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.

Like to use my luggage allowance as much as possible as I've paid for it. Even the weather abroad seems unreliable these days.

Did Tunisia recently. Lovely weather most days but a rainy day and a windy chilly day as well. That was last month. So took a trousers, hoodie, raincoat as well. Obviously I couldn't foresee the weather exactly but looked at the forecast for the area

I have a cringe moment reading some of the comments. May be a first date question could be. Do you pack light?

I think it is an extension of skinny privilege You can't pack light when you are size 22. My t shirt is already three times the volume!

Lots of passengers, especially the frequent fliers, travelled HBO way back before days of charging for hold bags, and many still do, even if their ticket has a free checked bag allowance.

One reason for that is there's often significant convenience advantage to HBO that some seem reluctanr to recognise....

I would however agree that charging has encouraged it.

Well fair enough

ps and good on you for heading out in the evening as a solo traveller! What do you do in the evenings…. Restaurants?

I love an air BnB with a washing machine! Across everything dries in an hour and then no washing when home!

how old are you? Do you envisage having kids? That definitely made me a bit more mindful about what I packed!

Intrigued as to why the environmental impacts of extra luggage weight haven’t really been discussed here? I would suggest that is the moral arguement here, if everyone in a plane of 180 brings an extra 5kg luggage they don’t actually need that’s close to a tonne of weight.

On a return flight to Tenerife that’s about 1 tonne of CO2 emissions. Just from overpacking by 5kg each. Thats quite significant

There's definitely a balance to be struck between taking your entire wardrobe and having to stick to a pre-planned schedule. I do that for work! It's nice to have options.

.....and meanwhile, unknown to you, the flight crew have read the weather forecast for, say, Teneriffe or wherever, seen a strong chance of Thunderstorms and rightly added another tonne or more above flight plan fuel to their fuel order.....

What you mention makes mathamatical sense, and I know every little helps, but it's a gesture might get lost in the noise of real world operations....

Then it should be for the airline to impose luggage more weight restrictions. Most of the time, people have paid for their luggage, one way or another, so it's theirs to use.

Many years ago I packed everything into my suitcase for a two week holiday and boarded the plane with just my handbag. Never again. The suitcase did not get on the plane and on arrival I literally only had the clothes on my back.

I travel much lighter these days but there's always a change of clothes and other essentials in my hand luggage, which seems to have got much bigger over the years. 😂

This isnt weird though. If I am wearing a sundress in a hot climate and sweating a lot, walking around all day and putting on sunscreen regularly which can be greasy and make clothes feel sticky then of course the dress isnt going to be fresh for the next day. I dont agree that mine would smell but it would definitely have sweat and sunscreen on it which doesnt feel nice to put on again after you've had a shower.

We use a car ferry so we have our own car and luggage is easier. We tend to do a three or four centre holiday, staying in a mixture of coastal and city hotels. No real sunbathing but lots of gentle sightseeing, coffee (beer / wine) stops, reading and dinner out most evenings, sometimes quite smart.

I have one big case for 18 nights. I’ll try and only take two or three jackets. One pair of trainers. A couple of sandal options for daytime and a couple for the evening.

But linen trousers cannot be worn lots of times. Tops get creased / smelly / little marks. Ditto summer dresses. And I like to look good and put together. Plus I enjoy having time for a skin care routine. I love packing cubes!

One meal a day tends to be a picnic. And I do great picnics. Our cool bag is well equipped and planned for us. Decent picnic kit, proper cutlery, chopping / cheese board, a couple of good knives, storage containers, condiments. We have a picnic table and a wipe clean cloth. A small kit to wash up in the hotel. And a mini fridge that plugs in the car. Everything is well used, even clothes and I rarely come home with more than a couple of unworn items of clothing. So I would say we pack a lot rather than overpack - it’s all intentional!

Yep. At work we fly business class long haul so have an allowance for a 32kg hold bag, 2 standard cabin bags and a small handbag.
so many colleagues go for the week with the biggest allowed suitcase style cabin bag plus a big back pack so they don’t have to check in a bag. I usually just check a bag as the saving of 15 mins or so waiting for it on arrival doesn’t seem worth the hassle of carting all your stuff through the connections but some people clearly feel it is worthwhile. I have also found with some people there is a weird competition about who can pack the least. It isn’t my experience though that people with huge, heavy cases have loads of useful stuff you’d want to borrow while away. I’ve been with a few friends who take loads and it’s mainly clothes, shoes and make up. They are no less or more likely than those with hand luggage only to have forgotten things like first aid kits, sun cream, adaptors etc

I suppose when flying we are now conditioned to using as little as possible because taking anything other than the absolute minimum costs even more money

OTOH most of our main holidays have involved taking the car on the ferry to Europe and we absolutely do stuff it to the brim. It’s great to be able to take basically what you want and not worry about it. Far rather that than the “will this suitcase fit the airline rules” rubbish

Good hack for sweating in to clothing hot weather - use Uniqlo airism cami tops as abae layer. They are super thin, absorb loads of sweat and can be rinsed out and dried in an hour or so.

But would you wear the same pair of knickers for ten nights after airing them? 😮

One of the joys of perimenopause is that I sweat so much more than I used to so I can't always reuse clothes eg that I've worn on the journey. And sod wasting my holiday finding and using laundry facilities. So yeah, I'm taking a 10kg carry as a minimum for a week, or even hold luggage.

Yes and if you've been to the beach then forget about wearing the same outfit again- it's usually covered in sticky mess of sand, sunscreen and sweat. No way would it feel even remotely pleasant to put it on again the next day

I suppose the question to all those who pack everything but the kitchen sink is how much do you bring back unworn or unused. If you are using everything you are packing right for you but if half of it comes back not used then you are clearly overpacking. I think this was my light bulb moment when I realised half a case full was simply not worn. It’s taken a lot of years of travel to learn how to travel light but still have everything you need. (Includes 14 pair of knickers lol)
Like my DH says, if he’s putting on a shirt at 8pm to go out for dinner and coming in at midnight he absolutely can wear it again, he’s had antiperspirant on and worn it for 4 hours only.

In which direction?

My husband likes to take about twice as many underpants and socks as the number of days we’re away! Not sure what he thinks is going to happen! 😂

It absolutely is normal for a dress to smell after being worn for two full days walking around in 35 degree heat 😂

You must see your GP! Sweating isn’t normal!

And that all depends on who you’re flying with. BA gives so much luggage allowance that I’d need a crane to lift it 😆

I am quite active on holiday, and no, I don't care about how my feet look. I care about blisters and being in pain.

I don't go on holiday to be looked at. I go on holiday to enjoy myself. My all terrain sandals might not be pretty, but frankly, neither are blister plasters.