Why do people act like it’s a moral failure to not pack light? AIBU to enjoy taking stuff on holiday with me?

[igotitbadforyou]

I’ve noticed this on a lot of packing/holiday threads. Lots of sneering and looking down on people for packing more than is “needed”.

Technically you could go on holiday with the clothes on your back and a spare pair of underwear and that be that, but I enjoy having options and taking some of my home comforts with me.

Why do people act like it’s wrong to do this? It doesn’t impact anyone else.

I've always just used hotel shampoo/shower gel if I have to wash something.

Thing is you don't know anyone else's circumstances or why they're on the train. What you're really saying is that other people who don't pack light are inconsiderate and inconveniencing you because you can't wait a few minutes for them to get their bags off.

For example, I've had to move out of student accommodation in the past at the end of term, not only the end of the year, and my options were to throw away my stuff or pack it in a big suitcase or two and get the train home.

I guess but realistically you should be there that early anyway

YANBU

i don’t pack particularly light but equally nor am I like the people who take 3 cases per person for a 10 day cruise

??

Depends on the airport but HBO many places there's absolutely zero reason to arrive around the same time bag drop opens.

Bag drop at our local airport opens two hours prior to scheduled departure (STD) but if I'm HBO I'll arrive an hour before STD.

At some of the Heathrow Terminals the regulars travelling light weight time things to just beat conformance, with is starting security no later than STD -35 minutes !!!!

What kind of holiday do you go on @igotitbadforyou ? Beach or activities and travelling around?

Yeah I certainly wouldn't be hanging around 2 hours before on a hbo flight and I have lounge access

Vacuum packs, Teva sandals for walking, flip flops for the pool and one nice pair of gold/silver sandals for evening are the solution here. I just don't like waiting at the carousel or paying extra for more than hand luggage. I have day and night wear aplenty packing this way.

I don’t need a solution as I don’t have a problem! And Tevas are most def not for me ;-)

Lots of moving around, lots of sight seeing and walking

The new recommendation is 3 hours before flights. Bag drop opens that early. I’m happy to just sit at the airport, I’ll often book myself into a lounge!

I am currently on a very rare ‘get there by plane’ holiday in a hot country. We own a campervan plus 2 dogs and spend all our holidays in it. This week was a chance to spend time with my very elderly parents.

Campervaning with 2 dogs means a constant battle with payload. We don’t so much pack light as skeletal and I get SO fed up of wearing the same items over and over. So this holiday, via British Airways, I took all my lovely summer clothes so I had a different outfit to wear every day. It has been bliss to be able to pack to [moderate] excess and have choice!! Several different pairs of shoes. Several dresses. You get the idea. Heaven.

But the reason we have the van, leaving aside the minimal clothing allowance, is that it otherwise has all my creature comforts in it. So you go for it, OP, and everyone here who likes to take lots of things on holiday. Holidays are about being relaxed and enjoying yourself and I for one think using your baggage allowance to the max is a very harmless way of doing just that.

I am incapable of packing light, I take everything but the kitchen sink whenever I go on holiday and then I still struggle with what to wear when I’m there!

We are light packers because we tend to arrive at the airport by train. Most airport trains services have enough space for roughly 4 large suitcases per train and if it doesn’t fit in the overhead rack it needs its own seat (not great on a busy service).
I’ve just become accustomed to rinsing things out and drying them on the balcony which I would be doing with swimsuits anyway.

But one hotel or multiple?
Solo?

To some extent it depends on the destination. If I’m going somewhere where the weather is predictable and there is nowhere to justify dressing up I pack light. If I’m going somewhere where the days are warm but the nights are cold and it may or may not rain, and dressing up is expected, I have a suitcase the size of a house. It’s definitely not a moral imperative to pack light, but I was envious of two young girls I met in Costa Rica who just had tiny backpacks with one set of spare clothes and a tooth brush. That used to be me!

Two Airbnbs. Yes, solo

I’m a proud over packer.
I also am amused to watch the moral high ground when the person that berates me for overpacking is wearing the same bikini for a solid week.
I’m more than happy to pay so I don’t have to re- use not fresh underwear etc…

Moral failure shouldn't be about packing or putting on the heating.

Agreed!

Totally agree - I don’t tend to pack light and I often go on cruises because there is no restriction on how much luggage you can take aboard = lots of outfit options. This especially matters because I have a health condition that can mean I am a size 8 in the morning and verging on 12 in the evening. Also, as Fletch said ‘bad feet’ so need lots of different shoes.

For scrubbing out your swimwear gussets.

So you unpack and then need to repack up everything? Bit of a pain but if you’re always travelling solo… however the heck you wish to spend your holiday is your prerogative!!!

I also agree that it's a class signifier. The idea being to appear to take no care whatsoever over your appearance, vanity being a vice or sin. caring about one's appearance is decidedly lower class.

I am working class and always over pack but it's funny how other (middle class) people I holiday with and who sneer at my copious baggage, always seek me out and ask to borrow things such as hairdryers, hair tools, toiletries, bags, accessories, first aid supplies, snacks, books, tissues, extension cables, mirrors, chargers, maps, the list is endless. Funny that.

🤢 I’ll just take three pairs with me instead!