This trip presented a particular packing challenge because I began with a visit to the northeastern US in winter, but I would spend the final two months in Mexico. I solved the extreme part of the problem by packing my Mexico clothes in a box I had my dad send to my final east coast destination in advance of my arrival. Before I left, I made sure I chose a box that held all of my Mexico clothes while leaving enough room to return my winter clothes in the same parcel. All I’d have to do upon picking up the box was to unpack my Mexico clothes, put my winter clothes in the box and ship them home.

The trouble with going from Virginia to Quebec was that I had to prepare for huge variations in temperature, and I didn’t want to overpack. I realized I could pack things that were specific to me like pants and underwear but could probably count on friends having an extra coat they could loan me. This turned out to be the case, but something more interesting came about.

I usually bring clothes for three days because I stay most places for two. That’s one travel outfit and two visiting outfits. In my vanity, I know that, following this method, no one will ever see me in the same outfit twice. The third day was always laundry day, and since I was fortunate enough to be staying with friends the whole trip, I never had to pay to do laundry. In order to be the most efficient with my laundry loads, I began to borrow clothes from my friends on laundry days. That bought me an extra day between loads and allowed me to wash all three outfits at the same time.

It was then that the lightbulb when on in my head. If all the friends I visited were the same size as me, I could just borrow their clothes for the entirety of my visit. That would reduce me to only brining the outfit I wore while traveling between destinations. The extra bonus is that it took laundry out of the equation completely since my friends would just throw the clothes I’d borrowed in with their family laundry.

I began to rethink all of my packing. What else could I borrow while visiting friends? Dental floss, shampoo, toothpaste! My pack was getting lighter by the second. I could even cut expenses, like haircuts, since at least some of my friends had clippers, having experienced a similar reduction in scalp coverage as they aged. I found that all my friends with kids had pantries filled with food so I could also cut down on buying lunches and travel snacks.

So here I am down to a day pack with a toothbrush, razor, and the clothes on my back to travel for weeks, as long as I spend every night at the home of a friend. I do, however, now have the criteria of only befriending people my size.