Home Exchange Vacations: Travelling Light

On the one hand, you will usually have lots of space for your things in a home exchange home and might be tempted to pack loads more than you need; on the other, simply by being in a 'real' home while on a swap, you shouldn't need to bring quite so much with you. A good example of this is of home exchangers with babies and young children who cleverly arrange to swap homes with others with similar aged children; hence no need to cart all the baby equipment, toys and books with you as these should all be available in your temporary home.

Many people, however, seem to have no concept of packing light. Recently, while standing in a long check-in queue at Gatwick, me and my fellow bored queuers were entertained for awhile by a woman in the next queue frantically trying to close an over stuffed suitcase. When even bouncing on it wouldn't do the trick, the woman got up, the lid sprung open and the contents came tumbling out. The young man behind me commented, 'I don't believe it - it's full of shoes!' The two women behind him looked a little sheepish ...

Having missed the last bus connection while waiting for luggage after a flight to Toronto (more than once), I've learned the hard way the advantages of packing light! I've recently discovered a great website that should help anyone get to grips with lightening the load when packing. One Bag - The Art and Science of Travelling Light, is described as 'offering exhaustive (some might say exhausting) detail on the art of travelling light, living for an indefinite period of time out of a single (carryon-sized) bag.' What a useful labour of love this site is!

Comments

[Doug Dyment]

Thanks for the mention of onebag.com. As you point out, home swappers might consider that this information is of less use to them than to those who are more mobile. Personally, though, I've always found that learning to travel lightly brings many unexpected benefits, and is a skill worth cultivating by all!

... Doug