Family Of 4. One Suitcase. Mission Accomplished With Minimalist Packing

Here is EVERYTHING (almost) that we packed as family of four going on vacation.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

In this post, I’ll share our minimalist packing techniques in action for a trip that was 6 days long with one suitcase! Okay, technically we ended up with two suitcases, but the second suitcase was full of things we could have bought (like diapers) while we were there but to save money decided to bring it with us.

We went to visit my family in California so knowing the weather was going to be b-e-a-utiful also helps. I had to pack for myself, my husband, my 2-year-old and my 6-month-old.

Now, we could have absolutely packed less. This isn’t a challenge though who can pack the least; it’s solely to share how my family tries to pack like minimalists to make traveling more simple.

If you know me at all, you know I need it simple. Things get overwhelming way too easily for me.

Lastly, you’ll see a lot of packing cubes in this post because there is no. other. way. to. travel. Promise!

Let’s get started!

6 Month Old’s Packing Cube

Going from youngest to oldest, my son goes first.

He has the following items:

3 pieces of swimwear
A hat
2 outfits (two t-shirts and two pairs of shorts)
An extra pair of shorts
5 onesie type outfits
2 sets of pajamas
2 pairs of socks
1 Hoodie

A total of 19 pieces of clothing. Some of you may not think this is minimalist packing at all. We should only have 2 outfits, one sock, half a hoodie and a hat. Minimalists always have a hat, right?

Maybe that’s hikers and nature enthusiasts…

For us, this feels like the right amount. He was 6 months old at the time. Between explosions (you know momma’s know what I’m talking about), drool and baby-led weaning, this maybe lasted us 3 days and did laundry halfway through.

Here are Roland’s clothes in his packing cube.

Two Year Old’s Packing Cube

We’ll look at my (at the time) 2-year-old daughter’s clothing.

She has the following items:

2 swimsuits
2 sets of pajamas
5 outfits
3 dresses
3 pairs of socks
1 Hoodie

A total of 23 pieces of clothing.

Her clothing will last much longer than my sons. Maybe even a whole day if we’re lucky, so we probably will not have to wash too many of her clothes while we’re out there.

All of her clothing fits in the same size packing cube as my son’s.

The packing cube is really my minimalist packing container. I put as many clothes as fit in the container and do not worry that I’m packing too much.

The Mom’s Packing Cube

For being “the minimalist” in the family, I actually brought the most amount of clothes. How’s that for irony?

In the lineup:

7 tops
2 swimwear pieces
5 pairs of socks (I think?)
2 bras
5-6 pairs of underwear
3 workout bottoms
3 workout tops
2 tank tops
3 bottoms
3 sports bras

A total of 36 items.

My number would be much smaller if I didn’t bring my workout clothes with me, but being that I’ve got to close these rings every day – they are a must. With my clothing, I will definitely have to do a load of clothes halfway through the trip, but mostly for my workout clothes.

My clothing has to get split up into two packing cubes.

One packing cube is for outfits while the other is for workouts and swimwear. This makes it really easy to grab the one and quickly find what I’m looking for.

For the undergarments, I always use the big mesh pocket in the main suitcase compartment because then they’re easy to grab and go.

On a side note, I talk about doing laundry on vacations and while I could absolutely pack more minimalistically, I also don’t want to feel like I’m alllwwwayyyys doing laundry. This is a very happy medium where I have to one load or two and we’re good for the whole trip.

The Husband’s Packing Cube

For Otto’s clothes, we have:

A hat
6 shirts
2 shorts
3 athletic shorts
1 swimwear piece
2 nicer shirts
1 pair of sweatpants
A hoodie
1 long sleeve button up
4 pair underwear (I think)
5 pair of socks

Generally, I do not put hoodies in the packing cubes and they’ll go into the suitcase separately. I did fold his sweat pants and lay them over the clothes once I put them in.

His packing cube is the largest of all the cubes, but his clothes are the bulkiest so it makes sense.

Some last things on my minimalist packing list are toiletries:

I always share the brown toiletries bag with my husband. Our toothbrushes, razors, tooth paste, etc will go in there. The bottom left bag is all the make up I bring and bottom right is gel, sunscreen and baby soap.

Footwear

When we travel, we try to wear our “bulky” stuff on the plane. Not to where we would get uncomfortable, but we always wear tennis shoes and pack sandals to save room. Here are all the additional shoes we brought on the trip.

You know how much I love these packing cubes and how it helps these minimalists pack well. Look how tidy they are in their little bags!

Loading it up!

Here are all the packing cubes in the suitcase. This suitcase itself isn’t the largest that’s allowed on a plane, but it’s not small by any means.

Then all the extras…

Here is EVERYTHING!

It did close. I promise.

As I said in my disclosure earlier, we did take two suitcases because we pack diapers and wipes in a separate suitcase. This also allows us to bring back anything that my family gives us. My mother’s love language is gifts and it’s so sweet, but we have to prepare with the room when we go.

I truly hope you’ve enjoyed seeing what our minimalist packed suitcase looks like for our family of four!

Next time maybe I won’t procrastinate for a year before posting what we packed. It would make it much easier to exactly recall all the details of my trip.

Comment below with all your thoughts! Did we pack too much? A good amount? Do you like packing cubes? What are some of your minimalist packing tips?

Talk to you soon!

Becks