I spent this weekend in Amsterdam at the Drupal Process Meetup, and it’s been a great experience! I had many interesting talks with other Drupal business owners, learned a lot in the Openspace-format discussion rounds and enjoyed having dinner together in downtown Amsterdam. As I’m writing this article, I’m reclining in an Eames Lounge Chair and listening to relaxing music at the amazing CitizenM hotel near Schiphol Airport.
Since I intend to do much more business trips this year, I put some thought into making my travel as stress-free as possible. I flew with EasyJet who let you print out your boarding pass in advance. When I arrived at the airport, I could go directly through security without having to check in (and pay for) baggage because I was able to fit everything I needed into my backpack. I had it on me all the time, so I didn’t have to worry about my stuff getting stolen. After landing in Amsterdam, instead of having to wait at the baggage claim, I went directly to the hotel and arrived there completely relaxed.
Packing light means to consciously limit yourself to the things you’ll actually need. That you need fresh clothes for every day of your journey doesn’t mean you need different clothes for every day. I didn’t have that realization until recently; before, when I prepared for a 5 day vacation, I packed 5 T-shirts. This time, I simply packed a tube of travel detergent. By washing my stuff, I can get by, for example, with three pairs of socks: One to wear today, one for tomorrow and one that’s currently drying after doing the laundry. Especially outdoor and travel clothes will easily dry over night.
Choosing equipment that makes traveling light easy does of course also apply to tech stuff. With my iPhone, Macbook Air and Kindle, I carried around both my complete office and my book shelf, all adding up to less than 2kg.
These are two of many articles you can find on the Web about packing light:
Try it out, you’ll be amazed how stress-free traveling becomes when you minimize your baggage!