Wow, that was an epic title for a post about minimalism. Anyway, I took a weekend trip to visit some friends with a pool. I posted my packing list here; this post is the review of that list.
I give myself an A+ for sticking to my packing list.
I actually didn’t even pack all of those items (I left the straw hat home because it’s kind of takes up a lot of space). I am glad I posted this list, because I simply opened my laptop to the blog post and packed everything that was on the list. Success! I am also glad that I kept to a minimal amount of clothes. Four adults and baby drove for 3.5 hours in a four-door sedan. I couldn’t have brought anything more if I had wanted to because it wouldn’t have fit in the car.
I give myself a B for the amount and variety of clothes.
I have two critiques of this list. First, I included too many items. Second, I packed the wrong kinds of tops.
The items that I think I could have gotten away without bringing were the straw hat (which I actually didn’t bring) and the pink sandals. The sandals were fun, but for two days at the pool, one pair of flip-flops would have been sufficient.
The other thing that I mis-planned were my tops. I had one short sleeve shirt to wear during the day, and then I brought a camisole top and cardigan combination to wear at night if it got cool. Well, it didn’t get cool, so there were two items that I brought that I didn’t need. In the future, I would bring one short sleeve or tank top and one cardigan. That would be two items instead of three, and if I didn’t use the cardigan, that would only be one un-used item instead of two.
Combined, that is a grade of A-/B+. Not bad.
That seems about right. This list had enough clothes without really being too many. In the future, I might be about to shave this list down by 20% or so. This is a good foundation for a long-weekend or weeklong trip. I might have a chance to try that theory out in a couple of months. Stay tuned for more about minimalist packing!
What are your must pack items? Anything you think I’m missing from my list? Please share!
