heirloom / one bagging

in ,

Hello friends! I'm headed off to Vietnam/Thailand/Hong Kong/Seoul (24 hours) in about a day, and I thought I'd show my blog a bit of love before I take off. I've loved traveling since I was a kid, but with my love for traveling also comes a love for...packing. I'm weird, I know. My mom has let me pack my own bags since I was super young, which I've appreciated as a way for me to learn how to plan for trips. I remember the first time she let me do that, I forgot to pack any underwear and had to hunt for tiny children's underwear in Vancouver. I've come a lot further since then (hopefully). For the last few years, I've become pretty obsessed with the idea of traveling only with a backpack, and recently realized there was an entire online community dedicated to "one-bagging". For me, packing only a small backpack forces me to think critically about every object that I bring, and also forces me to do research about the places I'm going and to think about potential situations I will have to deal with. I have really sensitive shoulders, so it also greatly reduces the weight I have to carry, and therefore makes traveling significantly more enjoyable. It's definitely a mindfulness exercise, and the overall process of choosing exactly what to bring is incredibly enjoyable to me. Below is (mostly) what I'm bringing on my 4 week trip, all packed in a 19 liter backpack (for size comparison, the standard Jansport backpack is 25 liters...this bag barely fits a 13 inch laptop!).

The packing cube contains all of my clothes, and I didn't include my toiletries in this picture.

The packing cube contains all of my clothes, and I didn't include my toiletries in this picture.

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Here's a complete list of what I'm packing:

  • 2x Uniqlo Drape Pants

  • 1x Board Shorts

  • 1x Running Shorts

  • 2x Tank Tops

  • 4x Underwear

  • 2x T shirts

  • 2x Ibex Bras

  • 1x Patagonia Houdini

  • 1x Linen Cap

  • 1x Swimsuit

  • Skinners (they're like socks with protective bottom...nice for flights!)

  • Shamma Sandals Jerusalem Cruisers

  • Fuji X100T + charger + 2 batteries + various SD cards

  • Moto G4

  • Jelly Comb keyboard

  • Kindle

  • Audiotechnica Earbuds

  • Gorilla Pod Tripod

  • Anker Charger

  • Toothbrush

  • Toothpaste

  • After Bite

  • Soap

  • Shampoo Bar

  • ACV Powder (conditioner)

  • Nail clippers

  • Tweezers

  • Menstrual Cup

  • Hand sanitizer

  • Baking soda/cornstarch mix (deodorant/dry shampoo)

  • First aid kit (Advil, antihistamine, band aids, wipes etc.)

  • Mesh bag (for dirty clothes)

  • Dry bag (doubles as a laundry container, pillow when filled with air, camera protector in the rain etc.)

  • Silk travel liner (can also serve as a blanket on cold flights)

  • Grayl filtration bottle

  • Muji pocket notebook

  • Zebra SL-F1

  • Linen towel

  • Money, passports!

Hopefully this is all enough to keep me healthily thriving for about four weeks. It might not seem like a lot, but I actually couldn't think of anything else that I would want to bring - in other words, doing this isn't a sacrifice to me at all. I'll probably have to do laundry a bit more than a normal traveler, but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. I opted for phone/keyboard instead of laptop for this trip - photo editing will be done on Snapseed and keyboard will help for writing journal entries or any extensive editing. The Kindle and the 30+ books I want to read should keep me completely occupied on any long flights.

Happy July! :)

Snap from a short hike to Red Rock Canyon in Lake Forest, CA this week.

Snap from a short hike to Red Rock Canyon in Lake Forest, CA this week.