Yay for vacations! It’s nice to get away sometimes, even if it is just for a little while. But vacations are often a bit stressful, even if you’re staying fairly close to home. The booking, the packing, the travel, and figuring out what to eat and where can all make things a bit hectic. Depending on what your trip looks like and where you’re going, you can take some of the stress out of the trip by packing some reusable items with you, especially if those reusables are also multi-purpose. Items that have more than one use are amazing when travelling because they ultimately mean that you can carry fewer things. Most of us probably already do this with our clothing anyway, so why not expand this thinking to other kinds of trip essentials? Let’s make the most of reusables on vacation!
The great thing about reusables like napkins, multipurpose cloths, and bulk food shopping containers is that they have multiple uses: napkins become handkerchiefs, wraps for small souvenirs, and cleaning cloths. Produce/bulk bags can carry anything, and reusable containers become impromptu dishes or drinking vessels.
I’m sure that if you’re reading this, you’re probably at least a little concerned with the ethics of travel. You’re concerned by the environmental and social impacts of your movements. By choosing to take reusable items with you, you are reducing the amount of waste you create as you go. Certainly the mode of transportation is also an important consideration with respect of carbon emissions and pollution. As always, do your best and choose the mode of transportation that is most appropriate for your requirements.
Leaving on a Jet Plane
In my life, air travel is sometimes necessary. Maybe it is in yours too. Here’s what I pack to go on a plane trip, per person: reusable utensils (the lightest I have), a water bottle and/or mug (depending on destination), at least 3 napkins/multipurpose cloths, a resealable snack bag or two (with snacks, of course!), 2 produce/bulk bags, and a compact, foldable, washable tote bag. I am, of course, assuming that I’ll have access to laundry facilities, even if it is just washing things out in the sink. Not all of these things need to be in your carry-on luggage but they could be: each of these items can be used in flight and then used again once you arrive at your destination.
Road trip!
For a road trip, I’d pack more reusables. I’m imagining one in Canada – let me know in the comments if these ideas would work where you are! In addition to everything on the list for the plane trip, I’d also bring along at least a few more tote bags, some jars or other resealable containers, and a little bit of dish soap (also in a reusable container). I’d also make sure that my reusable cup and/or water bottle fits in the cupholders of the vehicle I’m travelling in (learned that one the hard way). Because I like maps and Google Earth, I’d probably also try to figure out where bulk stores are along the way to refill those containers.
Pro Tip:
Save your map offline and/or make a list of bulk shops you’d like to visit. Include their with addresses and contact info, e.g. hours and phone number, just in case you don’t have mobile service somewhere along the way. I’d also put some thrift or creative reuse stores on the list, too, but that’s just me.
In general, if you’re trying to minimize waste on your trip, you’ll likely try to avoid fast food (though, of course, do what’s right for you and your travelling companions). Instead, eat in at local restaurants when you can, have snack-y picnics, and ask roadside vendors to fill your containers. Remember your reusable utensils and napkins! It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, so, if need be, take the chip truck fries in the paper container but refuse the single-use fork and use your own instead.
Happy Campers
For a car camping trip, the simplest way to explain what I’d take is to say reusable everything
(in other words, no paper plates or napkins).
I’d also be sure that I had a basin to wash dishes in and a way to dry them relatively quickly. I’ve just remembered that when I was kid at Girl Guide camp, we’d put our clean dishes in the mesh bags that we had to bring the dishes in and hang them from … the pole of our dining tent? (that part is lost to me at the moment) … to let them air dry.
Other than paper napkins, I don’t remember ever having disposables on camping trips when I was a kid. I DO clearly remember the big bin of dishes, cutlery, and cookware that no one was upset about getting damaged or broken while camping. If I were to create the same sort of thing now, I’d be looking at thrift stores to fill in the gaps left after checking to see what’s lurking unused in the back of my kitchen cupboards.
Keep your menu simple, prep as much as you can before you leave, and remember to use your empty containers to carry home your reusables to be cleaned as well as your recyclables and compostables.
Take a Hike!
Backpackers, bike trippers, and hikers, you do not need my help. You’re likely VERY aware of packing out what you pack in. Enjoy your adventures. Send pictures! If you DO want to see a post on using reusables on this type of trip, let me know in the comments or send me a message. I’ll do my best to write one for you!
What’s your can’t-go-without reusable for trips? Tell me in the comments! Mine is a reusable metal water bottle. I choose insulated or uninsulated depending on the season and where I’m going.