Written by: Harrow Elizabeth

Have you ever considered taking a weekend trip with nothing but a lightweight toiletry bag and minimalist toiletries? 

Lance Williams —cofounder of Gravel—is well known for doing so. He has taken weekend trips with only his toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant, all packed into an ultralight toiletry bag (it really doesn’t get more minimalistic than that, right?). 

6 Tips To Achieve The Ultra Minimalist Toiletry Kit

While you might not be that much of a minimalist, toiletries and toiletries bags are definitely must-haves on any extended trip. Whether you are wanting to be as much of a minimalist packer as possible for your travels or if you are just wanting some advice about packing your toiletries more simply and conveniently, these tips are for you. 

1. Concise Packing List

When getting ready to pack for a trip, the first thing you typically do is make a packing list. Sometimes, the natural inclination can be to just dump every single one of your toiletry items into a bag and stuff it into the bottom of your backpack, which then leaves you to wrestle with it to make room for the rest of the things you need to bring, making packing an all around frustrating process.

Instead of doing that, consider what you absolutely need from your toiletries - typically your toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and stuff to wash your hair, your minimalist toiletries) and only pack those. A big quality of minimalism is not necessarily going with the bare minimum, but rather relying on what you absolutely need vs. what is nice to have.    

2. Solid Over Liquid

Another tip to consider when packing your minimalist travel toiletries is choosing solid products over liquid. For example, instead of bringing a bottle of liquid shampoo, try bringing a shampoo bar instead. They also have conditioner bars and regular soap bars, of course, and there are also toothpaste and mouthwash tablets you can try. Choosing solids over liquids can help condense the amount of space your minimalist toiletries are taking up. 

3. Multi-Use Products

To help condense the amount of space your minimalist toiletries are taking up even more, you can also consider packing multi-use items. This can include dry oil that can be used on both your face and hair, soap bars that can double as shampoo and body wash, tablets that work as both toothpaste and mouthwash, cleansing wipes that can be used all over the body, etc. There are a lot of different things to try.  

4. Make It Shareable 

This can be a no-go for some people, but if you are traveling with others and are willing to share your minimalist travel toiletries - especially if you have kids or other family members with you - sharing can also reduce the amount of space you need for packing toiletries. You just need to account for how much and how often each person will need to be using each product (hopefully with a still minimalistic mindset). 

5. Scentless Is Best (Camping)

When you are going camping specifically, a common thing to worry about is how to avoid attracting wildlife. When you have scented toiletries, this can be a very easy way to lure unwanted animal guests into your campsite. So, while packing and potentially shopping for different minimalist travel toiletries to try, consider going for the scentless options to stay safe. 

6. Sustainable Lightweight Toiletries Bag

One of the best tips of all is making sure you have a decent toiletries bag to pack all of your minimalist toiletries into. You could just use a plastic ziplock bag, but those can get clunky and really aren’t very kind to the environment (and we do love being environmentally conscious here at Gravel).

Consider investing in a quality, minimalist toiletries bag like the ultralight toiletry bags we have to offer. They are scratch and leak resistant, easy to clean, small-sized to conserve space, and secure with enough pockets to keep all of your minimalist travel toiletries secure and organized. 

Minimalist Toiletries, Maximum Travel Fun! 

We hope that these tips can help give you somewhere to start when preparing for your next trip with a minimalist mindset, specifically surrounding your toiletries.

Best of luck, and safe travels out there! 🧳🚗💨🛫🌍✨