First trip to Ireland toward end of year but in all my other travels have found that I always bring less and less. Our plan is to each have a carryon size wheeled backpack plus he'll have the camera and I'll have a large daypack/purse all for 13 days.
As we will be mostly B&B plus Hostel, a ton of driving and only one nite for Castle banquet that I have to find out about dress...anything that says "toss" will be thrown away before we head back to make room for souveniers.I haven't tested it out yet on overseas travel and might have to add an extra item or two, but this about covers it. If we have to do a load of laundry while we have a pint in a pub...so be it, just part of the whole experience!

Pack 2 pr. old jeans (toss),maybe 1 pr black pants (if room),7 pr. underware (toss),5 pr. socks (toss),1 xtra bra,
1 thermal set (poss. silk for ez rinse),
2 turtlenecks,1 not bulky sweater,
1 tee (toss), 1 top (tossable),1 denim shirt,1 fleece pullover,1 crushable hat/gloves,1 turbo towel,4 washcloth
black shoes(stuffed w/ something above)
frebreeze & antiseptic wipes
goop & hairspray (short hair)
share soap,shampoo, paste, deoderant
a couple of "girly" essentials
rinsing soap,nylon cord, sink plug
digital timer for alarm, clip on flashlight, flipflops

Purse: travel info, torn trvl books,map book, 3x4 journal, palm pilot, postcards and pics, scarf, energy bars, phone card,bottle water for plane, earphone, cards, book, wear hiking boots on plane (unfortunate necessity), carry fleece/nylon rain jacket(use as pillow when rolled inside the small pillowcase in the pocket).

As for the bidet...yuck...the antiseptic wipes are for the sink before I use it...I don't want to imagine soaking anything in the other!

I usually agree about the wheels on backpack but for a short time in narrow isles or stairs slinging it on your shoulder works, but I would not want to hike a mile there and back that way!

I think that I must be missing something when I read that people are packing things to be tossed out after they wear them. Is it because they are "so cheap" that you can afford to do that? Which not having much money I cannot imagine that. Or is it because they are so old and ratty looking that you don't feel bad about tossing them. In that case why are you wearing them in public??

I definitely attempt to look nice when I travel in Europe. I am certainly not going to wear clothes so ratty or old that they are ready to be thrown out.

Often I am fortunately to stay with friends, so I see the same people many day, get invited to dinner parties in people's homes... so take a reasonable but generous amount of my best casual outfits.

When I am solo in a strange city I don't mind wearing only a couple outfits, but still I take good quality in good condition... simply wear the same things over and over and over.

Actually to clarify on the throwing clothes away...they are not ratty. I find that tossing a $12.00 costco 7 pack of panties better than another hour of wash and rinse. I also shop for bargains and as most of my time on this particular trip will be hiking and such rather than a dressier venue, tossing a $5.00 pr of Tommy Hilfiger jeans from the Nordstrom rack seems to be okay to me.

All in all, it really depends on what you are doing during vacation to decide which works, although I do believe after more info that I will have to squeeze in one nice pants and possibly upgrade the sweater for the banquet.

As for undies - since they seem to take up so much space in luggage: I've been told to check into Ex Officio underwear. Buy two - wear one, wash the other. Supposedly you could wear them a week without really needing to wash them, because of special antimicrobial something or other in them. (I do not plan to test this theory out.) They also supposedly dry within hours. Anyway: exoffico.com and search on "underwear."

I wash my undies with me under the shower. They touch nothing but my hands :)

I go commando.

Edward can you say too much information?

To be honest I think that packing light starts with buying clothing that fits well, is easy to combine and high in quality-then you can pack fewer things that are all going well together. But I will ever pack one more pair of shoes then necessairy and more then enough underwear.
So I have more place in my suitcase for shopping and books!

we're going to london for 10 days in september, and i plan to pack only my 19" carry-on rollie, and a (small) daypack. i'll wear my heaviest/bulkiest items on the plane, and pack the rest...everything will coordinate, and i'm packing layer-able things so i'll be prepared for whatever weather we encounter, but anything that doesn't fit in the carry-on doesn't go!

i'll be handwashing socks/underwear in the hotel sink, and if we have to spend a few hours at a laundromat at some point (as i'm sure we will), then so be it. the benefits of not having to worry about lost/re-routed luggage (it's happened to me too many times to count), and of being able to completely skip the luggage carousel, makes it worth it. besides, i actually like the challenge. :)

i've made and re-made my packing list several times already, and will be checking weather forecasts right before the trip for fine-tuning, but the rule still applies: if it doesn't fit in the carry-on, it doesn't go!

Lord, pixielily, what a clotheshound you are! Only 10 days and you'll be lugging around a 19 incher, PLUS a daypack, AND you'll be wearing a bunch of heavy clothes. Real TRAVELLERS as opposed to lowlife, sleezeball tourists travel LIGHT.

For a 10-day trip you should be able to pack everything in a plastic sandwich bag (a freezer bag is acceptable if you have a couple of small children with you) and the pockets of your slacks (black, of course). You don't need any shoes at all--after all our cave-dwelling ancestors did without shoes for thousands of years. Rabbit pelts wrapped around your feet will do fine.

Anything more and EVERYONE on the plane and in Europe will know that you are a loud AMERICAN who probably likes EURODISNEY, ROTHENBURG, NEUSCHWANSTEIN, and GONDOLA RIDES!!!

Nothing brings out a fish story like a good rousing 'packing light' go 'round on Fodors.

gosh, rufus...everyone's already going to know i'm a LOUD AMERICAN, what with me wearing my stars & stripes baseball cap, my dayglo fannypack, and my red/white/blue tee shirt that says "USA: THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!"

come to think of it, i guess that's all ANY of us need when travelling abroad; you're right...i'll ditch the suitcase, cram a baggie full of "necessities" into my fannypack, and set off to explore england unencumbered!

I am just topping this up because I did a search on "suitcase size" and this thread has me laughing with tears in my eyes.

I agree! Great post!

Last year we traveled to London and Scotland for two and a half weeks. We each had a large 26/29-inch suitcase and a small over the shoulder tote. We had a variety of travel - city, hiking, possible rain and cold. We were lucky - the weather was amazing in both London and Scotland and so we never wore our fleece or sweaters. Raincoats only one day in Scotland.

But - Not again - I hope. They were very heavy....

This year we are going to Paris for 10 days. We are trying for a 22-inch suitcase each with a backpack or tote. It should be easier to pack for a 10-day city vacation.

Last year I bought the "travel" clothing for myself for London. It was easy to wash out and never creases. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't "breathe" like cotton. Any other ideas? I love linen, but it does crease. Anyone travel with linen clothing?

A very basic question after reading all the posts! what dimension are we talking about when we say the ideal is 22" or 24" or 26" suitcase????is it the length or breadth or height of the suitcase. and what is the full dimension of a 22" suitcase (lxbxh)

The 20-something is referring to the measurement of longest length i.e., when the suitcase is laying down on its side. The depth and width can vary.

For instance I have one 22"er that is small only about 5" deep, but another technically 22"er that is a good 8" deep.

We usually go away for only 2 weeks at a time and travel around a lot. If we went for a month and stayed in one place most of the time it would be different--there's not as much need to pack efficiently.
One trick to packing light--when you choose your clothes, stick with as few colors as possible, e.g., tan, white, black, blue, so that everything matches everything else. That way you don't have to agonize about color coordination. We travel cheap, and you really appreciate the small, light suitcase when you have to haul it up the stairs in a building with no elevator or up those narrow steps into trains.
Also, I've found I really only need one sweater (black) and one lightweight raincoat (black or tan). I bring detergent in a ziploc bag and wash out undies, socks, etc every night so I don't have to waste time looking for a laundromat. One pair of comfortable walking shoes and one spare. Never bring a hair dryer--just wash and go hair that dries naturally. Don't need robe and slippers.
I want to spend as little time as possible fussing over my wardrobe and as much time as possible out and about enjoying the sights.

As above *except* I think a silk robe or something specific to sleep in is nice. Because I wear my clothes over and over (and over again) when traveling it is worth the space in my suitcase to me to have one clean something for nighttime only (even if its a long t-shirt). A silk robe truly packs very small.

I think my wife and I have figured out the "packing light" thing. She has a 22 and I have a 26 and between us they are usually pretty loosly packed when we go to Europe except when we go in winter and a fleece takes up a lot of room. The rule is always, "you have to be able to carry your own so be easy on yourself."

Now we have a new problem. We are going on a cruise and we have to figure out how to "pack heavy". Formal nights on board mean formal clothes, simi formal nights mean another set of clothes, not to mention that we are going to Alaska and they say "bring hats, gloves, rain gear, binoculars, etc"

Anyone have a steamer trunk they can loan me for a week?