How Much Do You Really Need?

The stuff we need from day to day lives in a back pack. Well, 2 backpacks, 1 front pack, a few side bags and a kiddie tent that hangs off the back. We have whittled it down to the bare minimum required to survive. Of course wherever we go we accumulate food, oils, etc. but the basics for hosteling come in a neat and tidy little package.

We do have a storage unit, but that requires a whole other post.

Here I am carrying my load (baby included) while Kurt managed to bumble around with the balance of our crap. He too has a sturdy eBag on his back, a front pack and is carrying a shoulder bag. Oh and on this trip he has the Graco pack n’ play and the Fisher Price Space Saver Booster Chair which we have suddenly accumulated from my last trip home and find exceptionally useless in the eyes of Iza. When we seem to move locally we some how end up with more bags, but the same amount of stuff. Lazy packers? I think so.

What we each have with us in our packs, always: 

  • (3) Short sleeve, (1) long sleeve t-shirts
  • (1) Jeans, (2) hiking pants with zip offs
  • (1) Shorts
  • (2) Bathing suits
  • (3) Socks
  • (7) Underwear
  • (1) Sleep outfit
  • (1) Flip flops or sandels, (1) Vibram 5 fingers, (1) hiker boot
  • (1) Computer and accouterments
  • (1) Toiletries
  • (1) Water bottle
  • (1) Headlamp

We share in some of the joint things like: 

  • Iza’s clothes, toys and tent
  • Guitar and xylophone
  • Kitchen spices, oils and dry goods
  • Hiking poles
  • First aid kit

[We will provide reviews on the eBags, eBag cubes, the Marmot front pack, the KidCo PeaPod Lite and the BobaAir soon.]

We decided to go this route primarily because Kurt didn’t want us to check our bags. After going through my most recent trauma of checking two boxes through when I came from NYC I am really glad we didn’t check our bags on our way down here. It would have been a nightmare if they lost them since we are 3-hours from the lake!

After the run down of what we are actually carrying I feel like with all our gear and bags we aren’t super light packers at all! But we do try. 🙂