Three Days with a Small Backpack: A Packing List With No "Just in Case" Items
Packing for a short trip is one of those things where it's easy to overdo it. That's why I read with interest Anna Szubińska's guide on Podróże.pl about how to pack for three days with one small backpack. The premise is simple: one person, two nights in a hotel or apartment, and ordinary sightseeing. A winter trip, a trek or an event needs a different set of things.
The first tip concerns the airline. Check the number of permitted items, their dimensions and the weight limit, because what counts as cabin baggage can be ambiguous. The article uses Ryanair as an example, which allows one small item of 40 × 30 × 20 cm under the seat on every fare. The label "20 litres" alone isn't enough, so measure the backpack after you've packed it.
It's best to wear the bulkiest items: long comfortable trousers, your first T-shirt, a sweatshirt and shoes you've already tested. In the backpack go two extra T-shirts, three sets of underwear, two or three pairs of socks, a light set of sleepwear, one spare pair of bottoms, a small toiletry bag, a phone with its charger, documents, a card, medicines and a thin bag for dirty laundry. Clothes should go with each other, and you shouldn't plan on doing laundry as a rescue.
For liquids, the safe starting point is containers of up to 100 ml in a transparent bag of up to 1 litre, and what counts is the capacity of the container, not how much is inside. Leave room for the return trip too, since souvenirs and small purchases add up.
The author's control question is the one I liked best: not "will this be useful?" but "when will I use it?" If an item has no place in the plan, it stays at home. The exceptions are medicines, documents and protection against the expected weather. It's a good rule even for those who come back from abroad every year with a suitcase that's too heavy.
Source: Podróże.pl
The first tip concerns the airline. Check the number of permitted items, their dimensions and the weight limit, because what counts as cabin baggage can be ambiguous. The article uses Ryanair as an example, which allows one small item of 40 × 30 × 20 cm under the seat on every fare. The label "20 litres" alone isn't enough, so measure the backpack after you've packed it.
It's best to wear the bulkiest items: long comfortable trousers, your first T-shirt, a sweatshirt and shoes you've already tested. In the backpack go two extra T-shirts, three sets of underwear, two or three pairs of socks, a light set of sleepwear, one spare pair of bottoms, a small toiletry bag, a phone with its charger, documents, a card, medicines and a thin bag for dirty laundry. Clothes should go with each other, and you shouldn't plan on doing laundry as a rescue.
For liquids, the safe starting point is containers of up to 100 ml in a transparent bag of up to 1 litre, and what counts is the capacity of the container, not how much is inside. Leave room for the return trip too, since souvenirs and small purchases add up.
The author's control question is the one I liked best: not "will this be useful?" but "when will I use it?" If an item has no place in the plan, it stays at home. The exceptions are medicines, documents and protection against the expected weather. It's a good rule even for those who come back from abroad every year with a suitcase that's too heavy.
Source: Podróże.pl
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