How to travel only with a 20 liter backpack for any number of days

I really enjoy traveling light, and I usually travel with no more than a 20 liter backpack. This challenge started when I saw a friend of mine having his bag lost by the airline and having to live for 4 days with only the clothes he was wearing.

As soon as I started to challenge myself to traveling light I immediately started experiencing the benefits, which for me are mainly:

1. not getting so tired and sweaty because I was not dragging a noisy wheel bag through the city.
2. not having my bag lost by the airline.
3. saving on airline baggage fees.
4. get in and out of public transportation easily and safely. 
   

There are a lot of positives of traveling only with a 20 liter backpack, but it doesn't come without it's compromises.

 

So, how do I do to travel with just a 20 liter backpack for any number of days?

The most important aspect is: planning.

Thinking again of what I'll do during my trip and how the weather will be like is key to understand how may outfits I will take with me and what type of clothes work better in each environment (i.e., summer/winter? leisure/work?). 

Should I take t-shirts or warm fleeces?

Are short sleeve t-shirts and polo adequate, or is it necessary to bring a suit or a sports jacket?

I'll detail below the 5 topics that I use to ensure I can easily travel with just a 20 liter backpack.

1. Plan my outfits in advance.

2. create a packing checklist with all the items I will take.

3. Pack my backpack to save space.

4. Do laundry.

5. select key accessories and "other" items.

I will now explain what I do in each step before I take the trip and also during the trip. These are easy and, most of them, common sense suggestions that we tend to ignore either because we've never thought of trying light traveling or because we think it should come automatically without any learning curve. 

However, as everything in life, traveling light takes practice. I can firmly say, that I'm much better at it now, after having gone one a few trips than in my first trip.

1. Plan my outfits in advance.

This can make or break my packing light objective. I've noticed real differences whenever I spend a little extra time thinking about it, or when I just through into my bag whatever I "usually take".

Clothes are usually what take most space and most weight in our bags, so carefully thinking about which clothes I'm taking makes all the difference.

First step is to learn about the place we are visiting: weather (is it cold? rainy? windy? warm? inconsistent?), social environment (is it a more relaxed or formal culture? what clothes should I take to avoid being out of place?)

The answer to these questions determines what we are taking. If it's cold, we take sweaters, or fleeces. If it's warm and there is a relaxed culture we can pack just t-shirts. If we plan to go to the theater maybe it's better to take a pair of chinos and a dress shirt (for men) or a fancier dress (for women).

Depending on the appropriate type of clothing, we must think about how many days we will spent there and start planning outfits (what will I wear in each day).

Clothes colors are also important.

A key tip is also to keep it simple in terms of clothes colors and patterns: wear whites, blues, blacks, which are easier to match between themselves. There is no harm in taking reds, yellows or pinks, we just need to spend a little extra time planning how maximize the number of outfits. Also, the less patterns a polo or a t-shirt have, the easier it is to match them between each other and the better one looks.

I usually plan for 2 types of outfits:

1. clothes I'll put inside my 20 liter backpack.
2. clothes I'm taking with me on travel day.
   

Since most of us travel for leisure in the summer, I'll focus on generically giving examples of that sort of trip.

1) The clothes I usually put inside my 20 liter backpack are the following:

• 2 polos
  
• 2 t-shirts
• 1 pair of dark shorts
• 1 pair of brown shorts / or 1 pair of chinos
• 3 pairs of underwear (3 pairs of boxers and 3 pairs of socks)
• 1 pair of flip flops (beach sandals)
• 1 V-neck dark blue sweater
• 1 compact jacket / raincoat
• 1 pajamas (usually t-shirt and shorts)
  

I put these in my bag regardless of the number of days I'm traveling.

2) Then, there are the clothes I wear on my travel day:

• 1 polo or t-shirt
• 1 pair of dark blue jeans
• 1 V-neck sweater
• 1 belt that matches my shoes
• 1 pair of comfortable sneakers (one I can spend a long time walking with)
• 1 pair of underwear (boxers and socks)

This separation between travel-day clothes and packing clothes is very important because it allows me to maximize what I'm taking. I may even avoid packing another v-neck sweater, if the place I'm going to is warm (one is enough for the flight or for whatever air conditioning I may be facing ;) ).

Another key tip is to pick clothes in materials that do not take a lot of space in our bag and are easy to wash.

The thinner the fabric, the easier it is to pack it.

Since I don't like spending a lot of time with laundry, I usually pick clothes in fabrics that are easy wash, do not wrinkle when they dry, and, more importantly, dry quickly.

I always look for sports clothing that does not look like you're running the marathon. I always find my answer in the Golf section of sports clothing shops. But this is very personal and may vary depending on what each one of us likes to wear.  

I try to pick sports clothes that are versatile and do not make you look like you're going to the gym.

If we think about it. With careful planning, the clothe packing list above gives us 15 different outfits!! (5 polos and t-shirts x 3 shorts/trousers = 15 outfits).

Regarding shoes, in my opinion, 1 pair of sneakers is enough, as long as they are comfortable and they match my belt. Matching these 2 items, automatically makes us look a lot better.

 

But what if my sneakers get destroyed by some reason? No problem, wear your beach sandals, go to a shop near by and buy some new sneakers that you like.

But I'm wearing my sneakers all the time, they will smell!! Yes, they will. Fact of life. But you can wear your beach sandals in the hotel and put your sneakers in a balcony catching air. The will be fine in the next morning.

What if I'm caught on a rain storm and my sneakers get wet? This has happened to me more than once. I just took my sneakers out of my feet, cleaned them with a towel (to take most of the water out) and leaved them to dry. Once they did not dry overnight, so I requested a hairdrier at the hotel and dried my sneakers in the next morning. They were fine!

What if I decide to go somewhere fancy and my sneakers are not adequate? Well, this is part of the planning. If I now in advance I'll go to somewhere fancy, I'll just pack an additional pair of shoes that are adequate (there will be free space the bag if necessary!). What I usually do is to try to pick sneakers that are adequate in most places I plan to visit. If by any chance I need to have dinner with the president, I'll just go to a shop and buy something adequate.

As for my pajamas... I like to sleep with comfort. Although there could be alternatives, this is an "outfit" that I always take because it makes me feel comfortable and sleep better.

In my opinion, we don't need a lot to feel good while traveling. We just need to plan for outfits that make us feel good and are adequate and do a little laundry.

2. Create a packing checklist.

Planning my outfits and the clothes I'm taking on trip is much easier if we use a checklist. By using one, we lay out clearly what we are taking and we will not forget to put it inside our bags.

To create this checklist, I just use google keep, which is a free, simple and fantastic tool that allows us to take notes and create checklists.

Based on the planning I've described above, I create a note with all the items included in my packing list and cross them off the list when I put them inside my bag.

 

 

 To make sure I don't forget anything, I try to pack it a few days in advance (I usually like a week before) so that I can have everything ready and make sure I do not forget anything.

3. Pack my backpack to save space.

After planning the outfits, writing them down in a checklist, it's time to put everything inside the 20 liter backpack.

There is a lot of information online about the best way to pack a bag: some say you should bundle it, some say you should fold it, and some say you should roll it.

My experience tells me that rolling the clothes not only maximizes the space, but also makes it easy to take things out of the bag, without destroying the bag's organization.

I even go further to say, that if you can, combine methods. I always like to bundle t-shirts and roll them together. This helps save space in your bag.

I use this trick to put together entire clothe changes/outfits. I put my underwear inside a t-shirt or a polo, and then roll them all together. This way, I know, that when I pull an outfit roll out, I'll have a clean set of clothes for the day and do not need to be looking for other pieces inside (socks seem to disappear inside bags if stored individually...).

So what I do for rolling, a t-shirt, for example is:

 

1. lay the t-shirt on a flat surface.

 2. fold a 10 centimeter horizontal line at the bottom of the t-shirt

 

3. divide the t-shirt into 3 vertical lines and fold the left side towards the middle, and do the same for the right side.

4. roll the "rectangle"  tightly until it is inside the bottom previously folded until you get a roll.

Difficult?

I prepared a video to make it easier to understand:

After rolling the clothes, I always like to put everything into packing cubes. It keeps things organized in my bag and it is much easier to take things out and put them back in, without dropping other items or running the risk of not having everything properly fit in as the first time we packed it.

4. Do laundry.

Doing laundry is what allows us to travel with only a 20 liter backpack for any number of days. 

Since we take only the same number of outfits whether we go on a 7 day trip or on a 20 day trip, washing clothes becomes a necessity. 

I know it doesn't motivate anyone, and you may even be thinking to stop reading because you don't want to waste time washing your clothes while you are on vacation. But hear me out.

I am as lazy as the next man, but I do take a shower every nigh. So, I decided to take advantage of that. Firstly, before my shower, I put my clothes in the hotel sink with a little bit of soap at let them rest without me doing anything (you can buy proper soap, but, like I said, I'm as lazy as the next man, so I just use the body wash or shampoo that the hotels provide).

After a few minutes, I just go and take a showed and bring my wet clothes to rinse them properly while I shower. The manual input in this daily process takes no more than 5 minutes. Can we not spare 5 minutes every day to wash our clothes?

This simple process takes any bad smell that my clothes (and myself) may have gotten during the day and gives me a clean outfit for the following day.

Try this out. I promise it isn't as bad as you may think and it's not a lot of extra work. Like I said: 5 minutes.

Doing laundry while traveling is totally worth it since we can take a small bag with only a few garments.

5. Select key accessories and "other" items.

We need extra items in our trips aside from just clothes. Picking the right accessories and travel items is very important to not over-pack.

The secret is to find items that are multipurpose and that we think we will use during our trip.

Regarding toiletries, I always pick the essentials. Although these may vary depending on what each person considers essential ;).

I like to carry the following items with me:

1. foldable 10 liter backpack, which takes no space and allows me to carry anything extra that I may need during my trip. I've used it very few times, but usually to go to local supermarkets buy food and water and not take my "bigger" 20 liter backpack. It may also be handy if you want to take home a special souvenir to anyone which may not fit into the main bag.

2. small fast drying towel is also a must have to me, since it allows me to go to a beach, swimming pool, gym, and shower anywhere. Similarly to the foldable backpack, when this is rolled inside my main 20 liter backpack it takes almost no space.

3. Key Toiletries are also very important. I always carry a deodorant, tooth paste and a small travel tooth brush, and an electric razor. I don't need anything else, since shampoo, shower gel, and body lotions are usually available in most hotels and hostels. If not, I can just buy them locally. The electric razor, is however, a luxury I always bring with me. I like to travel light, but I do not like to lose quality of life, and to me an electric razor is totally worth the extra space.

4. Smartphone and its charger, running watch and its charger, a tablet device, and a minimalist wallet. The smartphone does not require explanation. It's a very useful communicating device that doubles maps, camera and....phone. It is one of those items that I think allows us to carry a lot less stuff since it has multiple functions, specially to take pictures! 

I'm a runner and like to track my steps, so a running watch with a long battery life is important to me. I usually don't need the charger (battery lasts around 2 weeks), however, since it is very small I take it with since I may like to run more regularly.

The tablet device I bring with me is an iPad, but I mainly use it for reading. I used to carry a couple small books with me, but the iPad is very thin and fits well inside any laptop compartment, which allows me to maximize the space inside my backpack. I now always read in my iPad. Similarly to the smartphone, this is very useful and can double as maps, note taking device and, mainly, as a book.

5. minimalist wallet is my last item on the list, but not the least important. I always like to carry my wallet in a front pocket of my trousers for extra safety and a small minimalist wallet allows me to do that. It can take coins, bills, business cards, folded papers and most importantly cards. It doesn't need to be a very expensive wallet, there are several totally worth the money.

There is one extra optional item that I like to carry if I'm not flying. For trains and road trips I always take a very small (6 cm) victorinox knife with me. It has a small knife, screwdrivers, tweezers, and a tooth pick. This is very useful and does not take any space inside my backpack.

 

After a few trips I got the hang of traveling light and now I love it. I do not see myself getting back to carrying big cases or duffel bags across town or at the airport. 

It is, however, a never-ending journey, since we're always perfecting our system and the way we pack. Trying new organization methods, making mistakes and adjusting is part of the challenge and of the beauty of traveling light.

Like I said above, the essentials are different from person to person. You just need to find your essentials to help you travel as light as possible. 

And that's all folks! Enjoy your lightweight travels.