Spring Travel - 1 week packing

It's that time of the year again - March Break. We always travel out of town to visit family and friend this time of the year. Packing for March in this part of the world is always a headache - it can be warm and rainy one day, and snow and blizzard the next! So layering is definitely key. Also, a warm, 100% wool sweater/cardigan is a must.

Since having children, I have been pretty diligent in using a minimalist packing list for the maximum number of outfits. For this 7 day trip, I will be packing the following for myself. These items are all very travel friendly (no ironing!). The outfits will enable me to do outdoor activities with the kids, dinner with friends and even a funeral. Moreover, I will be wearing almost half of it on my body on the way there and back!

The list consists of:
- Red 100% merino wool cardigan (thrifted)
- Refashioned denim jacket (see this post)
- Refashioned black cotton knit dress (see this post)
- jeans
- blue plaid shirt (thrifted)
- black long sleeves t-shirt (thrifted)
- brown fleece lined tights (thrifted)
- silver knit scarf from remnant fabric in my stash (see this post)
- blue silk scarf (x'mas gift some years ago)
- brown skinny belt (thrifted)
- green suede loafers (thrifted)
- black knee high boots

Note: I always pack a somber outfit now since there are a few infirmed and elderly family members. I was caught out one time without a funeral outfit and had to hastily buy some ill-fitting and expensive clothes.

From this list I am able to create the following 7 outfits (or more):

Hopefully these outfits will work for whatever occasion or weather I will be encountering during this trip!

Fall/Autumn Winter Packing list - Minimalist Style

We have dear family and friends who live far away. I have become more efficient in packing when we go to visit them a few times a year. The kids obviously need more changes of clothes than adults (e.g. getting car sick or spilling spaghetti on their clothes). Recently we just came back from a 4 day visit with friends/family and this is what I packed:

Plus socks, underwear, a pair of boots and coat.

I packed:

• A recently refashioned grey sweater dress and a wool jersey dress (both thrifted and refashioned)
• 1 flannel shirt (thrifted)
• 2 scarfs to change the looks of the dresses - the red one was a handmade gift and the infinity scarf was made from thrifted fabric
• 2 pairs of fleece lined leggings in different colours (both thrifted)
• A belt (thrifted)
• Plus socks, underwear, a coat and a pair of boots (I don't bother with packing more than 1 pair of shoes/boots if I don't absolutely have to)

The whole lot took up very little space in our family luggage.

These are the outfits from the 4 day trip (the first and last day were driving days):

This is very typical of what I would pack for a 4 or 5 day trip. If it's a 6 or 7 day trip, I would add another sweater dress, probably a comfortable and more roomy one like this one that I layer (refashioned from 3 men's sweaters):

My girlfriends are always curious as to why I wear dresses so much in the winter since I'm usually a tomboy. For me, it's the perfect garment for cold weather: it's warm and cozy from my neck to my knee, it's stretchy and comfy to wear (no woven waistbands to dig into my waist), it's easy to wear as you just throw it on and you're dressed (yes I'm lazy). What's not to like?

Winter/Spring Travel Packing for 1 week

As mentioned before, we had a car trip to visit family and friends who live 700 km away. That's about a 6.5 hour drive with 2 kids under 5 and all the winter gears for a family of 4. We only have a small family car so packing efficiently is a mandatory skill. My stuff (clothing, toiletries, accessories, magazines) only took up half of a small carry-on suit case. It was basically 3 key outfits that can be mixed and matched for various functions: outdoor ice/snow fun, family dinners and perhaps something more somber. And here are the things I brought with me (I guess I should have ironed the clothes before taking pictures):

1. Outerwear

• a black 11-year-old down jacket that's very warm and still going strong. The colour and style makes it very versatile for outdoor play or dinners or funerals.
• a red self-stitched wool hat based on Simplicity 5799. It's made with red wool coating and lined with cotton broadcloth. Very warm and I love the colour.

2. Middle layers

• a self-stitched, unlined, blue/green wool blend boucle jacket that has been refashioned. It's easy to wear like a cardigan but also looks more dressy than a regular cardi. Can go from day to night easily. And it's warm too!
• a refashioned comfy grey/silver sweatshirt.
• a 15 year old black wool cardigan. This can be worn with the silk camisoles in the section for a dressy look or layered with the boucle jacket if it gets really cold!

3. Under layers

• 3 long sleeves cotton tshirts - black green and silver
• 2 silk camisoles to be worn under the tshirts for warm. Can also be worn with the black cardi above for dressy dinners.

4. Scarves

• a thrifted red/black polyester scarf
• a beige alpaca scarf
• a self-stitched wool paisley scarf (I just bought the wool fabric and bounded the edges)

5. Pants

• a pair of self-stitched Polartec Windbloc pants based on McCall's 5273. It's warm and water repellant. Good for outdoor snow/ice activities. The dark colour also makes it look more dressy for dinners.
• a pair of self-stitched jeggings also based on McCall's 7273.

6. Pajamas/Loungewear

• a pair of black leggings
• a hand-me-down men's PJ top

 

The weather during the trip was between -15C to 5C and on the last day there was a snow storm. This wardrobe took care of the varying weather.  I wore the bulkiest stuff during the trip: the silver sweatshirt, the Polartec pants with a camisole and long sleeves tshirt, and of course the down jacket and hat. The rest fit snugly inside half of a small carry-on suitcase with my toiletries bag. I was able to wear different-looking outfits for the week. The only thing I had remember was to do a wash every other day. Luckily I was staying with friends and family and they have washing machines and tumble dryers.

So do you have a tried-and-true packing list that you use for different seasons?