Packing Way Too Much!
Jun 13th, 2005, 01:35 PM
#22
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I will add a few suggestions based on my experience: a) living in London; and b) travelling a lot for work and fun.
1) Packing for London is also complicated by the fact that the temperatures vary a lot from environment to environment. It can be very muggy and stuffy in the Tube, some restaurants and live theatres. But it can be fairly cool if you're going through a stroll in the parks. Your best friends are twinsets (I have about 10 from Ann Taylor), which allow you to strip down or layer up (and the pieces do double duty under other jackets, or as top layers for dresses). Pack 1 or 2 neutral ones (black, cream, grey, beige, brown, depending on the colours in your wardrobe).
2) Pick a colour scheme and stick to it for key pieces (pants, skirts, jackets, shoes and at least some tops). I have a black-based wardrobe (which can mix with blues, brights and neutrals)and a brown-based wardrobe. I only pack one; it reduces the number of shoes you have to take and increases the mix and match potential.
3) Your other good friends are: a) the neutral, simply designed polarfleece zip up (I have one in black that goes under lightweight jackets if it's cold, or over tshirts); and b) a pashmina or two (one way to introduce fun colours). Your pashmina serves as the blanket for the upper half of your body on the plane (who wants that icky airplane blanket near your face), a scarf if it's cold, and a shawl over lightweight dresses. It's also a good lightweight throw if you're napping in your hotel room. I have a few silk/cashmere ones that are superlightweight.
4) Seriously, consider packing some ancient, tossable undies and socks, and then replace them at Marks & Spencer (so you have clean stuff for your second week).
5) For London, avoid white or cream trousers, skirts and cardigans (the odd tshirt or camisole is ok). There's a lot of dirt from pollution and you'll end up looking quite filthy fairly quickly, unless you're one of those people who miraculously repel dirt and can wear white anywhere.
6) Simplify your cosmetics and personal products. Hotels have shampoo and soap and often have body lotion and shower gel. If you're hooked on a few essential products (moisturizer or a special shampoo or conditioner), decant the products into smaller containers (Sephora might give you sample pots for face creams). Simplify your make-up, too, by focusing on a few key items. And then stop at Muji in London to scoop up their selection of empty travel bottles and containers - one of my favourite stores (they also have wonderful "school supplies"
.
1) Packing for London is also complicated by the fact that the temperatures vary a lot from environment to environment. It can be very muggy and stuffy in the Tube, some restaurants and live theatres. But it can be fairly cool if you're going through a stroll in the parks. Your best friends are twinsets (I have about 10 from Ann Taylor), which allow you to strip down or layer up (and the pieces do double duty under other jackets, or as top layers for dresses). Pack 1 or 2 neutral ones (black, cream, grey, beige, brown, depending on the colours in your wardrobe).
2) Pick a colour scheme and stick to it for key pieces (pants, skirts, jackets, shoes and at least some tops). I have a black-based wardrobe (which can mix with blues, brights and neutrals)and a brown-based wardrobe. I only pack one; it reduces the number of shoes you have to take and increases the mix and match potential.
3) Your other good friends are: a) the neutral, simply designed polarfleece zip up (I have one in black that goes under lightweight jackets if it's cold, or over tshirts); and b) a pashmina or two (one way to introduce fun colours). Your pashmina serves as the blanket for the upper half of your body on the plane (who wants that icky airplane blanket near your face), a scarf if it's cold, and a shawl over lightweight dresses. It's also a good lightweight throw if you're napping in your hotel room. I have a few silk/cashmere ones that are superlightweight.
4) Seriously, consider packing some ancient, tossable undies and socks, and then replace them at Marks & Spencer (so you have clean stuff for your second week).
5) For London, avoid white or cream trousers, skirts and cardigans (the odd tshirt or camisole is ok). There's a lot of dirt from pollution and you'll end up looking quite filthy fairly quickly, unless you're one of those people who miraculously repel dirt and can wear white anywhere.
6) Simplify your cosmetics and personal products. Hotels have shampoo and soap and often have body lotion and shower gel. If you're hooked on a few essential products (moisturizer or a special shampoo or conditioner), decant the products into smaller containers (Sephora might give you sample pots for face creams). Simplify your make-up, too, by focusing on a few key items. And then stop at Muji in London to scoop up their selection of empty travel bottles and containers - one of my favourite stores (they also have wonderful "school supplies"
.
Jun 13th, 2005, 02:10 PM
#23
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Nothing like getting old to pare down your luggage. Now in my early 60s, with a few missing or semi-relocated disks, I just came back from a 15 day trip to Greece with my husband where we got EVERYTHING we needed for the trip (including packing a good-sized carry-on plus a smaller one for purchases) in two roll-aboards and two reasonably-sized "personal item" bags disguised as a camera bag and a purse. (With the current state of the dollar, we only needed the larger carry-on for purchases and had to repack the smaller one. 
)
When we got to Athens, we hopped onto the Metro without waiting for luggage and were in the city quickly. There we did have a bit of challenge when we discovered that the half kilometer or so from the Metro to the hotel was a highly traveled street largely without sidewalks (and where there were any, they were covered with construction debris or parked cars). But we made it without mishap, just some grumbling. And if the escalators had been broken (like London often), we could have carried the stuff up.
I admit that I take Rx meds in daily pill containers, not in the huge bottles my mail-order 90 day supplies come in, and that's a gamble but I've never been searched, questioned. Like everyone else, I snitch a few shampoo, hand lotion and mouthwashes from the upscale hotels to take when I'm staying in not such upscale places. And I discovered a great source of cheap plastic bottles for small quantities of other liquids like rubbing alcohol (which I needed for the first time on this last trip), insect repellent, hair gel - those 12-packs of bubble solution that they hand out at weddings. Take out the wand, wash, and refill. Tight snap caps, very small, and cheap. (Probably want the plain caps, though, not the ones with wedding bells and stuff on the top. Got mine at a dollar store that didn't even have the fancy ones.)
I find that shampoo doesn't always do the washing job I want, so I carry some powdered detergent in a zip lock bag - which also gets smaller as you go along. I liked the idea about expendable clothing when I read about it some years ago and do usually pack a few things I could live without if there were something I really HAD to buy, though I've never had to throw anything out yet. (Not sure it would work for me to take things slated for Goodwill since I tend to get rid of it only when it becomes an embarrassment.) My neighbor used to pack up her dirty clothes and send them home UPS, though that would be rather costly from Europe.
After a bad experience in '71 when my husband and I spent 11 wks. in Europe on a super-budget trip, I'd never take one pair of shoes, though. He wore through the soles of his custom hand-made (hippy days) leather shoes and couldn't find another pair to fit his large feet in southern Europe. Had to wait till Denmark where he had a pair of clogs made to finish out the trip. Apart from the inconvenience of having to buy shoes if something goes wrong with the pair you have, would you really want to break in a new pair on a trip? I wear the biggest ones (even if they're less convenient to take off at security) and pack the smaller ones. And no dress shoes anymore, just something more decent than athletic. (If we eat in a nice place, I dress up something basic black with a piece of fancy jewelry and I keep my feet tucked under my chair.)
Didn't manage quite that light for a Dec. trip to London last year, what with a couple of sweaters being fatter and my husband needing a business suit. I have several silk undershirts and long johns (including tanks, knee length) that I use to make my FL clothes work in other parts of the country, so I take selected of those to more northern European places. Had to take a somewhat larger wheeled bag last Dec.(with an expansion zipper which we are always careful to keep closed so we'll have some extra space coming back there, too), but it still wasn't awfully big and we both packed in it. But I have been in London in late Aug. and/or early Sept. 3 times in the last 5 years (and two of those times in Scotland also) and managed with a lightweight raincoat, a cardigan and maybe one long-sleeved cotton knit shirt. I found it was usually reasonably warm during the day, and when I was outside I was walking at a brisk enough pace most of the time to stay plenty warm even in a short-sleeved T, though I often carried the sweater or raincoat, especially in Scotland. You don't need to pack the coat, it makes a good wrap if you need something extra on the plane. And my experience in London in the late summer or early fall is that there are seldom downpours of any long duration. (And none of them match Florida downpours.) It's mostly just misty, drizzly stuff, so a multi-purpose coat is fine, you don't generally need super rain-proof. I'm not terribly cold-natured, even with "thin FL blood" as they say, and I found myself being a bit warm more often than a bit chilly in London in late summer, early fall.
) When we got to Athens, we hopped onto the Metro without waiting for luggage and were in the city quickly. There we did have a bit of challenge when we discovered that the half kilometer or so from the Metro to the hotel was a highly traveled street largely without sidewalks (and where there were any, they were covered with construction debris or parked cars). But we made it without mishap, just some grumbling. And if the escalators had been broken (like London often), we could have carried the stuff up.
I admit that I take Rx meds in daily pill containers, not in the huge bottles my mail-order 90 day supplies come in, and that's a gamble but I've never been searched, questioned. Like everyone else, I snitch a few shampoo, hand lotion and mouthwashes from the upscale hotels to take when I'm staying in not such upscale places. And I discovered a great source of cheap plastic bottles for small quantities of other liquids like rubbing alcohol (which I needed for the first time on this last trip), insect repellent, hair gel - those 12-packs of bubble solution that they hand out at weddings. Take out the wand, wash, and refill. Tight snap caps, very small, and cheap. (Probably want the plain caps, though, not the ones with wedding bells and stuff on the top. Got mine at a dollar store that didn't even have the fancy ones.)
I find that shampoo doesn't always do the washing job I want, so I carry some powdered detergent in a zip lock bag - which also gets smaller as you go along. I liked the idea about expendable clothing when I read about it some years ago and do usually pack a few things I could live without if there were something I really HAD to buy, though I've never had to throw anything out yet. (Not sure it would work for me to take things slated for Goodwill since I tend to get rid of it only when it becomes an embarrassment.) My neighbor used to pack up her dirty clothes and send them home UPS, though that would be rather costly from Europe.
After a bad experience in '71 when my husband and I spent 11 wks. in Europe on a super-budget trip, I'd never take one pair of shoes, though. He wore through the soles of his custom hand-made (hippy days) leather shoes and couldn't find another pair to fit his large feet in southern Europe. Had to wait till Denmark where he had a pair of clogs made to finish out the trip. Apart from the inconvenience of having to buy shoes if something goes wrong with the pair you have, would you really want to break in a new pair on a trip? I wear the biggest ones (even if they're less convenient to take off at security) and pack the smaller ones. And no dress shoes anymore, just something more decent than athletic. (If we eat in a nice place, I dress up something basic black with a piece of fancy jewelry and I keep my feet tucked under my chair.)
Didn't manage quite that light for a Dec. trip to London last year, what with a couple of sweaters being fatter and my husband needing a business suit. I have several silk undershirts and long johns (including tanks, knee length) that I use to make my FL clothes work in other parts of the country, so I take selected of those to more northern European places. Had to take a somewhat larger wheeled bag last Dec.(with an expansion zipper which we are always careful to keep closed so we'll have some extra space coming back there, too), but it still wasn't awfully big and we both packed in it. But I have been in London in late Aug. and/or early Sept. 3 times in the last 5 years (and two of those times in Scotland also) and managed with a lightweight raincoat, a cardigan and maybe one long-sleeved cotton knit shirt. I found it was usually reasonably warm during the day, and when I was outside I was walking at a brisk enough pace most of the time to stay plenty warm even in a short-sleeved T, though I often carried the sweater or raincoat, especially in Scotland. You don't need to pack the coat, it makes a good wrap if you need something extra on the plane. And my experience in London in the late summer or early fall is that there are seldom downpours of any long duration. (And none of them match Florida downpours.) It's mostly just misty, drizzly stuff, so a multi-purpose coat is fine, you don't generally need super rain-proof. I'm not terribly cold-natured, even with "thin FL blood" as they say, and I found myself being a bit warm more often than a bit chilly in London in late summer, early fall.
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granbury
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Jun 15th, 2007 01:23 AM
