u/egos-like-hairdos

We had planned a quick 3 day, 2 night getaway to catch a show in NYC, but the plans for our first evening were cancelled. Frustrating, but it is also forecast to be hotter than Hades (current projection is a real feel of 109°F/43°C), so cutting the trip short might be a blessing in disguise.

This is a road trip for us and I could take whatever I want, but I’m up for a challenge, so I’m planning to zero-bag it for the first time… or 0.25 bag it… or I-don’t-wear-cargo-pants bag it… or whatever…

Disclaimer: I have irreducible medical supplies that have to go into my wife’s roller bag. I’m ignoring those in my final tally. I consider this to be leveling the playing field, no shame. My clothes, toiletries, tech, etc. are all included here.

A few vanity-based choices mean I’m taking more toiletries than I truly need, including taking purple shampoo and conditioner since my hair is freshly colored. I would be willing to strip down to the bare minimum if we were going to visit friends or something and not to a nice-ish dinner and a show. Other than those vanity items everything I’m taking serves a need that I can’t imagine moving beyond, so I think this might be about as minimal as I can manage.

I’m wearing the same travel outfit both days. It’s a risky decision given the heat, but I can convert the olive cami from PJs to Day #2 clothing as insurance in case the orange one gets too ripe after the first day. I’m not worried about wearing the Brooklyn joggers twice since they’ll dry overnight if I have to sink wash some stinky spots.

Day #1
4-5 hour drive
Check in at hotel
Dinner and theater

Day #2
Breakfast
Museum and lunch, weather dependent
4-5 drive home

(Image 3)
The bag:
Bodypoint Mobility Bag
9 x 7.5 x 4.25 inches, about 6L
Divided into two equal compartments, two small elastic pockets on front; sits unobtrusively underneath my wheelchair seat—it’s like packing into an invisible bag!
(I promise everything’s packed in there!)

(Image 2)
Travel outfit:
• Orange no-name cami
• White ‘90s throwback tank
• Black Athleta Brooklyn joggers

Theater outfit:
• Lavender Nordstrom Rack sleeveless top
• Black Athleta Brooklyn joggers

PJs:
• Olive no-name cami

Other:
• Yellow gold Quince U-huggie hoops
• Apple Watch with Quince tortoise band
• Black patent leather Birkenstock big buckle Arizonas

Not shown:
• Beige Bravissimo Niya bra
• Chantelle Soft Stretch Briefs
• Black wheelchair gloves

(Image 1)
Clothing packed:
Sandwich size Ziploc 6 1/2 x 5 7/8 inch
• Lavender Nordstrom Rack sleeveless top for theater
• Olive no-name cami for PJs
• Chantelle Soft Stretch Briefs (tucked in there!)

Toiletries:
Snack size Ziploc 6.5 x 3.25 inch
• Verb Purple shampoo and conditioner sample pack
• La Roche Posay moisturizer, decanted in small glass jar
• Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen mini (You can find this size on eBay if you don’t get a sample of it with purchase)
• AG Care Dry Lift hair paste, decanted in tiny glass jar
• Unscented Lume mini
• Dawn, decanted in tiny dropper bottle
• Rx azelaic acid, decanted in mini tube (one source for elusive opaque tubes: https://a.co/d/0fzJzltd)
• Oral-B Superfloss
• Olay facial cloth

Curaprox orthodontic kit: toothbrush, toothpaste, interdental brushes, Orthodots (This is so cute, but beware the watermelon toothpaste—eeeew! I ordered the mint one instead. They also make a non-ortho version with a different interdental brush.)

Makeup:
5x5 inch Ziploc
• Jones Road Face Pencils x2 (My rosacea cannot live without these! So easy for travel.)
• Milk Lip + Cheek stick
• ILIA mascara mini
• Benefit Gimme Brow gel mini

Odds & Ends:
• Portland Leather Mini Daisy wallet with cards and baggie of PRN Rx meds
• Aquaphor mini
• Tylenol
• Keys
• Anker MagGo 10K power bank for Apple Watch
• Emergency disposable rain poncho
• Nail file
• Pen
• USB-C charger cord with USB-A adapter
• Anker Nano charger
• Nanobag Daypack
• Hand wipes (in front pocket)
• Glasses wipes (in front pocket)

I went ahead and loaded everything up (not like there was much of it…) but since this bag always hangs on my wheelchair I feel a little funny toting my trip stuff around the house with me! If I had to guess, this will go smoothly but I won’t do it often. Nobody in my house is a minimalist so this is more of an experiment to see how I can push my own limits. I enjoy fussing with my stuff too much to pare it down quite *this* much.

UPDATE: Since multiple of you suggested taking a dress, Plan B (mentioned below) might have become the plan! I could not get the maxi dress to fold into my wheelchair bag, but it fits beautifully into my small packing cube along with all my other stuff. It’s technically a smaller volume, just better dimensions. I’ll just use my Bandolier phone case and toss my lip stuff in my cup holder. Tada! I’ll update with a pic below.

(Sorry, very long post!)

Neither my wife nor I grew up with enough money to travel, and we’ve been straddled with enough student loan debt and dog responsibilities to limit our trips as adults. We decided to prioritize a joint 50th birthday trip this spring and just returned from two lovely weeks traveling through smaller town Germany, Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna.

(If anyone is paying attention, yes, that put these two totally uncool middle aged lesbians in Vienna right in time for the chaos of Eurovision. I had wondered why hotels were so expensive that week… Congrats, Bulgaria!)

This was NOT a minimalist trip! We splurged on business class seats, nice rooms, and event tickets, so I wasn’t about to forego my second pair of shoes and nail polish. Neither of us is small (US 14 and 3X) so our clothes naturally take up a fair bit of non-negotiable bag space. (I’ve lost a lot of weight over the past many years and after packing for this trip it really sunk in what a privilege it is to now be able to fit enough clothing for a full trip into a single packing cube.) My bag weighed in right at Lufthansa’s 8 kg/18 lb limit when I usually try to keep it no heavier than 6.5 kg/14.5 lbs for my sanity and the stability of my wheelchair. All this (and our shopping habit) meant that we purchased a small roller bag to check souvenirs on the way home. So be it, it was just that kind of trip.

I expected to have wheelchair-related follow up to share, but this was a blissfully easy trip in that regard. There were no complications with respect to my bags or chair and the airlines, car, or train. The only problem we had was that the Nanobag daypack slid off the backrest of my chair and was lost forever on the streets of Munich. It had happened before, so we should’ve known to check it. Luckily it was empty. I do highly recommend the Bodypoint bag I mention below for travel. It tucks below your legs and keeps your passport safe in the city, but readily accessible at the airport.

We overplanned *everything* about this trip, including our packing, and I am so pleased with how well it all went! Some items weren’t 100% perfect (looking at you, Brooklyns), but that’s on me for not wearing them ahead of time. I’ve marked my plane items ✈️ for reference and things I could have done without ✂️ below.

THE BAGS (Image 1):

Used for packing/travel: (1) Target Open Story 35L travel backpack; (2) Calpak medium compression cube for outfits and (3) Everything Cube for bras/undies/socks; (4) Miscellaneous pouches and baggies for odds & ends; (5) Nanobag daypack as personal item to hold my wheelchair stuff on the first flight

Used during trip: (6) Bodypoint Mobility Bag hangs on wheelchair for EDC, also holds tire pump, repair tools (it doubled as personal item on second flight); we used (5) Nanobag daypack, then lost it and bought (7) Notabag for carrying daily stuff; either (8) Orla Kiely Ariel phone case or (9) Bandolier Mila phone crossbody was my go-to for easy phone access.

THE CLOTHING (Image 2):

I always layered tees under the cashmere sweaters so this is fewer options than it might appear. Outfit combos I actually wore are Image 3.

Short sleeve tops: (1) Quince ivory & black striped cashmere tee; (2) J.Crew green cashmere tee; (3) Athleta ivory Transcend scoop neck tee; (4) No-name beige short sleeve undershirt; (5) Wool& brown Stella tee ✈️

Long sleeve tops: (1) Uniqlo black Heattech long sleeve shirt; (2) Gap light blue pointelle long sleeve tee

Layers: (1) J.Crew Factory black Schoolboy sweater blazer; (2) J.Crew Factory camel extra soft sweater ✈️; (3) Athleta black Jetset Bomber jacket, stupidly left on ✈️ 😭; Purchased in 🇩🇪: (4) Fouganza Navy Long Waterproof Riding Jacket

Bottoms: (1) Athleta beige Brooklyn ankle pants; (2) Levi’s 501 jeans ✈️

Dresses: (1) Boden green cat print Naomi jersey dress; (2) Quince black floral silk midi dress

PJs: WoolX charcoal Desi nightshirt

Socks & Undies: (1) Snag builders tea 50 denier tights; (2) Sheec cream low cut no show socks x2; (3) Bombas black merino no show socks x3; (4) Wellow black compression socks ✈️; (5) Bravissimo Niya Smoothing bras x2 (one on ✈️); (6) Chantelle Soft Stretch seamless briefs x6 (one on ✈️)

Shoes: (1) Adidas ivory & black Sambas ✈️; (2) Tieks Ember flats

Accessories: (1) Fable England scarf; (2) Quince yellow gold U huggie hoops ✈️; (3) Quince pearl toggle necklace; (4) Apple Watch with tortoise band ✈️

THE ODDS & ENDS (no images):

TSA kit in (re)zip Toiletry Bag: Verb shampoo and conditioner sample packs; AG Care Dry Lift hair paste, decanted; Avene face wash mini; Rx azelaic acid, decanted; La Roche Posay moisturizer, decanted; Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen mini; Lume cream deodorant (3.0 oz full size, for two people); Burt’s Bees Almond & Milk hand cream mini; Burt’s Bees cuticle cream mini ; Lanolips 101 mini; Carifree toothpaste (2.4 oz full size, for two people); ILIA mascara mini; Benefit Gimme Brow mini; Gen See liquid eyeshadow; Manicurist Active Glow nail polish ✂️; Tower 28 hypochlorous acid mini ✂️; Dawn in mini dropper bottle; Soak packets; The Laundress Wool & Cashmere spray mini

STUFF pouch: Aquasonic power toothbrush; COSLUS water flosser; Superfloss; Proxabrushes; Orthodots; Olay 4-in-1 facial cloths; Athena razor; Razor refill (we shared the razor so it got twice the use); Nail file; Nail clippers; Fyle cuticle buffer; Laura Geller 4-in-1 makeup brush ✂️; Butter London nail polish remover wipes; Jones Road Miracle Balm mini ✂️; Jones Road Face Pencil; Pencil sharpener ✂️; Antibacterial hand wipes; Glasses wipes; Qtips; Travel bathroom wipes; Travel Kleenex

Rx pouch: Rx meds in baggies; Rx meds in bottles x3; Rx nasal spray

London pouch: Mini OTC med kit; Binoculars (for bird watching/opera) ✂️; Emergency disposable rain ponchos x3; Travel clothes hangers x2 ✂️; Sink stopper ✂️; Tide EVO tile pieces; Extra Ziplocks

Harrods tiny tech pouch: Anker Nano USB-C charger ✂️; Anker Nano travel adapter

Other items: Hard case for injectable meds; Klipsta ✂️; HydroFlask Micro ✂️; Klymit inflatable pillow; Sea-to-Summit dry bag for dirties, washing

Bodypoint mobility bag: Pom Pom London coin purse (Passport, Cards, Euros, AirTag, Clinique lip tint & lip pencil, Jones Road tinted lip balm); N95 Mask; USB-C charger cord with USB-A adapter; 3.5 mm wired headphones with USB-C adapter; Anker MagGo Apple Watch battery pack; Healthcare baggie (Proxabrushes; Orthodots; CariFree mints; PRN meds); Antibacterial hand wipes; Glasses wipes; Folding glasses case; Pen; Nanobag daypack; Wheelchair stuff (Toolkit, Mini scissors, Zip ties, Velcro ties, Mini tire pump)

THINGS THAT WORKED:

Target Open Story 35L travel backpack: It’s cheap and takes a lot of hate on onebag groups, but this has held up through more than a year of local/road trip/domestic/international travel and has only superficial marks to show for it. I tested out fancier packs before the trip, thinking there had to be something better, but I couldn’t get anything to load as well as this. It has a cavernous middle area and few pockets to force organization on you. It probably sucks to carry, but I don’t put it on my back, so we’re a perfect match.

Calpak Everything Cube: This was such a happy surprise! I thought I’d hate it because it’s a bulky, space-eating box, but it is the perfect thing to hold a full-chested bra stuffed with undies and other odds & ends. It has a mesh front pocket that I use for my jewelry so all my delicate-type stuff is in one place. I just love it!

COSLUS water flosser: If you’re looking at a travel water flosser this is the one to get. I originally purchased the very cute but absurd Oclean, which went in the trash after its first trip. It mixes air with the water and pulses like a lawn sprinkler. The COSLUS is reasonably small, has a removable water chamber for easy cleaning, stores the heads handily, and puts out probably 85% of the power of my Waterpik. Not paid by anyone, just like the product!

Jones Road Face Pencil: this is a great concealer: it’s very small, it blends well, and is awesome for my rosacea veins so I can get away without other makeup. As long as I was well-moisturized I was even able to use it very lightly on larger areas to fake a more covered look. I still missed the powder foundation I had to leave at home (the compact was so heavy), but this did amazingly well.

Klymit Inflatable Pillow: I need extra support between my legs to sleep and hotel pillows are always insufficient. This is full size, firm, and doesn’t lose air. For travel, it’s much smaller than a soda can and collapses easily. I like it so much that I’m considering using it at home.

Anker MagGo Apple Watch battery pack: the perfect solution for Apple Watch users who don’t want to tote an extra charger cable. I love carrying just one USB-C cable for everything. I plug it into the wall, charge my watch quickly before bed, then leave it plugged in overnight charging both the battery pack and my phone. Even if I charge my phone throughout the day I’ve never been below 50% on the battery pack at the end of the day. It’s not too heavy or large given its multi purpose nature.

Folding glasses case: This is the answer to safely storing glasses while you nap on the plane without having to tote along a chunky case! Thank you to whomever mentioned it in another post. It’s not quite as stable as a regular case for pricey eyewear, but it’s perfect for limited use.

RE: HYGEINE/ LAUNDRY:

I made a panicked hygiene-related post a few weeks back about staying adequately clean on this trip. “Luckily” (?), I felt filthy enough that I didn’t have to worry about an every other day shower schedule since I showered at least once a day. I turned things inside out at night and spritzed with some anti-stink stuff occasionally. I sink washed my pants after one unexpectedly yucky day, but didn’t notice smell issues any other time.

That said, I continue to GROSSLY (pun intended) underestimate how dirty I get wheeling around when I travel! I had terrible staining on my clothes from one of my last trips to Europe, but still bought light pants just for the trip and chose to bring a light sweater?! I ended up doing stain removal and sink laundry that might have been avoided with alternate clothing choices. Even my dark rinse jeans were a mess daily. I’ve made a note to myself to take a dark washcloth on future trips so I don’t stain hotel towels trying to clean dust off of them.

I haven’t seen anyone list this, but I’ve wondered what laundry everyone does on trips of varying lengths. In case it helps someone, these are the items I washed over two weeks: (1) undies and socks washed every couple days just to stay on top of them, no real schedule; (2) wool nightie x1 (expected given length of trip, number of wears); (3) wool T-shirt x1 (reeked of smoke after visit to beer garden); (4) Brooklyn pants x2 (stain, dirt on legs); (5) arms of synthetic blend sweater x1 (dirt from wheeling, came out 75% with quick scrub and rinse); (6) sleeves of cotton tee x1 (dirt from wheeling); (7) neck of ivory cashmere tee x2 (dirt transfer from wheelchair gloves); (8) legs of jeans wipes clean when worn (just dust). Everything dried overnight except the heavier cotton tee sleeves that required a full day.

Anyway, THANK YOU to everyone here for all your accumulated knowledge and the help you’ve offered over the past several months. I know the success of our trip was due in part to its efficiency and ease. Happy travels!