Dollar Store Pack_To_throw
 

Thinking of buying men, woman, children socks, underwear, from Dollar store.
Point is throwing it away without storing while traveling. 12 pair of underwear for 3 people can free me some space that will be filled with gifts on the way back.
Also thought about buying cheap t-shirts to throw away. As long as it's new - it looks not bad even if cheap.

What do you guys think ?
Are there more items to pack-to-throw.

Thanks

I'd just be careful about buying underwear at the Dollar store because you want to be totally comfortable while on vacation and not have to worry about riding up, bad elastic, etc. that probably comes with the cheap stuff.

Also, as for discarding, if you really want to toss your undies, you might want to take along a few of those plastic bags groceries come in. At the end of the day drop your stuff in them, knot them and toss them in the trashcan. That way the maids don't have to look at or handle them.

Have a great trip!

about the maids -- yes, or think you mistakenly put them in the wrong place, and have them washed, ironed, and returned to you and charge your bill.

I've always heard of people taking clothing items that were on their last legs (so to speak) and tossing them after a few wearings....especially if they were going to be away for an extended period of time. Sounds like a great idea to me!

And I thought I was original :)

thanks and if someone knows what else can be added to the "trow away" list ?

Hi Tat,

Is there any reason why you can't throw away all of your clothing?

There is a reason, ira.
I do not want to be arrested at the end of my trip walking naked somewhere in Europe.
If you wanted to be a SmartYouKnowWhat - you have to try harder.

I don't buy the dollar store stuff, but we have worn and then thrown away old socks and undies. It really doesn't free up that much space in the suitcase, but it is just less to unpack and wash at home. I also take toiletries and make up with just enough left to get me through the trip and then toss those as well. It seems we all have our own little "dirty secrets" and ideas when it comes to packing!!

Agree with ira:

Throw away old socks, shoes, jackets, sweaters, pants, hats - anything that you would have given away to the Salvation Army at the end of the year. Wear those one last time and toss!

Also those moldy cookies, candy, apples, oranges which you thought you might want to eat on the trip.

And, for heaven sakes, forget the nail clippers, the Swiss Army knife, the screwdrivers, and other handy tools.

Fact is, you could conceivably bring along entire suitcases of things you would toss and bring back all new purchases!

On the other hand, I have clothes from 20/30 years ago that I pack and wear and, when it comes time to chuck them, they have too much sentimental value. So they remain to be packed along on the next trip! LO!

Have fun on your trip, Tat!

All Thanks !
Great idea of wearing old clothes and leaving behind !

Thank you, Tat. I am glad that you agree.

I wouldn't want to wear old clothes, why would I want to look foolish on a vacation, I have some pride.

I wear nice things at home and on a trip also, I love my currently stylish things and feel better wearing them. I like to think that I can enter a nice restaurant or hotel and not be ashamed of how I look.

I went to Milan with a co-worker who dressed in sweats for "comfort" and when we wanted to run into a hotel to use the restroom in town, they let me in and wanted to shoo her away...not the way I want to present myself.

We've been doing this for years, it's a great idea. I for one do not wash my clothes in the sink at home and I'm not going to do it on vacation either! By the dollar store stuff (wash once before you pack it) or bring your older things and then toss them out after you wear it! But as Patrick has pointed out, do be discreet - put your things in a bag when throwing them away. You don't want them back, and trust me, nobody wants to see them! This does save space as anyone who has packed a week's worth of men's t-shirts can tell you. If you are packing for 3 you will really be thankful to toss all that stuff instead of trying to re-pack dirty underwear to bring home - YUCK! Much more fun to bring home goodies than laundry!

Although I've been known to pack socks and underwear that I'm willing to toss out to make some room in the suitcase, I have to agree with SeaUrchin.

If anything, I usually look better when I'm traveling than I do at home, where I run my own business and, except for meetings, don't even have to get dressed up for work. I certainly don't include "cheap t-shirts" on my packing list - unless it's a hiking trip, and I don't do those much these days.

And I'm not sure how going out and buying a throwaway wardrobe just for a specific trip fits in with Tat's purported attempt to keep costs down.

Sea,
I am with you on looking nice,
but let's not be so snobish, old clothes from Bloomingdale's are still being clothes from Bloomingdale's, right ?
I do not mean to wear scarecrow costume.
I have plenty of blouses and pants I can't throw away as it is looks great and still fit me, but I just stoped liking it, got bored, sick of it ...
So,
idea rocks ! I like to let my old clothes to see Paris and die !

I agree totally with Seaurchin, if there's a time I want to feel and look good, it's on vacation....
I buy clothes that travel well and I wear a lot of black so I bring my best and favorite clothes when I travel; even if it's wrong, I find you are often judged by how you present yourself when you travel.

I can roll and crush my dirty clothes so tightly in my suitcase, I always have room to bring back stuff no matter where I am...
or else, I have it shipped.

OK, I will confess, last trip I bought some cheap panties and a white tshirt at a dollar store to wear on the plane, then ditched them. But I wore a nice jacket over the tshirt so I didnt look like a thrift store refugee on the plane.
I had to laugh at your scarecrow reference, pretty funny way to see Europe.
I still would not want to ditch Bloomingdales out of season clothes in a trashbin, someone could use them at a shelter here in the US.

I, along with St. Cirq, I would not buy a throw away wardrobe but if that suits you, do what is best for your style, Tat.

Hey Tat! I throw away everytime I go! It all started with a pair of pants that would stretch a little too much after wearing them awhile. They were perfect for my overnight flight to Northern Ireland - I simply threw them out, by the end of the trip I decided on several other items I really didn't need including a pair of sneakers! It's a GREAT way to make room in your luggage!

Because I often visit several countries while in Europe I also pack shampoo, soap, make up in small bottles and discard as they empty......same with the "just enough left" theory mentioned by xxx!

Another suggestion: I always seem to need more towels & wascloths than are provided by the little places I stay soooooo....YES I take several old ones along and discard them too when I move on to the next country.

Lily

I don't do this. But I use an expandable suitcase which is not expanded on the trip over. This gives me plenty of room to add whatever I pick up when I unzip the expansion for the trip back.

I'm afraid I'm with the crowd that doesn't take clothes I wouldn't wear at home but to each their own. One school of thought (the one I subscribe to) says we want ot look our best on our trip and the other school of thought says who cares because we'll never see the people at our vacation destination again.

Guess I'm afraid I'll meet the love of my life ((l)) on one of my trips and want to look my best when we fall in love at first site. (({)) ((})) Or then again, maybe me looking my best is just part of the overall feeling wonderful part of vacation. Sometimes, I even feel sophisticated and beautiful when I travel -- I don't always feel that way at home. But looking nice makes me more confident, especially when no one really knows me -- all they have to judge me by is my appearance.

I agree totally with Seaurchin, I want to feel and look good on vacation so I only wear stuff that's less than five years old.

I know, I know, it costs much more to buy new clothes at Wal-Mart every five years, but I don't want to scrimp when it comes to setting a fine example for those poor Europeans that only have a couple of sets of black clothes and no closets!

There is just something AMAZING about a husky, big-boned guy with some flashy new discount duds and a few new gold painted chains around his neck that says: you can look this darn good if you want it bad enough!

My wife would rather stay home than travel wearing cheap underwear. And my mother would die if I were in an accident in Europe and was discovered wearing Dollar Store jockeys.

Oh, Degas, you are funny.

Women's styles change so often, that even something five years old, if it isn't a classic style looks dated.

I agree with Carrolldf, I want to look and feel sophisticated and beautiful on a trip because it is one of the happiest events of my year and I want to reflect that in my continence.

I treat it as the special time that it is to me.

Ha, I meant countenance, the other word does say something for disposable undies though, lol.

pink jogging suits go out of style?

Actually, I will go to the 99 cent store and buy umbrellas, washcloths and disposable raincoats. I do not trash them, though-they go to Oxfam.

Oh Degas! There's nothing like a sharp-dressed man!! LOL

"guy with some flashy new discount duds"
was a joke, right ? Please, if it wasn't - do not reassure me, OK ?

I want to ask you, travelers, all you (soon us) are looking for Prada backpacks those are used as "truks" to store items while walking around, sightseeing, right ?
How is it possible to looksofisticated and beautifull while carying "truck", child and running after husband.
Even if I saw stud with discount duds - I do not think he would see me (that obviously trying to catch up with that bold hunk who is trying to catch up with that 25 y/old French-cream-brulle-beauty-Queen:)

Guess this thread proves that we are pretty individualistic and each has his/her own style of travelling.

Me, I've done so many business trips overseas and worn so many conservative business suits that, when travelling for my own pleasure, I say: bring on the Dollar Store t-shirts! :)

Comfort, convenience, and more comfort. I'm not into image projecting when busily gawking at a gargoyle.

I have a friend who is the heiress to a newspaper forune. She loves to buy stuff from TJ Maxx then throw it away whilst on holiday. She says that way she will have more room in her luggage for all the jewelry she purchases. :)

carrolldf:

You've coined a fabulous new travel phrase:

<<love at first site>>

=D>

I don't tend to "pack and throw away" clothes, but I do leave behind any cosmetics/shampoo type stuff. I also "nestle" my luggage. I will take the medium size piece with the small one inside, just pack the small one, and on the way home, I have a whole suitcase for my new stuff. (What can I say, I love to shop!) Yes, I have two pieces of luggage to worry with on the way home, but I take a taxi to return to the airport anyway, and they connect so it is as easy to pull two as it is to pull one!

What a vicious circle or cycle this could become: I can just see the Europeans latching back onto the Flashdance look, as teams of Americans arrive in their slightly worn legwarmers and oversized Firenza sweaters. Then, upon returning home (sans legwarmers and sweaters) those Americans would read in Vogue how the Flashdance look is all the rage in Europe and crossing the Atlantic. And so it would go... :)

Thingorj, TJMAxx has designer clothes too that are in style, probably just closeouts. I have some really nice bags and scarves that were great "finds" at those stores such as Marshalls, Ross.

But they are not so inexpensive usually that I would toss them unless I were an heiress.

St Cirq -- I wondered if anyone would catch that.

Because I recycle, reuse and try my best to look after Mother Earth, I have to wonder why you are wasting so casually? The point for me isn't the room in the suitcase or the cost; it's the room in the landfill. How much room can your underwear take up?
Wear what you want to bring home and if it's time to throw away some old socks and underwear do that, then dispose of those discreetly. Since you asked; I think it's disgraceful to waste.
But that's just my opinion.

How much room can underwear take up? And besides, I need my pantygirdle just as much in Paris as I do here at home! Except for cleaning house or working in the yard, who wants to dress in clothes ready for the trash bin?

I have to admit I'm in the camp of Seaurchin, McGeezer, Crepesagogog, et al. I would never take clothes with me traveling that are ready for the trash bin or Salvation Army. yuck. I would never wear underwear that is so worn out it is ready for the trashcan. I also wouldn't wear underwear from the dollar store. I care about my underwear and what it looks and feels like. I might wear clothes like that to do yardwork or wash the car, which is when I do wear things maybe ready for the trash heap.

Taking a few pair of nice microfiber panties which wash and dry quickly takes up hardly any room in the suitcase. I don't really wear Tshirts so that's not an issue for me -- at least I wouldn't wear them in public around Paris.

I also really don't like our disposable society and the idea of buying clothes just to throw them away after one use. I probably could afford to do that but I wouldn't, because I think it's wrong ecologically.

I will tell you one thing I do pack and throw away. Little bottles of shampoo or toiletries, as someone else said. Also, paperback books for reading. I know a lot of people may not take books on trips, but I read a lot and like to have something to read at various times (on the plane, to relax at night, etc.). So I will take paperback books that I don't think I will want to read again or that are secondhand or "junk" novels, and throw them away when done. I don't throw away guidebooks, however, as I've read some people do, because they are more expensive and I often want to refer to them or use them again.

I am not a big shopper and don't need a lot of extra room for purchases. I usually have a little extra room in my suitcase when I pack for any new purchases, or even buy a cheap totebag or something to put them in which can be checked on the return flight. This can be good for shoes or anything bigger which might not fit in your original suitcase and aren't breakable.

I would think you should put your best foot forward because we travellers represent our country and I think you will be setting a good example for your children. The only dispoable things I bring are terry wash cloths because you usually are not supplied with them at most places.

I have a half shelf in my library devoted to paperbacks that I save for airplanes. These are light reading books that I usually pick up for a quarter at the library's book sale.
I agree with the micro fiber undies, it only takes a moment to wash them out, if your really lazy then hop in the shower with them on. They will be dry by the time you're finished site seeing.
I carry a small folding duffle for any knick knacks I pick up along the way. If I ever buy anything large then I ship it home.

mcgeezer- hop in the shower with your micro fiber undies...

That reminds me of when my kids piled into the bathroom at our hotel in London after a very long hot dirty day. They felt that they and their clothes were so dirty that they "washed" their clothes and shoes in the tub while they were bathing.