It’s just about time for us to hit the road (skies) again, which always has me mentally preparing for what will fit our carry-on only travel style before it’s actually time to pack. The most frequent question I get about packing for an extended trip into a small roller bag and backpack only is: How do you fit all your shoes? I’ve been thinking about what shoes I’ll need for the UK in May lately, so let’s size this up, shall we?

The struggle is real, friends.

As a self-proclaimed sometimes fashionista (I do own a women’s clothing boutique after all, but also a farm, thus the “sometimes”), this is something I have struggled immensely with for YEARS. So often shoes make the outfit you’re wearing better, and who doesn’t want to just knock it out of the park!? *Jason raises his hand* However, I’ve realized that when you travel, you’re there for the experience, or at least we are. If you’re forcing your feet into shoes that are even the tiniest bit uncomfortable, or trying to shove another pair into your bag that will only go with ONE outfit you’ve packed, you’re taking away from the joy of that experience. No one wants to lug around a bag of shoes, and no one wants blisters. Which reminds me, pack big Band-Aids, because you never know. So, this really is a situation where function and comfort are more important than fashion.

An example situation.

Since we are first headed to the UK, let’s talk about how to get your feet from the soggy cobblestones of Edinburgh to the unpaved, swampy, and rugged Highlands of Scotland and then finally landing yourself on the fashionable streets of London in May – aka rainy season. Somehow, we’re going to manage it without tracking in mud from the highlands to London. That’s the goal, anyway.

The plan.

I’m planning three pairs of shoes for this trip – waterproof sneakers for city walking and tours, waterproof boots for highlands hiking, and flats for dinners & shows (not waterproof, so there’s a good chance I’ll have soggy feet for a few hours). I’ll be skipping sandals for now since the forecast looks like rain every day and it’s still a bit chilly in May. Here’s my line-up:

• ON Cloud 5 Waterproof Sneakers
• Danner Mountain 600 Waterproof Hiking Boot
• Rothy’s The Flat (get $20 off your order with THIS link)

Jason’s line-up looks slightly different. He’s only planning on two pairs of shoes and forgoing the hiking boots. Looks like I’ll be hiking alone or he’s going to be borrowing some Wellies from the hotel. His lineup looks like this:

• ON Cloud 5 Waterproof Sneakers
• Ecco Soft 7 Sneakers

There’s a good chance our lineup could change a bit once we start packing, but this is generally the plan. I may substitute a pair of waterproof ankle boots instead of flats as my dress shoes if I end up taking all pants instead of dresses, which is likely. I’m waiting for a closer inspection of the weather forecast. If that’s the case I’ll be taking these instead in a waterproof (discontinued) version – Born McKenzie Booties.

Our Recommendations

If your trip to the UK has you sticking to the cities, you can skip the hiking boots. However, if you plan any adventures into the wild, especially during the rainy season, we highly recommend them.

We also recommend never trying to do a trip with only one pair of shoes. This is one place you shouldn’t try to be an overachiever. Always have a backup in case one pair breaks, is sopping wet, or is just rubbing your feet wrong. Your second pair will almost definitely feel different from the first and give your feet a break from any places that are bothering you.

It also helps to figure out what you’re planning to wear in conjunction with your shoe selection. For example, you probably don’t need to take both brown and black shoes. Instead, pick one and then find clothes that go with them. Traveling with one color family of styles makes packing so much easier – it’s all mix and match! Unless you like mixing black and brown like I do, go for it!

Whatever you choose depends largely upon your style, but always keep in mind comfort. If you’re anything like us, travel generally involves a TON of walking. If you end up with blisters on your first day, it’s going to be a long trip. Trust me, I know. Also, heels and cobblestones aren’t exactly a perfect pairing. Just leave them at home.

Packing it all in.

And now, packing. Always wear your biggest and heaviest pair of shoes on your big travel days. Whenever we bring hiking boots, this often means I’m wearing them on the plane. I consider this a huge bonus because my hiking boots are the most comfortable shoes I own. They even run through the airport quite well. This usually means the weight of those shoes is, well, at your feet and not on your back. Having TSA Pre-Check makes this easier as well, because you don’t need to remove your shoes when going through security.

This leaves you with only two pairs of shoes to pack on this trip (or one if you’re the overachieving husband) – fit them in how you best see fit. One of the reasons I try to take flats is they pack down very small and weigh almost nothing. This is also the reason I chose very lightweight sneakers. You can also pack socks (merino wool – trust me) into your shoes or anything that needs a little extra protection to avoid a dead space in your bag. Use every possible inch! There are also clips you can use to hang your shoes off the outside of your backpack; we’ve seen people using them but haven’t explored them ourselves…yet.

That’s it! Have a great trip, and maybe we’ll see you over there. It is our favorite place after all!

The post UK in May – How to Pack Shoes in a Carry-on Only first appeared on The DeBode Way.

Here’s the thing: when we travel around the US, pretty much regardless of which hotel we stay with, there is usually plenty of counter space. We get it, the US has space, so we use it. On the flip side, when we travel in Europe, there is far less available space, and it’s often retrofitted, leaving barely enough for a tiny sink. When we lose this space, interesting scenarios result. Does anyone else fight with their spouse/significant other/travel companion for your ‘fair share’ of the bathroom counter space? Someone, please tell me I’m not alone with this. Consider: if you have 1 full counter, and 2 people staying in a room, logically, each person gets ½ the counter space, right? Right. Glad we’re agreed. And this works out just fine…except when we’re in Europe.

This reminds me of the single piece of marriage advice we always give when asked – have separate bathrooms. No joke.

Back to travel – What we’ve found is our friends across the pond seem, for whatever reason, to not value bathroom counter space as much as we do (read: at all), even if there IS space for it. And that often leads to…war. It’s a familiar scenario for us: we get to the room to unpack (we’re definitely the type that unpacks as soon as we get to our room, less stumbling in the dark later), and I put my stuff on my half of the counter and then move onto something else. Tasha comes in, sees what I’ve done, and proceeds to move my stuff to the smallest possible space on the counter and then spreads her stuff out across the majority of the counter. Frustration, expletives, and threats to throw certain items in the garbage ensue. Anyone else? Sound familiar? Yes? Okay, good.

Unfortunately, there’s not much to be done about this when you’re faced with only a pedestal sink worth of counter space. Just keep in mind that while traveling in Europe, counter space is a premium and sometimes doesn’t exist at all. As a result, some of our bathroom bags can hang up on towel racks/hooks (which are also scarce), and some stuff just doesn’t make it in the bathroom at all. We’ve definitely used a kitchen sink and a countertop stove as a second bathroom before in a tiny (amazing) oceanside pod in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. We make use of window sills, the edges of tubs, and Tasha has even managed to downsize to one instead of two bags (eye roll…honestly). Is this a big deal? No. Can it result in war? Absolutely. And in war, all bets are off, right? Surely the Geneva Convention doesn’t apply to spousal warfare.

I digress… More than anything, keep the potential lack of space in mind and plan accordingly for your travels. If traveling to Europe, try to condense as much as possible and come up with creative ways to access your things that don’t require laying flat on the counter. Don’t bring more than you need of any products, downsize your containers, and only bring things you truly think you will use (I might be thinking of how Tasha always packs makeup and NEVER uses it. To clarify, the issue isn’t with not using makeup, but rather packing something you know you’re unlikely to use when space is at a premium), and even consider what type of bag you’re packing into and whether it can be stored multiple ways. As we’ve said before, the better you plan before heading out, the smoother and potentially less cluttered your travel experience will be. And it might just save your marriage, too.

The post Counterspace Wars! Finding Your Fair Share in Scarce Spaces first appeared on The DeBode Way.

Something we strongly recommend that seems nuts, but actually alleviates some travel stress: travel with carry on bags ONLY as much as possible. Get your clicker finger ready, we have lots of products to share that help us dramatically with this!

We BOTH used to check big bags, carry backpacks and a small roller bag when we travelled, especially internationally, until we went through what we’ll call a ‘learning opportunity.’

We were off to Scotland in 2019 to visit our friends and renew our wedding vows for our 10th anniversary. Neat, right? Sure, until we got to our first connection in Chicago and found our first flight had been delayed too long due to a storm, forcing back our connection and having us miss our overseas flight to Edinburgh. Bleh. So we went to the Customer Service desk and, after much discussion and pleading, they were able to reroute us so we actually ended up arriving around the same time as we were originally supposed to but on a different flight. Win! So, off we go and, as expected, ended up in the glorious city that is Edinburgh, Scotland. Except, our bags didn’t arrive with us or even shortly after. Neat.

So ensues a very long story with international phone calls (ouch) and going on with the rest of our trip, but the short version is that we also had two carry on bags, each with a few clothing items (always pack an extra outfit in your carry-on if you do check a bag) and Tasha’s dress, thankfully. Yes, we ended up buying a few things, but we also learned that you can do laundry (duh!), either at a hotel’s facilities or you can buy mini travel detergent made to do your laundry in the bathroom sink or tub. This was a game-changer for us. Now, we travel much lighter, only with carry-on bags, and plan on doing laundry if we’re gone for a long enough time. Those bags finally caught up with us on the last day of our trip after many flights around the globe and a trip to the “unclaimed” warehouse in Dallas. When we opened them, we didn’t actually need a darn thing in them. Ahh perspective.

On an upcoming trip, we will be gone for 16 days but are only planning to pack for 4 days. This makes everything so much lighter and less stressful, knowing your bags are right above your head and never needing to wonder if they made it on the plane. Our current favorite tested and beaten bags are the Samsonite Ziplite 4.0 rolling carry-ons (which I don’t think you can get anymore but Samsonite in general is a great brand), and our variety of backpacks: Osprey Daylite Plus, Osprey Daylite and Osprey Porter Travelpack Carryon 30 for longer trips. All three of these backpacks have a padded computer pocket and lots of extra pockets for whatever you need. The Daylite bags are perfect to take along on your daily adventures once you get to your destination. Unpack what you don’t need during the day, pack the essentials and you have plenty of space for anything you may pick up along the way plus a couple water bottles. Jason typically carries a backpack and Tasha sticks with her small Waterproof Crossbody Arden Cove Bag to just carry a couple essentials.

Speaking of packing, our travel has changed the kinds of clothes we buy, even when we’re at home. What we’ve found is that natural fibers work SO much better when travelling. They help naturally regulate your body temperature and keep you warm (especially when the plane reaches altitude and gets a little chilly), can be worn a few times before they look like you’ve worn them, won’t stink, are super easy pack, wash and dry really fast (especially if there’s a heated towel rack), and are usually really good quality. When it comes to natural fibers, we like Woolx (psst…our link gets you $20 off a purchase of $50 or more) and, more recently, Paka. More expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Some things just are. And no my friends, wool isn’t always itchy. It’s by far our favorite natural fiber to live AND travel in. We talked about travel clothing in depth in this post.

Toiletries are a tricky thing when you’re only planning to take a carry-on. Per TSA regulations, you can only carry-on liquids and gels that are less than 3.4 ounces, they all must fit in ONE quart size clear bag per person. They call this the 3-1-1 rule and it’s been in effect since 9/11. This. Is. A. Challenge. One way to combat this is to just pack what you absolutely need once you get to your destination and before you can get to a store. This is typically the approach we have taken in the past. But, as we’ve switched to cleaner products that aren’t widely available, we’ve had to get a bit more creative and selective about what we absolutely need on each trip. We are constantly in search of new products that are NOT liquid – bar shampoo/conditioner, tablet toothpaste, bar soap, and solid lotions are a couple ways to cut down on your liquids. Another way is to take your products out of their original containers, even if they are 3.4 ounces, if you won’t need the entire amount while you are travelling. We’ve managed to go from big hanging toiletry bags to small, flat countertop bags that easily fit into a carry-on by downsizing our containers. Our newest favorite tool for this is the Cadence container. They’re not only cute and practical, they have magnetic sides and tops so they stick together instead of sliding all over your bag and hiding in corners. Genius. Their first trip with us is right around the corner. Vitamins, supplements and prescriptions are important when you’re out of your regular routine (and in it), so we have fun pill cases from Mbark to cut back on giant bottles as well. Tasha’s favorite toiletry bags are made by Makeup Junkie and come in 4 different sizes, endless colors/designs and packs flat, which is great when you forget to leave room in your bag for it – whoops. Jason’s favorite toiletry bag is by a company called Gravel and also comes in 4 sizes. He likes that each item has its own compartment so he knows exactly where they are.

Sometimes it takes a life lesson to make you stop and re-evaluate your priorities and necessities. Hopefully yours won’t come in the form of lost luggage on a 14 day international trip when you’re trying to renew your vows.
In the end we got married, again, had a great time and learned a valuable lesson for the next stage of our life together.
Happy travels!

The post Travel Lessons – Conquering the tempting need to overpack first appeared on The DeBode Way.

With that important question out of the way, let’s talk about packing, or at least how we do it. But first, our current scenario. For the first time in more than two years, we’re finally planning our next sojourn back to Scotland! Super pumped! As of now, the plan is to be across the pond for a little over two weeks, exploring the Outer Hebridean islands, one of the places we’ve yet to see, and the Highlands, again, because they’re amazing. And no trip to Scotland is complete without a day or two in Edinburgh taking in the Royal Mile and Old Town. The catch: as is our norm, we’re planning to do this with no more than a carry-on and backpack each. When we tell people this, we get lots of confused looks: but how do you pack enough for weeks in such a small space?

When we pack for long(er) trips using only carry-ons, we tend to follow four simple rules:

1. Natural Fibers. I know, I know…we’ve mentioned this before. Still, we think it’s important enough to mention again. Before we started travelling more (of course, before the pandemic), we used to pack our regular clothes. You have them, why not use them? Trouble is, most clothes with synthetic fibers can really only be worn once before they stink and they take up an awful lot of space in our bags. That meant we needed larger bags to take with us, which is always a pain, not to mention incur checked baggage fees with your airline. What we’ve discovered is packing natural fibers makes life easier.

Let’s clarify what we mean by natural fibers. For us, this means wool, specifically Merino wool. Cotton is also a natural fiber, as is linen, flax, hemp and things of that nature; however, we’ve found that cotton and linen turn into terrible wrinkled messes in your suitcase and honestly, stink quickly despite their breathe-ability. If it’s really good quality, linen can often take care of itself when you take it out and hang it up, but that’s not always the case with cotton, as it’s a heavier fiber and so takes more coaxing to look good. However, we don’t have any of these issues with wool, as we’ve noted below.

What we like. We have two main brands of wool clothing we like to take when we travel. Tasha swears by Woolx (psst: our link gets you $20 off when you sign up with your email); Jason likes this, too, but has also recently discovered Paka, which uses alpaca wool (blends) for their clothes. Both have largely the same benefits, so let’s talk about those.

First, let’s squash the misconception that wool is itchy. Not all wool is created equally. Merino, Alpaca and Cashmere wool is incredibly soft and comfortable, whereas most sheep, lamb, and recycled wools can be various degrees of itchy, albeit, warm and damp wicking. They make great outer layers but you may not want them right up against your skin.

Second, wool can be thin while not sacrificing its ability to keep us warm. Thin means they take up less space in our suitcase so we can pack a few more options (Tasha) or leave empty space for Scotch at the Duty Free shop (Jason). There are various weights of Merino wool that allow you to wear it in all seasons. Tasha has light weight tanks and tees for summers in the desert that allow you to sweat but quickly wicks it away to dry quickly and heavy weight leggings, long sleeve tops and sweaters to wear in the mountain winters with a tight weave to hold heat in. She swears by wool underwear all year round (so weird) and we both love wool socks in all seasons to keep our feet dry, warm or cool and from stinking.

Third, yes, it looks wrinkly as we’re unpacking, but hang them up for a few minutes and you can basically watch the wrinkles fall out. We usually hang things we want to wear the next day at night and by morning they look perfect. Need to speed it up? Hang it in the bathroom while you take a shower and let the steam do the work for you.

Fourth, wool is porous. It has these tiny air pockets that allows your skin to breathe and the fabric to allow more airflow to dry it out faster. On the flip side, these pockets can also hold your body heat keeping you cozy warm in colder temps. It has this nifty ability to both hold humidity and dry itself out all while not stinking because of its anti-microbial properties that keep bacteria from binding to the fibers. And! If you’re prone to spilling liquids every time you get a drink (ahem, Tasha), they just bead up and slide right off. No red wine stains here! Nature is so cool. Ok, done nerding out.

Fifth, we’re able to wear each item multiple times before having to wash it. That, in turn, means we can either pack less clothing or the same amount, but it’ll last us longer. If we do have to wash it, it’s remarkably easy to wash at night in the sink with detergent sheets and be dry and ready to wear the next morning.

And finally, wool is renewable. It comes from sheep, goats, alpacas, and llamas and they need a haircut multiple times a year. They’ll actually thank you for it. Wool can also be recycled and won’t catch fire and melt to your skin like synthetics. You know those warnings on certain fabrics that say not to make sleepwear out of it (maybe you only know this if you sew)? That’s because of the plastic in synthetic fibers. If it catches fire while you are unaware in the night, the risk of burns and death from it melting to your skin is so much higher.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

What we don’t like. This list is short. Really short. In fact, there’s only one thing to mention here. If you’re going for good quality, well-made, natural fibers, you’re going to end up spending more on your clothes. Maybe a lot more. Let’s honest, the stuff we buy from Woolx and Paka is neither cheap nor inexpensive, so be prepared for a little price shock the first time you go looking. At the same time, we think it’s worth it so are okay making the investment. That does mean we don’t buy tons of stuff at once and we’re always looking for sales on their websites to soften the blow. Still, expect clothes like this to set you back a bit more than what you’ll find elsewhere. On the plus side, if you follow the care instructions, it will last a very long time. Tasha has pieces she’s been wearing nearly every day for at least 5 years and counting.

2. Packable makes it possible. This is something that sounds obvious, but we didn’t really think much about it until recently. Here’s the thing: we like to spend most of our travelling time in Europe and the Western US, and we try to go in shoulder season, or during low season. Shoulder season is typically in Spring or Fall right before and after high/busy season. Low season is typically in the winter in the Northern Hemisphere. That usually means the weather is a bit cooler and more damp than during peak tourism times. We’re okay with that, but it means we need layers (see above comment about natural fibers, which are great for layering) and a jacket that’ll keep us warm. Trouble is, warm jackets are often bulky. Often, but not always. Over the last few years we’ve really come to appreciate the packable outerwear from places like LL Bean. These are normal sized/looking jackets, with the latest technology to keep you warm, but they pack down into one of their interior pockets, which means a full-size jacket will pack down to about the size of a men’s size 10 shoe or even smaller. Amazing, right? Jason also likes a packable vest, which is great at maintaining body temperature and packs down even smaller. In fact, he usually clips the packed-down vest to the outside of his backpack, just so it doesn’t take up space elsewhere and he can grab it easily when it gets chilly on the plane.

3. Wash ‘em. Probably more than anything else that helps us be gone for a semi-extended period of time and not take our entire closets with us is the ability to do laundry while gone. Admittedly, this isn’t something we really thought about until recently, but it’s been a game-changer. What we’ve found is there are really two good ways to do your laundry while travelling.
First, many of the major hotel chains have laundry facilities or services you can use. We find that most B&Bs we stay at don’t have this option, but that just means every now and again when we’re near a larger city/town, we look for a more familiar brand for a night or two so we can do our laundry. If you’re staying somewhere that doesn’t explicitly mention this as an option, ask the front desk. At least once we’ve had the hotel agree to do a load of laundry for us (which was actually about 13 loads while leading study away with students). To clarify, this means they put everything in the same load, probably IN your laundry bag and your clothes may or may not be folded when you get them back. But, they’re clean, and that’s not nothing.

Second, if there really aren’t laundry options around you, you can do it yourself in your hotel room. We used to drop into the druggist (we call them pharmacies in the US) or grocery store to get a small tube of detergent that’s specifically designed to use in your bathroom sink. More recently Tasha found sheets (they look like dryer sheets) that are laundry detergent. We like these better because they’re dry, not liquid. That scores two points: one for being lighter and easier to pack, and a second because if you get them in the US, they don’t concern the TSA folks or count against your liquids allowance. With the necessary supplies in-hand, the rest is pretty familiar. Fill the sink with hot water (or cold, depending on what you’re washing), add the detergent and your clothes. Rub them around a bit, let soak as long as you like, then rinse, hang-up, and repeat. Fun fact: lots of bathrooms around Europe have heated towel racks that work really well at drying your clothes, and faster than you might expect. Also, if you’ve packed natural fibers, they’ll dry super fast on their own and you can leave the heated rack for anything synthetic you’ve brought along. Pack your stuff back into your bags and you’re ready for the next leg of your trip, smelling fresh!

4. Color Families and Restyling. Trust me, I know Instagram has put in your head that you need 800 outfits, one for each stunning beach or mountain top pose, and shoes, jewelry, a fun hat and styling products to get the look. Let me just stop you there and take a minute to think about how big your suitcase(s) is going to have to be to. Yikes. When Tasha started traveling at 20 years old, this is how she traveled. Her very first trip, she showed up in Pennsylvania with the biggest suitcase she could find (stamped oversized by the airline), a full-size carryon and an enormous purse…for a week. Since then she’s done a ton of travel research, traveled a ton more, gotten countless eye rolls from overpacking and learned about color families and restyling.

Let’s start with color families. Pick a good neutral base color: black, navy, gray, brown, tan, white. Like any good early 2000s emo girl, Tasha started with classic black. It’s flattering, hides dirt, blends in, is classic and punk. Now ONLY pick things that will go with black (which is basically everything). Her favorites are purple, blue, green and currently, rose gold or diamond – jewel tones, cool colors. For a two week trip we typically pack about 3-4 days worth of clothes that can be mixed, layered, restyled and jewelry and shoes that can go with everything. ALWAYS take 2 pairs of shoes. You might destroy a pair or suddenly your favorite sandals might suddenly start to give you blisters. You don’t want to have those be your only option! Tasha lives in leggings at home (and studio, rehearsal, chores, store stocking, etc) and swears by leggings with pockets for planes. Leggings are not appropriate in all places so be sure to have a nice pair of pants (she loves yoga dress pants and skorts from Betabrand – our link gets you $15 off your first order) or a casual dress (black) for dinners out and jeans, hiking pants, a skort (almost never shorts) or even dress pants/stretchy chinos for daytime adventures. Pair with a wool top within your packed color family, basic jewelry and stuff a coordinating scarf/cardigan/wrap in your day bag. In the summer she will pack almost entirely dresses and a wrap to match them all. It’s super easy to just grab a dress for the day and not have to put an outfit together. Remember most places outside of the USA typically dress not as casual as we do at home. We’ll put together later posts on what to pack for each type of adventure we’ve been on. There are things we bring every time we pack a bag and things only appropriate for certain climates or cultures.

In the end, travelling is supposed to be about the adventure and exploring new areas, not lugging unnecessarily large suitcases upstairs when there’s no lift, along cobblestone streets, trying to cram them onto trains/planes or into cars trunks that are smaller than we’re used to. Over the years we’ve discovered plenty of ways that make this doable, but there are lots of other ways to make this happen, too. We’ve had a lot of trial and error but have definitely gotten to the point where we can pack trusty staples and not have to go on a shopping spree before every trip.

We didn’t even touch on toiletries. That’s another animal and another post. Stay tuned.

If you’ve discovered tips and tricks that make travelling easier for you, leave us a comment explaining what you do!

The post Unveiling the best secrets of efficient packing first appeared on The DeBode Way.