I’ve always loved the fantasy of living a whole life in a hotel room. Me and my bare necessities in 400 sq ft of living space — what a rush! The minimalist mindset this fantasy inspired will probably last the rest of my life, but the practice started in adjusting my travel habits the past few years, even before the pandemic.

Today, I travel for most 3-4 day trips with one carry-on and one personal item, a large weekender type bag. The current keys to making this work, even in winter?

If I can’t fly home the night after the work is complete, I wear the same outfit home that I wore flying out.
Maximum pairs of shoes to pack are two: one dressier and one more comfy. And then there are the shoes I am wearing to travel as well.
I’ll only pack extra undergarments — no more overpacking clothes!
I use my personal item / weekender as my daily carry bag when I work. It’s larger than it needs to be for daily use, but it keeps me from having to pack an extra bag.
I wear the same color neutral to travel as I do on work days. It used to be all black. For the last 4-5 years, it’s been all navy. This means even the clothes and accessories I travel in can be mixed and matched with the clothes I pack, if necessary.

All this is harder for me to do in winter, with thicker layers and more of them required. But summertime? No problem! How about you? Are you a minimalist packer or a maximalist packer? Or somewhere in between?