I love this post from Miss Minimalist about how she goes on weekend trips with nothing but a large purse. We have a toddler, so traveling does involve a bit more stuff than we would take for just ourselves, but we’ve always managed to travel relatively light, even with our son. We just spent a three day weekend visiting my husband’s parents. Our son is still in diapers, and cloth diapers do take up quite a bit of space (but I like them a lot more than disposables). We took along a large tote bag filled with diapers and cloth wipes, but other than that, we each had one small back back for our stuff. My father in law wanted my husband to go golfing with him, so we had to take his golf clubs and shoes. We also had to take our dog (I’m pretty sure the cat loves it when we leave her here for a few days on her own, but that wouldn’t work so well for the dog). We took my husband’s tiny Audi, and still had enough room left over that we were able to bring home several boxes of canning jars that my mother in law no longer needed (tomato canning season is right around the corner… stay tuned for my forays into that adventure).
I have found that people – even those who are fans of traveling light – start schlepping LOADS of stuff once they have a baby. I’ve watched vehicles get packed for a three day trip and the entire trunk is filled with baby stuff. And it doesn’t look like fun. Let’s face it, traveling with a big purse like Miss Minimalist uses is a lot more convenient than dragging a huge suitcase all over the place. So why not try to continue to keep it as light as possible, even with a baby or toddler?
Here’s what we’ve done to minimize the amount of stuff we have to take with us on trips since our son was born:
1. This past weekend was the first time we’ve ever taken a stroller anywhere (I use a jogging stroller all the time when we’re home, but it’s bulky and not something I’d want to try take on a trip). We got a tiny umbrella stroller (it folds up into a cylinder just a few inches in diameter) at a thrift store for two dollars, and we stuck it in the trunk next to the golf clubs so that I could take our son for a long walk while the guys were golfing. This would not have gone with us if we had been traveling by air. Other than this trip, we’ve always used a sling to carry our son, or else he rides on my husband’s shoulders or walks along next to us. I’m a big fan of the Moby Wrap that I got secondhand when our son was a few months old, and he went everywhere in that until he was about 18 months old. A wrap or sling can be stuffed into a diaper bag – you can’t do that with a stroller. Having a baby on your chest or back makes traveling pretty easy. Not only does the sling take up almost no space, but you also have your hands free to carry other stuff.
2. Co-sleeping means that you don’t have to haul a portable crib. Or if you’re going to visit family or friends, you can see if they might be able to borrow a portable crib from someone in the neighborhood during your visit. Hotels will usually bring roll-away cribs. Or you can pretend you’re camping and kids can sleep on a blanket on the floor. Be creative!
3. Breastfeeding. This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you’re breastfeeding, there’s no need to bring bottles, formula, bottle warmers, a cooler, etc. And if you plan a trip that involves staying near your baby most of the time, you can also avoid bringing the breast pump. Our son nursed for two years, and he never drank from a bottle. This was truly not a challenge at all for me – nursing him was something I loved (after the first couple painful weeks!) and it never seemed inconvenient at all. That said, I nursed him anywhere and everywhere. I had no problem nursing him in public, and I never even got so much as a sideways glance (lot of smiles though!) for nursing in public. When we flew in March, I was still nursing our almost two-year-old, and it definitely made the plane ride easier.
4. Kids don’t need as many clothes as we think they do. Yes, babies do have blowouts. But they really aren’t that common. And tiny baby clothes are pretty easy to wash in a sink. Babies also spit up, but that doesn’t mean that you have to immediately change the outfit. Usually it can be cleaned with a wet cloth and all will be fine. Toddlers get dirty. That’s just the way it goes. Our son is attracted to dirt, mud, leaves, sticks, and dust. If I changed him every time he got dirty, I’d do little else. So I just don’t worry about it. I do keep a spare outfit in his diaper bag, and it sometimes comes in handy (like the day he stepped into a pond wearing jeans, socks, and shoes, and went in up to his waist). But I had a spare outfit in his diaper bag all last winter and he never needed it at all – he outgrew it before we ever used it. So when we went away for our three day weekend, he wore one outfit, and we packed two more. Three outfits, three days, and it worked perfectly (if one had gotten hopelessly wet or dirty, he’d have just worn another outfit two days in a row – no big deal).
5. Shoes. Our son wore one pair of shoes (the Keens that I got for two bucks earlier this summer) and we packed a pair of sandals for him (these, found in brand new condition at a thrift store for a dollar) as we knew we’d be spending some time at a park with lots of water fountains.
6. Toys, books, and other entertainment. We never bring anything like this with us on trips. We have an iPod Touch and we’ve downloaded several free toddler apps to it. We took that along when we flew to visit my in-laws last spring, and it worked great as airplane entertainment. We took the iPod along for our weekend trip, and it came in handy when we were out to dinner and waiting for food. But most of the time, our son is really good at entertaining himself. I think this might have something to do us not having a TV. We encourage him to use his imagination a lot, and spend lots of time playing in the backyard. He had no problem with the four hour car trip each way, because he liked looking at all the scenery. And once we got to grandma and grandpa’s house, he entertained himself playing with pine cones and sticks in the backyard. It’s really never occurred to us to pack toys when we go anywhere.
So all we took along for our son this past weekend was the tiny umbrella stroller, a tote bag full of diapers, and a small back pack that held stuff like his clothes, jacket, pajamas, swim trunks and sun hat. The bag full of diapers was by far the biggest thing, but hopefully we won’t be needing those for too much longer. It’s definitely possible to travel light, even with a baby or toddler – you just have to think outside the Babies-R-Us box. Not only is is much more convenient to travel with very little stuff, but if you’re flying, it’s also less expensive now that airlines are charging so much extra for checked baggage.
Jaime says
Wow, it’s articles like this one that really show how much the clutter and craziness in our lives is there by our own choices. :)
Miss Minimalist says
Fabulous article, Frugal Babe (and thanks for the mention)!
It’s so great to know that it IS possible to travel lightly with children — it’s all a matter of the choices you make. I love that you carried your son around in a wrap instead of a stroller; that seems to be much more popular in Scandinavian (and other European) countries than the UK or US.
Rachel says
I think one of the main tricks to the clothes issue is to avoid onesies, especially if you cloth diaper. For my son, I’ve cut down all his onesies into t-shirts. This way, if his diaper has a blow-out, I can just change his pants/soaker (knitted super-wash wool) rather than his whole outfit.
Kristia@FamilyBalanceSheet says
I recently discovered Miss Minimalist and through her blog clicked through to the guy who is traveling around the world without any luggage, just a multi-pocketed vest.
On the contrary, my family and I just got back from a week at the beach and the van was stuffed. It was packed with bikes, helmets, beach chairs and toys and tons of food, since we ate in most of the week. I would definitely say that we didn’t travel light, but the only thing that I over-packed was clothing. The house had laundry facilities, so I didn’t really need all of the clothes that I brought. We did take a stroller for our 2 year old, but it got used almost every day.
FrugalBabe says
Rachel – I agree. We were given lots of onsies for our son when he was born, but we found ourselves nearly always opting for shirts and pants instead, for exactly that same reason.
Kaytee says
I look forward to your experiences canning tomatoes soon. Any thoughts on solar canning? That is something I have always wanted to try. I’ve already pickled 90 lbs of cucumbers this summer, and the apples are early this year so apple butter season it just around the corner. I’ve never done tomatoes though, and I am hoping to do some this year. Two years in a row our large tomatoes were wiped out by the tomato blight. I’ve stuck to cherry tomatoes this year and boy, have we gotten our pennies worth with those plants. 1 quart a day for WEEKS!
I’ve been reading up on your minimalist approach to baby stuff, as well as perusing Penniless Parenting. My husband and I have already told my MIL that we hope not to purchase anything new for our future children if we can avoid it. The exceptions being those items mandated by the government, such as car seats, and a crib mattress. She was a little disappointed, but I think she’ll be ok with it because my SIL just had a baby last month and they’ve fallen into that trap of gobs of baby stuff.
Emma says
awesome post :)
but I would just like to say, it is fantastic that you nursed your boy for 2 years! my son is 18 months, still breastfeeding and i find it such an amazing experience for both of us, and so different to nursing a little bub.
so go you! especially in a country where (like mine) breastfeeding rates are dismal for babies, let alone toddlers!
Molly On Money says
I traveled a lot with my daughter when she was young and got real minimal with her stuff. One change of clothes, cloth diapers, a backpack (until she was 4!) and breastmilk was all she needed. It was my stuff that was the problem. I had no issue packing her next to nothing for a long weekend but I on the other hand would pack 4 pairs of shoes for myself!
Leslie Cao says
I love how you breastfed in public, I think that should become the norm!
Alexicographer says
I agree with the spirit and many of the details but would add the following observations …
Even with the convenience of breastfeeding, we didn’t always want to interrupt long drives every two hours to accomplish it. I found a hand pump adequate for pumping-while-passengering, it’s small and light, and it gave us options (setting aside all the many issues associated with milk supply while pumping, etc. — still, having a pump along meant other alternatives were available that wouldn’t have been had I not).
I’m a huge fan of slings, etc., and used them extensively but also found strollers wonderful as my toddler could sleep in them (he might have been able to sleep in the sling, too, but I didn’t really want 25 lbs. of sleeping tot stuck on me for long intervals, so …)
I totally disagree on the onesies, and I also cloth diapered. Onesies are tiny (packing extras doesn’t take much space), and unlike other options don’t bunch up.
I too traveled with cloth diapers but cramming 6 or 12 disposables in a cranny somewhere means you’ve got ’em if you need ’em and if you don’t — well, you can just hang onto them for the next trip.
We coslept some, including some away from home, but I would not have felt comfortable assuming my hosts’/hotels’ sleeping accommodations were adequately safe for co-sleeping (firm mattress, etc.) unless I’d seen those accommodations before and knew they were unchanged. Plus my DS falls asleep much more securely (easily) in a crib or pack-n-play, so throwing that in the trunk was a no-brainer for us. We were fortunate to be able to borrow them when traveling by air.
Jolyn@Budgets are the New Black says
We’ve traveled a lot, and now our kids are older and it’s definitely easier than when they were tots and not prone to sitting for long amounts. Plane rides are our nemesis; we much prefer driving and being in control of our schedule, when we stop, etc. On planes you also have the car seat to deal with, and I have found an umbrella stroller to be indispensable and worth the extra bulk: you can check it in right at the gate so you don’t have to deal with it on the plane, of course. And it served not only for transporting the tot, but the handles were good for hanging my backpack as well, which I always used as a diaper bag/carry-on.
I totally agree with not needing toys. But snacks! Those are so necessary to carry with so as not to get caught spending exorbitant amounts on the road/in the airport, especially if you get caught somewhere. Of course, this doesn’t apply to an infant breast feeding, which I loved. I actually thought traveling with a baby was easier than with preschool-age.
gezellig*girl says
Years ago, I had a friend (I’ll call her B.) come visit me here in NYC. Her son and my daughter are the same age (which was about 4 at the time). I advised her, above all else, to bring her a stroller if she wanted to see the city.
B.: I don’t have one.
Me: I’ll loan you mine!
B.: He’s too big; he’s 40 pounds.
Me: My stroller (a Maclaren) fits kids up to 55 lbs!
B.: He won’t stay in it…
I had no reply for that, so she came to NYC with no stroller. Fast-forward to all four of us (two moms, two kids) walking down 5th Avenue. We had only gone about 2-3 blocks when we started hearing “I’m TIIIIIRED OF WAAAALKINNNNNNG…” from B’s son.
My own child, accustomed to NYC life, happily chimed in with “I’m not!” (followed by “why are you squeezing my hand, Mama?” when I tried to give her a silent “okay, pipe down” signal.)
By the time we got to the museum, B’s poor kid was so tired, he had a meltdown in the museum lobby.
Anyway! Long story short: even if you think your child is too big/old for a stroller, if you’re planning any vacations where you’ll be doing a modicum of walking, hang on to that stroller!
Kay says
totally agree on the breastfeeding (and everything else of course). kids do not need much contrary to what the stores want us to think. I loved the convenience of breastfeeding and did not use bottle at all.
Jane says
Potty training early also helps with the excess stuff when traveling!
Frugal Babe says
Jane – Tell me about it! We’ve been working on that for about four months now, and our son is still not really interested in his potty chair or the toilet most of the time. I know it will come soon enough, and it will definitely mean less stuff to lug around when we go somewhere (one downside to cloth diapers is that they are pretty bulky)
Eva says
I just found your blog from Miss Minimalist, and I really like this post. I am trying to go minimalist in every area of life. I have a 17 mo old daughter, and I agree that she does not need much. I also cloth diaper, still breastfeed, and co-sleep.
Her clothes were so frustrating for me when she was little because I received an enormous wardrobe for her as gifts and I was always trying to sort them all, make sure that I got out the bigger sizes in time, and get her to wear everything before she outgrew it all. I was not successful; there was a lot that she never wore–she grew SO fast. But also I would have been so much happier just putting her in a few comfortable things and not having to figure out a huge wardrobe. In the summer she wears only her diaper and cover unless we are going out.
We just went on a 14 hour car road trip. I was a little nervous taking her on such a long trip because, although she is patient with the car, she definitely gets sick of it after a while. Even though I wanted to be minimalist on the trip, I kept getting scared I would need this and that thing and ended up taking way too much. Thankfully we have car-top carriers that hold a lot and we can just shove everything up there.
But hardly any of the stuff was for my daughter except a huge bag of diapers and a few clothes for her that I stashed inside my carry-on sized suitcase. And I let her watch movies on my netbook. We made the trip work by stopping often and for longer stops, using all her nap time to drive, getting her up early so she would nap longer, and sometimes driving during part of the night. We also took 1 1/2 days each way with a hotel stop in between.