Over my past few holidays, I've managed to do something I never thought possible: I've managed to travel with just a carry-on.
If you told me that I would be achieving this three or four years ago, I would have laughed in your face and walked off with my overstuffed hold luggage in tow. But over the past few years, I've been able to cram everything I need into a wheely carry-on case.
I think my road to minimal packing started when I went backpacking in 2017, as I had to carry everything with me on my back in a 60l backpack. I just couldn't afford to overpack, as everything in that bag had to earn its keep.
Also, my last few trips haven't been long ones. They've all been under a week, meaning I've only had to bring the necessities for that time period. In the past, this wouldn't have stopped me filling a big suitcase to the brim with things I knew I wouldn't need but added in any way, but somehow I've managed to convert to the carry-on only life.
On my trip to Barcelona a few weeks ago, I also wanted to set myself another challenge: I wanted to try the 10x10 capsule challenge.
If you don't know what the 10x10 is, it's when you stick to a capsule wardrobe consisting of only 10 pieces of clothing to create 10 looks. Sounds horrific right? However, as I knew I had limited space in my bag, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test myself and see if I could actually stick to 10 items. You normally do this over 10 days, but as I would need an outfit change for the evenings, I thought I'd change the rules a bit to suit my trip.
Here's how I got on...
On my trip to Barcelona a few weeks ago, I also wanted to set myself another challenge: I wanted to try the 10x10 capsule challenge.
If you don't know what the 10x10 is, it's when you stick to a capsule wardrobe consisting of only 10 pieces of clothing to create 10 looks. Sounds horrific right? However, as I knew I had limited space in my bag, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test myself and see if I could actually stick to 10 items. You normally do this over 10 days, but as I would need an outfit change for the evenings, I thought I'd change the rules a bit to suit my trip.
Here's how I got on...
After the end of summer, the weather seems to go through this weird phase where it could be pretty cool one day, and then glorious sunshine the next. The joys of dressing for the start of autumn entail us having to make decisions on our outfits we may regret: will the jumper I wear be too thick? Will going without tights result in me having permanent goosebumps the whole day? Is it time for a coat yet or am I going to be hauling it around all day as it's too warm?
Figuring out what clothing to wear to transition between summer to autumn can always be a bit of a nightmare, but I've found that sticking to some classics always sees me through one way or another. With these transitional pieces, I'm able to tailor my outfits to work in hot or cold climates, meaning that if the sun suddenly breaks through the clouds halfway through the day, I'm not left dressed like I'm ready for a snowstorm.
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At the start of the year, I sat down to make my resolutions and had a long hard think about what I wanted to achieve in 2019.
Amongst the usual things, there was one that I'd been thinking about for a long time - to live a more sustainable life.
I come from a family who have been quite proactive about living sustainably for a long while: I was taught from a young age about recycling, make do and mend, and not wasting energy, but a few things that we hadn't even considered until recently was our use of plastic and buying into fast fashion.
I think everyone was shocked by Blue Planet last year, and I love how the show resulted in a mass movement to reduce our plastic waste - I think we don't realise the scale of a problem until it's put right in front of us to see for ourselves.
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