a few tops, plus night stuff and wash bag, it should easily fit into one bag.

I travel light. I have a large messenger bag that I use if going to my mums for a few days.

With regards to food, couldn't you get a shopping delivery to your FIL's house?

peachyprice

When I read your list of stuff you pack I thought you were going for 2 weeks, I was shocked to see it was only for 4 days!

One holdall/small case does for a 4 day trip, no separate wash bag, it all fits in. I certainly wouldn't be taking bags of papers and stationery!

cat4772

having lugged an overfull suitcase, overfull holdall (narrowly escaped an excess baggage charge) and only wore a quarter of the clothes for a holiday in Turkey, I'm now definitely a travel light lady.

we're going away for two weeks in July and I'm taking carry on luggage only (family of four so four carry ons) because I'm sure that Tenerife has washing machines and shops for sun-cream. We'll probably each take 4 days worth of clothes and do laundry on days 4, 7, 10 and possibly 13; shoes will be a pair of sandals (worn) and flipflops each but everything else we need we can buy there (food and drink).

Cat.x

LameWolf

We've only ever gone "self-catering" once, which was a 7-night stay in a rented cottage; and we had our dinners at the local pub, so we really only needed to take bread, marmalade, tea and long life milk, so that we could have a bit of breakfast.

Other than that, we take clean underwear for the relevant amount of days plus one extra, enough outfits to have clean each day if we wish, a couple of jumpers in case of cold days, and a couple of pairs of shoes/boots each. Mr LW takes his "decent" shoes plus hiking boots, so that he can push my wheelchair easily if the ground is wet; I take one pair closed-in shoes and one pair sandals. No slippers, we both go barefoot indoors.

Also take basic washing/teeth cleaning stuff, I decant things like shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash etc into small bottles so we're not taking thumping great big ones, and enough medication for the relevant amount of days plus one.

We travel as light as we can; all the luggage has to fit in the boot of our Honda Jazz, as the space behind the front seats is where my wheelchair lives!:D

purpleshoes_2

I dont go self catering, when I go abroad I go all inclusive, I go for a week and take hand luggage.

I dont really like being weighed down with stuff, particularly as I dont drive and I need to get to the airport by bus(es).

maman

I really wouldn't worry about it if you're travelling by car. Personally I manage with one holdall for that sort of thing but then I'm not doing the cooking. I often put in a pair of boots if walking may be an option or an extra coat if weather forecast is doubtful but that's 'because I can' with the car.


What concentrates the mind is when you travel by air and have to pay for hold baggage. For winter breaks I wear all my heavy clothes and take a minimum of outer clothes but daily changes of underwear. For summer I go for as little as possible and again wear the heaviest stuff for travelling (jeans, cardigan etc). I make a list before I travel and check it off when I get back so I remember what I didn't need.