Okay, this might not be my best, but I think it is a good one. It's a packing tip that my wife and I have employed for several years. Assumed - everyone has socks/undergarments that need replacing every year (constant washings wear them out - it's a fact of life). Save these socks/undergarments for your trip. Wear them once, throw them away. This will accomplish two things - (1) open up more room in your suitcase for things to bring back and (2) relieve you of having to pack dirty undergarments for the way back home. I'm sure that the airport inspectors would appreciate number 2.

Any other tips out there ??????

Yours is not a new tip as it is often suggested here, but still a good one.

However, make sure you dispose of the old underwear and socks discreetly, or you may find them all washed and ironed by the maid and returned to your room along with a bill. Trust me on this.

I went to Ireland a few years ago in the spring, so I was always wearing a jacket. I got rid of about 10 shirts, as well as various sets of underwear, socks, and even some pants that were getting ragged. My luggage weighed about 3 pounds coming home. In contrast my friend who bought a bunch of books ended up with about 60 pounds worth!

Hi joearena, know some people like to pack that way but personally I don't. But I have to admit it makes sense.

But the best travel tip I can give is pack half of what you think you will need and figure you will end up spending more then you think you will need to.

Go with the knowledge that probably you will have some bad weather (too hot and humid, rain whatever).

There will probably be at least one day when you will not feel exactly well. Don't be upset or dissapointed about it. Be gentle to yourself that day, rest more and eat light.

You will run into some grumps and rude people. Do not take it personal. All people in the world have problems of one kind or another and some people take it out on others. It is nothing personal.

And the best travel tip of all that I can offer is this, go and have a beautiful time and know the memories will be with you forever! Best wishes.

While this plan (nothing "original" here) may "relieve you of having to pack dirty undergarments for the way back home", I, personally believe this to be a positively ridiculous and inconsiderate idea - and burden on the staff where you're staying - to expect them to have to dispose of your tattered, dirty, undergarments and socks.

You think it's "a good one" to relieve yourself of same for packing space, yet dump dirty socks and underwear on others?

Patrick: As ever, you are quite brilliant. One can only hope that the OP is charged magnificently for his "good one"!

Another good one: "Those Americans!"

#1 tip: Go with an open mind.

Take half as much luggage as you initially pack and twice as much money!

My best tip is to use lots of thin plastic bags between all clothes. They will come out of the suitcase wrinkle free. I save the bags from the cleaners just for travel.

Hi, Joe!

Years ago, an excruciatingly well-organized cousin of mine used to follow the same course that you suggest, but on an even larger scale. She would pack her oldest clothes for a trip, and after wearing them would throw them away. She would come home with much lighter luggage.

I've never followed her example, because I'm too insecure to wear old clothes while abroad, and I'm also too cheap to miss out on the tax deduction of giving old clothes to charity. But I hadn't thought of limiting it to underthings--I need to give that a try.

Thank you for the tip, and thank you for writing something that made me think of my cousin, who's been gone for many years now.

<i>(Honey, what do you talk about on that fodors website, anyway?

Oh, how to throw away your dirty underwear as a travel tip.

Okay, okay. You don't have to tell me.)</i>

My best travel tip that eliminates the idea of wearing old underwear; Don't stay in hotels! I ALMOST always stay in apartments, and make sure they have a washer dryer. Not only can you pack lighter than you ever have, apartments are generally cheaper, always bigger, and have a kitchen for breakfast and drinks for the evening. When I leave for the day, I put a load of wash in, and flip it to the dryer when I return in the evening. On our trip to Edinburgh last week, we had an apartment in the shadow of the castle, that was as nice as a three star hotel. 100 pounds a night in August. The hotels were running 2-300. A no-brainer in my travel book.

How big could anyone's underwear possibly be that this could save a lot of room in a suitcase? I take undies that dry quickly and wash them.

I buy new socks specifically for vacations. One of my best travel tips is; buy new walking socks that protect
and cushion your feet.
The other is buy good shoes and start breaking them in as soon as possible.
But these are things that are discussed constantly, with good reason, on this board.

Ok, I love my underwear, and I adore staying in hotels. I have been known to throw away an old pair of undies or two, but that's only if old undies are available.

My best travel tip, or what serves me best the most of the time, is to really learn a lot about the places I'm going.

As the years go by, I take more and more time to learn about my destinations, and seem to have richer, fuller, more fun trips.

My best fantasy tip would be to get rich, so I could enjoy luxury hotels at all those destinations. And go more often.

Wear a clean pressed pair of khakis and a shirt that are both a bit thread bare on the cuffs. And toss them when you get there. You'll still be acceptably neat, but by the time you get jostled about--from hot to cold, place to place, shuttle to plane, for a dozen hours--you're ready to start fresh. Of course, be considerate and don't discard them where the hotel has to deal with them.

My best packing tip is also about underwear (sorry): Use a vinyl zipper pouch (like the kind a lot of women pack toiletries in) to isolate your &quot;used&quot; undies from your clean clothes. I don't like to wash things out in hotels, so this keeps the rest of my clothes smelling, as the commercials say &quot;fresh.&quot;

Ok, enough with the laundry already. Here's one on a different wavelength:

When you are traveling through airports, train stations, etc, do a piece count on your belongings. Suitcase, daypack, tote bag -- that would be 3. If you're carrying a coat or hat, they count, too. Don't move from one place to the next (e.g., the security screening to your departure gate) without doing a quick count to make sure you have everything.

we always check-in with ONE large duffle bag per person (mine has wheels), line it with another large duffle bag inside. then each of us has TWO check-ins on the way home.

works like a charm.

Marilyn, following your advice would have saved me almost four years of trying to replace the perfect leather coat, the one that I accidentally bequeathed to the Dublin airport.

But back to laundry

A long-sleeved silk T-shirt is great to have along during shoulder season or trips to Ireland, Scotland, etc. It packs down to nothing but it's warm under other clothes. It's so thin you barely feel it and no one will guess you've got it on under your clothes.

They're available lots of places, but I can vouch for the quality and price of the one I bought online from Cabela's (a hunting, fishing, outdoor store).

Stop obsessing about what to pack, what the weather will be like, where to stay, where and what to eat, what to visit, did you get the cheapest airfare, etc., etc. Just do it.

My best travel tip is to do your homework and plan your trip, down to making a somewhat detailed itinerary.

Like RS says...You don't have to do everything on the list, but at least that way you'll know what you're missing if you decide to blow it off.

Jules