How to Pack Light for a Weekend Away

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Hubby, Little Miss C and I recently took a 3 day weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur to visit with some of our good friends.  I was determined to pack light and had no desire to lug a huge amount of stuff all over airports and subway stations and in and out of taxis.  We managed to pack all of the stuff we needed for our family of three into 2 small backpacks.  We also took along Miss C’s pack and play which she has slept in virtually every night of her life.  Oh, how I dread the day she will move out of it… but that is another post all together.  Joel and I were able to pack all of our stuff into one backpack and Miss C had a backpack just for her stuff.

So, here’s everything we packed for our trip:

For Hubby:

• 2 shirts
• 2 extra pairs of underwear
• 2 extra pairs of socks
• 1 extra pair of shorts
• Toothbrush
• Deodorant
• Swim Trunks

For Me:

• 2 extra shirts
• 1 extra pair of shorts
• 1 pair of workout pants
• 2 workout shirts (could’ve done with just 1)
• 3 extra pairs of underwear
• Swimsuit (and dry bag for all of our wet swim stuff)
• Googles and swim cap (swimming is very important to our family)
• Hair straightener
• Hair Brush
• Deodorant
• Toothbrush/toothpaste
• My Favorite Tinted Moisturizer/Beauty Balm (the only makeup item I took on this trip)
• Sunglasses
• Water bottle – This awesome water bottle keeps your H2O cold for 12 hours!
• Wallet
• I also squeezed an extra pair of shoes in at the last minute (not pictured).  But they were TOMS so they pack pretty flatly!

For Baby:

• 15 diapers – we are pretty well using under 5 diapers a day now, but knowing we would be in a city and I could pick them up anywhere made me feel ok with such a low number.  In the end it was the perfect amount.
• wipes
• 4 extra outfits – 2x as many as mom and dad, but she is definitely the messiest member of our family!
• Pajamas
• Nursing Cover
• Our favorite Tommee Tippee Straw Cup
• Her milk Thermos (not pictured) – We love this because it keeps the milk cold and fresh while we are out and about
• Her favorite stuffed puppy that she sleeps with
• A few books, including the “Goodnight Teddy” busy book
• Swimsuit and reusable swim diaper
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Large zip top plastic bag full of her favorite snacks and food – we went to a grocery store once we got to KL and stocked up on baby snacks, but Miss C is pretty accustomed to eating whatever we are eating, and we were able to share most meals with her

We also took 2 phones, a shared phone charger with 2 USB ports, our passports, a print-out of our flight confirmation and the “Southeast Asia on a Shoestring” guidebook.

Thats it!  Thats absolutely everything that we packed for our 3 day trip to Kuala Lumpur.  It was amazing to not have to worry about carrying a ton of stuff around the city, to be able to concentrate on spending time with our friends rather than packing, unpacking, and transporting everything that we brought.  Miss C can make a toy out of anything, and we were on the go a lot, so she didn’t seem at all bothered by not having a large number of toys to play with.  We recently made another trip where we packed the same way, in 2 backpacks for a 3-day weekend, and I don’t plan on changing our light-packing ways anytime soon!

What about you?  What kind of packer are you?  What essentials do you pack for a short trip?