Get outdoors quickly, without the hassle.
I recently wrote a blog post about layering your little one for cold days outdoors. At the beginning of that post, I mentioned that over the past eleven months of taking my infant on hikes, nothing has been more stressful or time-consuming than figuring out:
- How to dress him,
- Where to go, and
- What to take on our hike.
I’ve finally cracked the code and figured out how to avoid the headaches of #1 entirely and at least half the headaches of #3.
I present: the winter “go bag!”
Why I love it
Now, rather than spending 15 minutes looking up the weather and the upcoming forecast for the next few hours or however long I plan to be outside, I just grab this bag and go. Mostly. I DO put his Merino wool base layers on because no matter what else is going on top, I know, without question, what I want directly next to his skin. This has been the biggest game changer.
In the end, it doesn’t really save us much time getting dressed. But now, all of the decision-making is done at the trailhead where we’re actually IN the weather and don’t have to guess what the temperature feels like with whatever windchill may be present. This makes functional sense. But let me tell you, it makes all the difference for my mental health. Now, I’m fighting a toddler OUTSIDE. And some days, just leaving the house is half the battle.
On top of that, this puts us getting out the door 10-15 minutes sooner. That might seem like much, but it can make all the difference when you know naptime is quickly approaching. I don’t know about your little one, but the second Arlo’s eyes shut for more than 10 seconds, he thinks he’s taken a nap. Often, when we’re trying to get outdoors, I aim for our hike and stroller run to coincide with naptime. If I know he will be a prisoner, unable to crawl around and get any energy out, I try to overlap my exercise time with his naptime.
What’s inside
- Iksplor base layer
- Iksplor zippy
- Reima tahti
- Primary suit
- Primary jacket
- Blanket
- Reima booties
- Reima mittens
- Iksplor merino wool hat
- Reima balaclava
As far as the bag goes, use whatever you have. I’m finding this 40L road tripper bag from REI to be a perfect size.
Where I keep it
In his closet! I find Arlo’s closet floor to be the most convenient place to stash this. That way, whether we are taking off layers at home once we’ve returned from an adventure or are putting away clean laundry, this bag is in a convenient location to keep it continuously ready. If it lived in a downstairs closet or the car, it would be impossible to keep it ready because those locations aren’t near the flow of laundry.
What are your hacks for making getting outside a more stress-free process?