Ocean Protection Through Plastic-Free Living
I live a generally plastic-free lifestyle but I’m not 100% plastic-free…yet. So, to see where the last 1% of my trash was coming from, I started keeping track of all of it. At the end of each month, I look to see where I can improve.
With the increasing intensity and frequency of wildfires, it’s important to be prepared! Here’s what I’d grab in case of a fire.
At the end of July, we drove down to San Diego for a week. It was awesome to visit family and get some solid surfing in! Being a minimalist who’s obsessed with efficiency, I love seeing how little I can pack for a trip. If I’m flying, I can usually go 2 weeks with just a carry on and a purse. I HATE checking my bags, so I avoid it like the plague!
So, for this trip, I fit everything I needed into two tote bags:
The tote bag is from Aloha Collection. I love their Hawaiian-inspired prints and their splash-proof designs. The don’t sell the bag I have anymore, but this one below is nearly the same but just a hair larger:
Onto what’s inside the bags.
You encounter way more plastics when you’re on-the-go and traveling. Everything is about convenience and usually packaged to be thrown away. So, I have some key items with me when on the road or in the air:
These items will get me to my destination without having to use any single-use plastics. And here’s the rest of what’s inside my bag:
Here’s the image with some labels:
Here’s the list of everything else I packed:
I realize that bringing running shoes and workout clothes was aspirational–especially since I knew I would be surfing everyday. But I figured my husband might want to go hiking, so those clothes and shoes could double for that purpose. Of course, I didn’t end up using them. 😛
In general, I try to repeat an outfit while traveling so I don’t bring an outfit for each day. I do the same thing at home in that I wouldn’t wash my clothes after one use. I do, however, bring one pair of underwear for each day and then an extra.
While I’m flying or in the car, I usually wear jeans, a tank top, jacket and flip flops or a dress with a jacket and flip flops.
As for what’s in my toiletries, here’s a breakdown:
For toiletries, instead of buying travel-sized toiletries, buy small refillable bottles and fill them up with the stuff you already use. As noted above, when I get down to the end of my toothpaste, I throw it in my travel bag instead of buying tiny tube of toothpaste.
And here are the details of my dry toiletries:
An Altoids tin is the perfect size for small loose items. It’s also a good size for a travel first aid kit or to corral headphones.
What do you think? Are you a minimalist or maximalist packer?
For related and random posts, check out:
I live a generally plastic-free lifestyle but I’m not 100% plastic-free…yet. So, to see where the last 1% of my trash was coming from, I started keeping track of all of it. At the end of each month, I look to see where I can improve.
I love traveling! And being an organization and efficiency nerd, I love packing almost as much. Having been on many trips, I’ve figured out a few hacks when packing my bags. Here are my five favorite packing hacks.