CarolynAnn--

Welcome to the world of carry-on only. It's not for everyone because...

...it's HARDER before you go because you must truly think about multiple uses for all items.

At the same time...

--it's EASIER once you start traveling. Putting so much thought into something means you end up having everything you really need and what's more, you can FIND it.

No waiting for luggage that never comes, small footprint in hotel rooms, easy handling onto trains and metros--to me, those advantages are valuable. To others, those things don't matter.

I know you have in your mind that you are packing for TWO weeks. Actually, you are not. You are packing at the most for one week, and I think if you were to think "five days", that would make your packing less daunting.

Another important concept to remember is that there no one right to pack for carry-on. I am the person who indexed Therese's packing threads (AnnW gave you the link), but my overall packing list and Therese's packing list are certainly different.

And lists evolve. For example, I have stopped packing skirts and dresses for winter trips. I used to do that so that I was "dressy" at restaurants. I still dress up, but I rely more on my scarves (no weight) and earrings (no weight) to show respect for an establishment. I realized that getting rid of dress shoes and stockings gave me more packing room--and kept me warmer.

Back to your concerns:

--For a <b>lightweight luggage</b> discussion, here's a thread on Flyertalk: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...carry-bag.html. This thread was started in 2008 and is very long, but it may give you some pointers.

For a recent trip with EXTREME weight limitations, I used information on that thread and information from
www.ebags.com,
www.1bag1world.com
...to help make my decisions. I studied the Eagle Creek, Magellan's, etc websites until my vision blurred.

I have a TJMAXX and a Marshalls near my house, so I'd go down there once a week with a tape measure and luggage scale (bought cheaply at Marshalls) to see what the dimensions and weights of various pieces of luggage ACTUALLY were (they lie). Then I'd lift them, wheel them, imagine packing them etc.


--<b>Coat</b>: Agree with above posters who say "Wear onto the plane" so don't even put it into the equation for your inside case packing.

As to what type of coat to take, your preferences will say all. For winter, I've gone two ways:
--For Paris in January, I routinely use an all-weather coat that is a raincoat on the outside and with a good insulating lining inside.
--For Cheyenne, Montana in winter, I've done the long down coat thing.

Believe it or not, I'm leaning towards the down coat for future winter trips if I know the temperature will be freezing or less. I found it weighed less on the body and smooshed flat into the plane overhead. The one I got was very attractive and non "polar bear" in looks. Even if I took the all-weather coat, I'd be taking the umbrella, so that part is a toss-up.

--<b>Silk Underwear</b>: I've tried them all, and I still like silk. To each his own.

Well yes, I do prefer particular products. And I don't want to buy a full new set on holiday then throw the rest away when I leave.

Forgot this link I used when I shopped for the lightest possible roll-on:
http://www.consumersearch.com/luggage-reviews

<i>"No one else really pays any attention to what you're wearing"</i>

I never dated or married a man who didn't compliment me on my clothing choices. In Europe, men and women, quite often strangers, offer never ending compliments. Only a fool, a lazy slob, or a blind man would proffer that presentation doesn't matter.

Having no style or not caring about your appearance won't kill you. But you often won't know when it can matter.

I don't really care what other people think of my sense of style. I dress to please myself and no one else. However, when someone pays me a compliment, it demonstrates to me that he/she is paying attention. And my experience suggests there are a lot of people who pay attention to good-looking people. And I can never stress enough the perks that come with that recognition.

caroline, No I'm not a man. I do take a cosmetic bag for make-up, but it's usually in my checked bag along with toiletries. As I stated in my post, I check my bag on most flights. If I do use carry-on it is no problem for the following reasons:

1) Eye cream comes in very small jars

2) I don't bother with eye make up remover or toner as I'm found neither are really essential.

3) Lust makes several good solid shampoo bars that travel in tins, a conditioner too. These, of course, pose no problem in the liquid category. When I have taken liquid shampoo/conditioner, I've found the imposed limit is fine for 3 weeks. Again if more is needed just buy some.

4)I've also found that the disposable cleansing cloths work well. They're good for eye make up removoal and some even contain toning features although, again, I don't think that feature is too important.

5) I use the soap or shampoo in the room to launder undies. I do take a small packet of <I>Shout </I> stain remover pads.

6) With make-up products, I've found that none exceed imposed the limit and thus are not a problem. With the possible exception of foundation, make-up is not usually a probelm. I've also learned that I really don't need to take a half dozen lipsticks and five/six eyeshadows.

7) All the items I use and I think most people would need/use can be put into plastic bag. That said I hate the plastic bag idea, although it does have an advantage in covering leakage.

8) The only item that is sometimes a problem is body lotion. Again I just purchase what I need for checked bag. If using carry-on, I wait until I get to my destination. One can use what is offered in hotels until you can buy what you want.

9) Although for a long time I clung to my <I> favorites </I> I've learned hotel products are really fine and it's even fun to try/buy new things when traveling.

8) I am not a high maintainance person, but do insist on traveling with the usual female products. For me it's become a matter of packing what I will really need and use compared to what I'd like to take. I've found over the years ( many;) ) that when traveling, less is best.

quokka put this much more succinctly than I did. :)

<i>"I use the soap or shampoo in the room to launder undies."</i>

Some of the suggestions I read on this board are insane. I had an Ohio aunt who thought it was OK to use Clorox in her swimming pool because she thought Clorox was the same thing as chlorine. Do tourists know the source and ingredient list of no-name soaps and shampoos? Does chemical composition of a product not matter? There is NO WAY I would use any old product on my underwear and then place that item anywhere near my private parts.

And the thought of buying everything you need upon arrival is equally insane.

Hi historytraveler & apologies. I am with you in finding it a lot easier to check in my main bag, if I'm going for more than a couple of nights. You have a lot of good suggestions there, thanks.

However, over the last few years I have travelled frequently for work (usually only 1-3 days at a time) and usually have a few short breaks a year in addition to main hols, so I do have a litre plastic bag permanently packed with miniatures of everything liquidish. (I use solid deodorent so that's one thing out of the way.) But I still find my plastic bag is full with (mostly) just enough for 2-3 nights :-(

Oh dear CarolynAnn:

Fodors should have a sign that goes up as soon as you title your post with the term, "Carry-on" to the effect:

WARNING WARNING
EXPECT EMOTIONAL REACTION
EXPECT EMOTIONAL REACTION

:)

Foodsnob, Most of the toilet items I find in hotel rooms are popular name brands such as Molten Brown or Neutrogena or, IME, at least of reasonably good quality. Guess I figure soap is soap. I've never had a problem and, if it's good enough to wash my hair or body, it's absolutely fine for undies. Having traveled in a third world countries I can appreciate the niceties found in even a simple B&B.

BTW, not sure anyone suggested you buy "everything" you need upon arrival.

'nough said.

<i>"Guess I figure soap is soap."</i>

Shampoo is not soap. Shampoos with conditioners built in are not soap. Hair, face, and body products are not laundry detergent. Molton Brown is not Woolite. No fool would wash her face with Tide. If chemistry were so simple, the marketplace would have one item for all uses.

99.9% of soaps leave an invisible residue of insoluble calcium soap deposits. They often leave behind a fragrance, too. If your skin is just slightly sensitive or if you are prone to allergies or skin rashes, you could be asking for a disaster by placing an unwanted chemical residue near your genitals.

Just because something careless works for one person is no reason to suggest it on a travel board that caters to packing newbies.

I agree that shampoo is not the same as soap, and it always surprises me to hear people say they wash clothes with shampoo and are satisfied with the results.

It's so easy to take travel packets of Woolite that I think are just the right amount for a sink-full of laundry.

http://www.amazon.com/Woolite-Travel.../dp/B000AXVUCE

I'm not terribly picky about shampoo when I'm away, so I save up samples that come to me in various ways (magazines, newspapers, mail, hairdresser) and just put them in my makeup bag in case of 'emergency.' You can also buy them but usually only in large quantities (maybe 100+). (I have shared an order with lady friends and relatives in the past.) There are also dissolving shampoo sheets/leaves, but I haven't tried them.

http://www.letravelstore.com/product/403.html

The Container Store sells wonderful Nalgene® leak-proof travel bottles in a variety of sizes. I couldn't travel without mine. I even use them for food items (olive oil, balsamic, etc.) when I rent an apartment abroad. They really work great.

Maybe I'm missing something here in regard to the difference between the cleansing ability of shampoo vs. a product such as Woolite. I see no problem with using a hair product ( or bath/shower gel) to launder undies but not sure I'd use Woolite on my hair. If safe and effective for hair, why not for laundry? Use the sniff test, if it smells good; it's clean. Guess I'm just not that fussy. And,if allergies/sensitivity are a problem, I assume one will adapt accordingly. I have no problem with the idea of Woolite packets, just figure they're no better than what is offered at hotel, and it's one less thing to pack.

It really is a matter of what one is comfortable with. I've learned in over thirty years of travel what works for me; it may not be the same for others.

My thoughts too historytraveler. I've washed lots of my smalls this way when travelling, and no problems. I guess I'm just not too fussy either. I always try and take a bit of laundry powder with me as well, but when it runs out, then soap or shampoo I've found a very good alternative.

If one's skin is so sensitive that it might be irritated by shampoo or soap residue, what do such people use in the shower?

I recognize some folks do have very sensitive skin (and even more are neurotic about this sort of stuff), but for the vast majority of folks without an actual condition, washing their clothes with shampoo is hardly going to to cause any lasting harm to the person. I make no guarantees about the clothing, but as long as your undergarments aren't super expensive, I'm sure it wouldn't be the end of the world if you ruined a pair or two.

That being said, I don't have any interest in washing items in the sink, whether with Woolite, Dreft, the super-fancy stuff my wife uses on her bras, or caustic cleansers. I have even less interest in washing items in the sink when on vacation. The only exception is the occasional bathing suit rinse in the shower.

Egads...

I was holding back because after all, this thread is supposed to HELP CarolynAnn find the right luggage to do carry-on, etc., not discuss how many angels can dance on a pin.

CHEM 101:
First, I don't think anyone suggested using HAND soap to wash out undies, but you could. A gray film would be left behind (just like it stays on your shower stall), but germs would be removed.

Why? Because although soaps and detergents clean differently, in essence they both contain "surfactants" or surface active agents.

The hoot is that soaps, the thing we don't like to use to clean clothes with and now "distrust" on our bodies, are chemically more based on ingredients found in nature.

By its very nature, detergents, the things found in shampoo, liquid laundry detergent, WOOLITE, and your dishwashing liquid, may contain "natural" ingredients but are based on a synthetic surfactant.

That's why if you were a kid and your mother used baby shampoo on you and but may have used dishwashing liquid on you in a pinch when she ran out, it was likely that your hair may have felt right about the same afterwards.

Boy that original baby shampoo was hard on hair. And talk about tangles.

I can hear some of the pundits here saying, "OK, then you are saying when you run out of dishwashing liquid, use shampoo."

No--fragrances and other added ingredients in shampoo make that a bit dicey.

Heck, let's take this further...

I hate the feel of regular bar soap, but if you worry about ingredients and the environment, it's much more biodegradable. I STILL am not going to use it on my undies because minerals in water react to soap (ergo, the gray film).

As to the actual chemistry, shampoo is generally made by combining a surfactant, most often sodium lauryl (or laureth) sulfate, with a co-surfactant and water. Then the other stuff is dumped in. Even the ones that are not "conditioning" generally contain some sort of agent to aid in detangling.

As to a similarity in chemical content with dishwashing liquid, I have a hairdresser friend who has relied on Dawn dishwashing liquid twice a month as a clarifying shampoo to prevent the "muddy" tone of coloring.

Therefore, a NON-conditioning shampoo would probably clean underwear well during the trip plus leave a rather nice fragrance. If you are allergic to that fragrance, than your scalp will have problems too. Heck, a little travel size container of Dawn dishwashing liquid could work, too.

What do I use? I take powdered Tide because I usually have to wash out biking or hiking socks. No liquid restrictions. But that's just me.

I'm all of the above facts will not change arguments. You believe what you were taught to believe until actual experience tells you otherwise or until you yourself dare to try something new.

As a teen, I remember "daring" to wash my hair everyday--I even washed my bangs at lunchtime--in the 60's when it was a no-no to wash one's hair everyday. At that time, my mother, an absolute clean freak, had her hair washed ONCE A WEEK at the beauty salon. My kids, who washed their hair twice a day because they had swim practice in the morning and after school, do not believe me that such was the practice.

The theory? Washing the oil out of one's hair would make the oil glands MORE active. And there is some reason to support that. But since my bangs actually dripped oil by noon, sorry...

Nevertheless, the companies that make all the products so many posters swear by realized by the time I was graduating from high school that just increasing the number of times one washed one's hair would be big business (remember Farrah Fawcett?). And suddenly, it became common practice.

NPR had a great article on that part of history: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=102062969

And there's a movement afoot to use NO shampoo or soap on one's body:
http://freetheanimal.com/2009/12/pal...o-shampoo.html

I'm not accusing people of being picky. While I use a normal shampoo and a nice bar soap in my shower, most of my household cleaning is done with vinegar, water, and a few drops of dish soap as the surfactant.

So I'm getting tired of saying it and I'm sure you are getting tired of reading it, but...

To each his own.

Please allow CarolynAnn to do carry-on only in peace.

<i>"To each his own."</i>

Amen.

I do not use soap on my skin and stopped using it soon after I turned 17, which was my first experience with a great dermatologist. My mother was using Tide to wash our clothes and my new doctor discovered I was allergic to something in it. Furthermore, I do not work in muddy fields or a grease-ridden auto body shop. My skin is never dirty enough to warrant the use of soap.

I'm far from neurotic but I do know how to take care of myself and my body, and it shows.

As for carry-ons, I'm sure the OP has enough opinions on the subject to determine the best course of action for herself.

For those that are not in the roughly 1% of people allergic to laundry detergent, I suggest going about your daily routine without worrying.

http://thedermblog.com/2008/03/12/it...dry-detergent/

CarolynAnn I hope you stick with the carry on plan and find a light rollerbag to help. I've done it many times and was glad I pared down enough to do so. If you go this route and want specifics, again there are many great threads with targeted advice.

For what it matters: I'm not allergic to laundry detergent, just an ingredient in Tide. Mother switched to All and the problem went away. My housekeeper uses Era but not on my underwear. No issues since I was a teenager but I know a few people, male and female, with sensitive skin/detergent issues.