Sorry to provide a dissenting opinion, but my wife, 5 year old and I leave for 11 days in Italy later this month, and we will be taking a 26" and 30" rolling suitcase. We will only have one brief two hour train trip from Sienna to Rome, and a minimal number of location changes. I would love to pack lighter if we could, but I don't think we will be able to with 3 of us traveling. I don't see how we could condense the contents of a 30" bag into a 22" carry on.

Now that I have said this, let the minimalist packers be heard from.

gravysandwich

nytraveler:
"Assume for a rpring.summer vacation - you need for day 5/6 pants and skirts and assorted mixing/matching tops, 3/4 going out to dinner outfits, a couple of light sweaters, nighties, lingerie (say a dozen panties, and 4/5 assorted bras for diferent outfits) a thin jacket, umbie, and two extra pair of shoes - plus toiletries and accoutrements and mini medical kit - plus guidebooks, camera/film, maps etc - how does that all fit into a 20" rollie and a smalll carry-on?"


It doesn't - you bring way more than I would dream of packing.

As long as I can carry it and lift it on my own I consider myself light. Many years ago my husband put his foot down and refused to carry my extras. Although I was pretty hot at the time, it has saved us from many arguements. I get lighter and lighter each trip too. Every time I unpack I separate out what I didn't use or used very little, then it never goes with again. I can go about 3 weeks with a carryon now.

"bathrobe and matching high-heeled slippers?" nytravler LOL here.

I must be coarse 'cause I sleep in those whitey-tighteys too. :-)

Ladies if you pick an appropriate pair of comfortable, low to flat black shoes you could get by with a single pair. I've not been anywhere that I didn't see several ladies in a pair of shoes like that: operas in Prague, Madrid and Leipzig; symphony in Berlin, theater in London, mass in Rome and Paris etc.

Matching bathrobe and high heeled slippers reminds me of when we took a trip with friends. We discovered (as she told us)the wife set the alarm and took off her makeup one hour after her husband fell asleep. And then reset it for one hour before he wanted to wake up. He had never seen her without makeup, so she claimed. And she was a beautiful woman.

To me "packing light" means taking what you will need, not a whole lot more. And having luggage that you personally can handle, depending on your mode of travel.

I keep trying to take less and less. But I still seem to overpack and always tell myself "never again". Hopefully next time I will not pack one thing I do not need.

<i>&quot;As far as over-packing don't look for me to help a damsel-in-distress.&quot;</i>

Not to worry - I never pack more than I can manage and have never expected anyone to help me with it. I pack what I need for my vacation with no apologies.

Funny how minimalist packers seem to have a superiority complex. :)

I love the packing threads the best. It's like getting a little window into everyone's personal travel lives. :-o

Clotheshogs, the whole rotten bunch of youse.

A real traveler (as opposed to a scurvy, slimey TOURIST) carries everything she/he needs in her/his pockets and one Glad Freezer Bag. A real pro traveler uses a Sandwich Bag instead of the Freezer Bag.

When traveling by train for 3 days or 3 months a 21&quot; bag is more than enough. Do the comfort test with whatever size bag(s) you decide to haul around. Walk a mile with everything you plan to take with you, and then home again.

I've been down to a 22&quot; and a purse for a 3-week trip for about 10 years now, but I really learned to lighten that up last year when I fractured my wrist 2 weeks before my trip. (Wouldn't recommend that, though.)

&quot;Packing Light&quot; had also been pounded into my head from reading this forum and watching Rick Steeves. For DH &amp; I, our first trip to Europe we had purchased rolling backpacks by Victronix (24&quot;); packed in color coordinating clothing, my bag weighed 18 lbs and DH weighed 20 lbs. (Hee Hee, I beat him). I was certainly able to carry this up &amp; down our stairs holding it over my head.

Since this trip, we've pared down the clothing, as we found we had pants/skirts&amp;shirts that went unworn.

This upcoming 2 week trip, we'll pack 2pr. slacks and an assortment of shirt (all color cordinated), with jacket/sweater. And make sure you ROLL. It really is not that hard.

Think about the weight you want to carry, should you need to.

As any real D&amp;D player knows, to really pack light you need a Bag of Holding. The extra-dimensional space it provides simply cannot be beat -- an no matter how much you stuff into it, it never weighs more than the bag itself. Totally sweet!

Just how many times are people wearing shirts and pants before washing? Or is this more than I really want to know :)

xxxx--based on my experiences in crowded planes, trains, and buses, the answer is: Too many times.

I don't know if this counts as packing light or not, but here goes!

The 5 of us (the old fart parents, the 15 year old drama queen and the 11 year old twins!) are going to the UK at the end of May. Haven't purchased the tickets yet, but based on the dates we want, we will be there approx 9-10 days.

We will be packing our things into a rolling suitcase that I believe is about 30 in. (I just measured 30in at my desk and that looks about right!). The kids will have smaller rolling backpacks that open like suitcases as carry ons, my husband and I will have a small rolling bag with our son's nebulizer in it and my travel purse, that's it.


Not only are we taking everyday clothes with us (we are visiting family for the second half of the trip, so laundry is not an issue, can be done anytime), but we have to take dress clothes for 5 for a wedding.

My secret to having extra space when we come home (for all the goodies I plan on buying) is that we are taking our old (not grubby, just not the newest pair) is for the kids to take their old sneakers with us, and then we'll leave them there. We plan of taking a couple of Yorkshire walks and I anticipate mud etc. I'm salivating over what I can buy and fit into the space that three pair of sneakers takes up!!!

In reading some of these posts, I'm not sure if this is packing light or not, but it's as light as I think I can get with the 5 of us. I haven't done a trial run yet, I might be able to get everything into a smaller suitcase, we'll see!

Man, I really need to learn to use that preview button down there first!!

&quot;is that we are taking our old (not grubby, just not the newest pair) is for the kids to take their old sneakers with us, and then we'll leave them there.&quot; SHOULD SAY........

&quot;is for the kids to take their old sneakers (not grubby, just not the newest pair) with us, and then we'll leave them there.&quot;

When we were children, my father made us pack our bags, and walk around the block with them. There were four of us children, all within 7 years of each other and he and my mother couldn't manage to watch us and handle the baggage at the same time.

Years later, I spent weekends with major donors to a foundation on an island in the Chesapeake Bay, with only a hunting lodge on it. I had to go against every packing instinct i had learned as a child, and take everything possible i might need for every contingency. Several summers of that changed my packing instincts.

Now, i am moving to the UK and getting rid of most everything that I own. I can take 2 pieces of luggage on the plane, and am shipping some things, but with the huge costs of that, I am really paring down. It goes against my very fibre to pack light for this trip.

Being in our 70s and not able to schlep tons of stuff, we tend to analyze what we do take with us. At least I do; the wife a little less so.

I'd guess about 1/3 of what we take is composed of medicines, &quot;just in case&quot; stuff, and hair fixings.

Now, dear friends, I wish someone would tell me how we can pare down all those &quot;hair fixings.&quot; Curling irons, goop, blower, etc. Married for 52 wonderful years, I don't want to start a domestic war, but getting rid of half that &quot;might-need&quot; stuff would be a great blessing.

USNR, maybe you could negotiate a settlement instead of start a war! See if you can convince the wife to leave half the &quot;might need&quot; stuff at home. If it turns out that she needs one of those might needs, she can always buy it there.

Dear USNR, I consider &quot;hair fixings&quot; an absolute must! I'll gladly leave out the extra pair of shoes to have my shampoo, conditioner, root volumizer, &quot;Plump and thick&quot; (courtesy of Nick Chavez) and hairspray with me at all times. Look for me in Europe, I'll be the one with the big hair and one pair of shoes!!!!!