Can She Do It? Three Weeks of Research Without a Checked Bag?

So a bit of a spoiler alert here: I think I can. But let’s dive in anyway:

I have the largest research trip of my PhD career coming up in about a week and a half from the time I am writing this. Three weeks, four cities, and one conference in there as well. And I want to do it with one carry-on size back and one personal item, likely a backpack. So let’s dig in – to why I want to do this and how I plan to make this happen.

WHY?

• I like a challenge – in January I did a weeklong cruise in a personal item, a travel backpack. I did this becuase we flew Spirit airlines there and I didn’t want to pay for a carry-on or a checked bag. I learned a lot from this experience about what I am capable of and what I really need which I hope to apply here.
• I don’t like to pay for checking bags, especially when I’m on a budget and trying not to go over the amount I was awarded in travel grants, and I would rather spend that on food. Plus I like to keep my bags with me.
• I have five flights on this trip – checked bags will add up fast. $$$$$
• Limited space curbs spending because I only have so much space to bring things between cities and then back home.
• I am going to a conference at the very start of the trip – and I know I will get a lot of swag, so I want space for that from the start, but this space will help me be conscious of not taking swag that I won’t use.
• I have been trying out a general thing in my life where I am not necessarily a minimalist – but an internationalist – I don’t want to be a minimalist but I am also really trying to not be a maximalist.
• For some of this trip, I will be alone so I want only a couple of bags that I can manage by myself.
• I am traveling to cities with lots of public transportation, so it is easier to get to airports and around with less and smaller baggage.

But how???

• Dresses, a secret women’s weapon. They are light for the summer and those that I have that are shapeless and made of sustainable jersey can double as nightshirts.
• Sleep shirts can become workout shirts once I have worn them a couple times.
• I am bringing a small capsule of clothes (10-12 pieces max) and doing laundry at hotels.
  • I made laundry detergent sheets so I can have my detergent (that doesn’t mess with my skin) in an easy-to carry non-liquid form.
• Which brings me to what I hope will be my biggest hack: minimizing liquids:
  • Dove sensitive skin soap bar – what I use at home because its less plastic, but a solid soap gets smaller with use and doesn’t count towards the liquids bag.
  • Laundry sheets- no liquid and don’t have wasted space as the bottle gets empty because it is water-soluble paper and dissolves upon use.
  • Concentrated Scope mouthwash – small container makes one liter, so I simply fill a cup with water in the hotel, squirt some in and swish away!
  • Squishy silicone travel bottles – I love these because they get smaller as we go rather than hard plastic that stays the same size even as you use the product.
  • I also plan to visit a Drybar location before I leave and halfway through my trip for a good hair wash and blow dry to help keep my products to a minimum and my hair more manageable in the humidity of summer.
  • I have a travel waterpik that is about the size of a credit card that I will be bringing.
• I try to go digital whenever possible – I will bring one small notebook but other than that, all digital with phone, iPads, MacBook, and camera.
• I think my best friend will be by Brumate 32 oz Toddy tumbler. The screw-on lid with locking opening to be water-tight for water to throw in a backpack but can also be a coffee cup for travel, something I HydroFlask cannot do as well.
• Taking a backpack as my personal item will allow me to use that bag during the day on travel, to the conference and to the archives, whereas a tote bag as a personal item would likely go to waste since. I don’t want to carry that around all day through cities, especially conference centers and public transportation.

So there you have it, but we will check in at different points on the trip to see how things went and what I did, which I will make a single post about after I return.