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:

• reusable water bottle
• reusable coffee cup
• utensil roll with cloth napkin, fork, and spoon

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:

• sunglasses & case
• purse
• wallet & keys
• jewerly
• laptop, case, chargers
• book
• glasses & case
• Altoids Tin with dry toiletries (see below)
• exercise bands
• 8 pairs of underwear
• 2 pairs of socks
• 2 bathing suits
• sports bra
• workout clothes
• PJs
• 5 dresses
• Toiletries (see below)
• makeup
• laundry bag
• wet bag
• sandals
• heels
• running shoes

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:

• sunflower or olive oil for moisturizer
• deodorant in paper tube by Meow Meow Tweet
• refillable leave-in conditioner spray
• Burt’s Bees lip balm
• extra contacts
• contact solution
• contact case
• tongue scraper
• silk floss
• toothpaste in metal tube (when you get low on toothpaste, throw it in your travel bag!)
• bamboo toothbrush with boar hair bristles

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:

• tweezers
• nail clipper
• bamboo Q-tips
• broken bamboo comb (fits nicely in the tin now that’s it’s broken :P)
• hair ties
• hair clips

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:

• What I Packed for a Day Trip to LA
• My 5 Favorite Packing Hacks