"Traveling Light"
 

I thought members of this forum might be amused by the advice given by a travel writer in yesterday's newspaper.

A woman asked about how to pack light for a ten day, train-based tour.

The advice, roughly:

5 pairs of trousers
10 tops
3 jackets, one of them heavy
a cardigan or two and a pashmina
a raincoat
3 pairs of shoes, one of them hiking boots
underwear
sleepwear

She does not , however, need a cocktail dress!

I can see some members of this and other Fodor's forums going into cardiac arrest reading this column! I am not a one-bag guy, but even I felt this was pretty excessive. Maybe she could carry this in a steamer trunk! So when we get questions about what to pack, remember that some of the advice people are getting is a long way from what we would give!

We are 22 in rollaway travellers, and do 2 weeks w/1 bag. Even our best packing attempt couldnt hope to get those in.

Sounds like my husbands packing list, well except for the pashmina of course. :)
He puts his clothes ready. I remove something over half of them and pack the rest quick before he sees.;)

We are not one bag/carry on travellers but we manage with a lot less than on that list.

It all depends on the SIZE of those shoes!!!

I found the list from this website refreshing http://www.waltzballs.org/vienna.html (scroll about halfway down): "...One skirt, one pair pants, one dress, 5 tops, 2 or 3 ballgowns, ...."

Dang it, who let my mother give packing advice?!?

Looks like the opposite of light packing to me, for only 10 days. We don't use very many steam engines in Europe anymore, so it is not necessary to change clothes as often as 75 years ago, since they don't get as sooty as in the old days. Authentic light packers have several items that can be washed and dried overnight with the help of a hotel sink or shower and a friendly radiator.

What newspaper? We should all write in and put that travel writer to shame.

Aaagh. That's me, that's me!! See my question today about packing for 7+ days.
I totally admit, I'm a chronic over packer. I'm heading to Paris this May and I'm trying to figure out how I am going to make it with only 3 pairs of shoes (this is down from 7 pairs originally planned).
I can't imagine touring all day through Paris and then wearing the same clothes to dinner. Sorry after a shower I need fresh clothes. The only thing I could get rid off on that list is probably the raincoat.

So far for me, I've got 8 days in Paris at 2 outfits a day, So the bare minimum I think I need is 7 pairs of pants, 2 skirts or dresses and 7 tops. 2 sweaters, 1 pashima and 1 bare of sneakers, 3 pairs of shoes (1 basic black flat, 1 basic black heels and 1 pair jazzy heels) plus undies.

eliza61, OMG!

Jeez, some people are really hopeless. The problem is in your mind, not in the eyes of all the people who won't even give you a passing glance.

Eliza, why do you need two outfits per day? Do you have really bad BO? :)

Well - that sounds like a winter trip - when you do need to take more. But IMHO - I always take more than that - but not the heavy jacket or the hiking boots. It wil fit easily in a 25 or 26" rolling bag - which can easily be ahdnld by any cab driver or hotel bellman. We do not usualy travel by train - but when we do we go first class and have never had trouble finding room for luggage.

I'm not sure of the benefit of having to wear the same clothes again and again - or paying a lot or wasting valuable time yourelf doing laundry - just to avoid checking a bag.

Oh - and I do take 2 or perhaps 3 nice going out to dinner outfits (we often do) and matching shoes. No reason to dress way down in europe when you don;t at home.

For our last few trips to Europe, each of which was 10 days or 2 weeks, my huband and I each took only a carry-on bag, which holds 4 days worth of clothes. We wear everything twice (except underwear/socks) and do laundry once a week. Coming home, the dirty clothes are used to wrap bottles of wine, etc. It's very liberating to travel so lightly and as kerouac said no one gives us a passing glance, so what we are wearing is of little importance.

I completely admit, I need treatment yes Kerouac I am hopeless. LOL. Iowa, I think it's just a habit from traveling in the summer in the states. Generally on vacations in the summer I would go out during the day say sightseeing and then return to my hotel mid afternoon/early evening and shower and change.
If I spend the day in Washington DC walking and touring, no way would I go to dinner in the same outfit.
I am searching for light weight skirts that I can maybe get 2 wears out of.
I'm planning on checking 1 22 inch bag and having a carryon.

You can definitely make it work eliza. Remember that if you're just planning on going out to dinner that you're not likely to get stinky and can easily wear a skirt or pants multiple times. One trick I've used when traveling is to wash/rinse the waistband of pants in the sink at night and then let them hang dry over night. It's easier and faster than washing the whole pair and it gets the part that has potential to pick up the most sweat clean'ish. I leave them hanging overnight and the next day and they've always been dry well before I wanted them.

You're not hopeless, and if you want to go with just a 22" roller and a carryon bag you can definitely make that work. :)

eliza61, changing for dinner certainly does not preclude traveling carry-on only. Like you, I like to change for dinner but I find that 1 or 2 skirts and a couple of lightweight dressy tops that can be mixed and matched are sufficient. Because you are usually only wearing them for a couple of hours while you go out to dinner, they stay quite clean but you can always rinse out the tops if necessary.

eliza61, are you my in-law? Last summer we had some family visiting and one person brought 2 suitcases. One 26inch and the other a 22. They were only staying for a long weekend.

Like Iowa_Redhead, I wash only the top part of my pants and wear "lightdays" to keep things fresh.

On our first adult trip to the UK with our school age children many years ago, we each had a daypack for our regular clothes, toiletries, etc. and a joint hanging garment sleeve for all of our dress clothes. We changed into these clothes at night for dinner and for church on Sunday, so in a week they got 7-10 hours of use and were relly pretty fresh even by the time we took our weekly trip to the laundromat.

I find it so refreshing to go out in casual clothes when I travel that I have completely given up dressing up at home as well. Nice going out to dinner outfits and matching shoes? Not since the last millenium.

And I can't be the only one- I never feel out of place, most people are dressed casually wherever I go.

I consider packing light to be a 19" carryon rollie and a 22 inch checked rollie. You can get a lot in there. 5 pairs of trousers and ten tops for only 10 days seems excessive though - and three coats? Three pairs of shoes aren't, though. If you are taking hiking boots, you need two other pairs of regular shoes.

I pack with the thought in the back of my head that "I might get caught out in the rain some time" and I better take an extra pair of shoes, pants, etc - just in case they need to spend a day drying.

I'm also going to Paris in May, for 8 days. I'm thinking two pairs of pants, two skirts, 5 tops, a cardigan or two, scarves(!) (oh, how i love scarves), something waterproof, and under garments. Oh, and two pairs of shoes.

I am dead-set one only traveling with a carry-on, so I'll cut these back if I need to.

Eliza, you can do it too! I think having undershirts is key to keeping the tops feeling fresh.

Our starting point is one outfit to wear, one to wash, and one to dry. That gets slightly adjusted up or down depending on destination, diversity of planned activities, and trip length.

Our 22 inch bag is half empty on departure, leaving room for purchases.

The system works for us.

I usually take multiple pairs of shoes - last summer for a 2 weeks trip I had ballet flats, loafers, regular sandals, and hiking sandals. But then I wear size 5, so I can get away with it.

My girlfriend who lives in Europe "airs out" her clothes. She rarely washes them (outer garments). I follow her lead.

After a day of touring Paris, I also would want a shower and fresh undies, but could easily put on my clothes from the day before, or some mix & match combo. I don't need a full frseh outfit of actual clean clothes to feel good. I do travel with 3-4 pair of shoes. Because if something goes wrong with your feet/footwear that can really ruin a trip!

Rainy day and suze-

You are my kind of travel mates. I carry-on. Undies and turtlenecks can be hand washed, and mix & match and pretty scarves can go a long way. When I have made a mess of something, every neighborhood has a dry cleaner. You'd send it to be cleaned at home, why not on vaca? Wear the heavier shoes on the plane and stuff your jacket pockets.