Being the chronic over-packer, think the hardest is when you have multiple needs on a vacation: dressy dinner in a city & the next week hiking out in the country. But you can't go wrong on high-performance, wicking, quick-drying new fabrics-- leave the thick cottons at home-- if wet they take days to dry. Also, pick solely either a black wardrobe picking up silver accessories, or brown wardrobe with gold accessories. Khaki & jeans work with both combos. But taking old clothes? Not where I go....

Aliced - are you my Grandmother incarnated? :-d

She was very particular that you only wear gold with brown and silver with black.

I'm a bit more casual with my colors. Rather than only bringing brown, I bring a mix of brown and olive. If you bring brown shoes, brown and olive bottoms and brown jacket/sweater, you can mix and match easily and still coordinate. Add in some tops in yellow, sage, bronze, etc. and you're set to go.

I do the same with dark blue and brown. By having bottoms in two coordinating colors, you don't look like you're wearing the same thing everyday (which if you are just bringing brown pants, you may look the same everyday).

blissc - I don't know about the chances of having the luggage lost or sidetracked, etc., but this is my logic if it helps:

For your carry-on:

1 bottom that is as basic as possible but will meet your special needs (for example, if you have a special dinner, a simple black skirt instead of a sequined piece).

1 top that is oriented to your special needs (for example, a sequined top).

1 pair shoes that is oriented to your special needs but can be worn at other times if needed (for example, a dressy pair of flats).

A couple undies, etc.

Then, wear clothing for the flight that will work for the majority of your trip.

Everything else goes in your checked bag. This can include the sequin skirt, heels, etc. that you really want to wear for the special need.

If the checked bag gets lost, etc., you will still be able to meet your special need. You might need to pick up a couple tops for everyday wear, but you'll have 2 pairs of shoes and 2 bottoms for the duration of the trip.

If the checked bag arrives with you, then you've got exactly what you want.

As always, I find these travel/ packing threads fascinating. Not only do I catch a glimpse into others' lives and world views, I can pick up a couple useful tips.

To chime in with my two cents: In reading through everyone's opinion, I am struck that where you are coming from vs. going to are also key considerations. Take me, for example. I live in Florida, where it's rarely cold enough to justify wearing those really cute cold weather clothes that nevertheless make it onto our sales pages and into our stores. We live for those days when we can comfortably wear jeans and long pants.

So, for vacation, we usually go somewhere cool. Last fall, we went to Banff; this spring, Alaska. My closet has plenty of clothes that I can only wear a couple of times a year - and that section seems to grow with every end-of-season clearance sale. They don't wear out, and I convince myself "that piece of clothing will be perfect for my next vacation, and it's 80% off/only a couple of bucks."

And that's what I pack. Part of my vacation paradise is wearing those special things that I can't use most of the year. This fall, we're going to Sedona for a week and then to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons for a week. A bit of a different climate, I'm looking forward to layering of course. And although we're not serious hikers, we do enjoy day hikes, so we take hiking boots and whatnot also.

Still, we each pack one roll-on bag and share one 24" suitcase between us -- mostly for the bulky stuff, like boots, gloves, the heaviest sweater or sweatshirt, etc. There's enough room in it for souvenirs. That's the suitcase we can usually leave in the car and fish stuff out when needed.

One last thing - undies. Years ago we went through some lean times, when we had to make do with very few spares. It's such a luxury to pack plenty of nice, non-worn undies. It's a real obsession with DH; he packs one pair for every day of the vacation!

It would be easier to come from a colder climate and vacation in Florida. Then I'd be looking forward to wearing less, not more. 8-)

This has been a very interesting and good thread to follow.

Regardless of what I travel in and with, nobody would ever mistake me for a Vogue model too short, rotund and middle aged.

I don't throw clothes away, and I don't travel with things that I would donate to charity. Exception to that was a trip to Ecuador where a packed a spare duffelbag with clothing to give away and left the whole thing in the village where I was staying.

I pack my favorite things that I wear at home, and feel comfortable in. I do laundry as needed and use inflatable hangers for shirts.
I also have a universal stopper and twisted clothesline.

Have had good and bad experiences with sending laundry out. In India my white tops came back grey, in Italy beautifully ironed and immaculate.

The idea of a zip lock bag sounds good, will definitively try it for my upcoming 2 months trip to Asia.

Since many of my trips are long 1+ month I usually check my luggage, mainly because of liquids, Leatherman,sewing needles, etc.

November_m's suggestion of packing some clothes in your carry on is excellent. Have never done that before.

My daughter's experience going to France a few months ago should also teach me. Her luggage was first delayed for 4 days, then while being transported through the country side by courier, the car was hijacked. The luggage never reached her.

Trains are notorious, in Europe at least, for their high steps So I try to keep my luggage as light as possible. If it is not, I ask for help.

Thank you for this great suggestion as I have always brought a rather large universal plug for the sink -- this is easier and I will get a large ziplock for my next trip.

I like you travel with just a "carryon", jetson clothes (ones I haven't worn for several years and probably won't as they may not be age appropriate) but always have new underwear (my Mother always said to be sure you had nice underwear as you never know when you would have an accident and someone else would see them).

Thanks again.

on safari we travel with very little as camps do the laundry!
for city breaks i travel with a HUGE suitcase - to cover ANY circumstance....

div

When the climate is warmer, it is much easier to travel light. I find it almost impossible to pack light for a cold weather vacation. I also find taking sample packets of shampoo, hair conditioner, and lotions lighten my load by not having to carry the empty bottle around. I buy these at beauty supply stores. I have many tiny jars that lend themselves to various purposes. I have not found many of them to be 100% "leak proof". Any ideas?

I always make my own travel size shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, etc. I bought the bottles (1 and 2 oz. sizes) from a natural remedies store that sells bulk products. They are about 75-99 cents each.

I've never had any leaks.

In order to save money and the planet I bought bottles years ago at REI and have never had any problems with leaking.

If I don't like something in my closet or it can't be repaired, I'm not wearing it anywhere, certainly not on vacation.

I've had good luck with the bottles from REI as well. I have also had good luck with refilling travel-sized shampoo (and other) bottles that I get in the travel section at the drug store. Even if they don't have my brand (they never do), I buy a bottle of something in the size I want, pour out the contents and fill it with what I like. I've been using the same Aussie shampoo bottles refilled with my products for ages.

I have no problems packing light. My problem is that I can't resist shopping if I'm in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Bali, NYC, SFO etc

Cilla:

I do the same. I end up buying some clothes while traveling wherever I go. A great excuse for packing light is "Oh I have to go clothes shopping"

Great thread! Some really good ideas. I have a friend who shops at Thrift shops before going on holiday and then leaves things behind as she goes. She loves to shop and this allows her room.

I don't care for shopping and I find I have a hard time finding clothing I feel good in so I'm sure not giving away anything I find that works for me.

when packing light (if you only take a carry on for example) how many days do people wear things before washing them? realize it depends on the climate.

also does it mean you need to take mostly synthetic fabric items so they dry faster?

My "packing light" trick is to pack pants and shirts that don't show wear very much, and to pack a ton of unders and socks. It never fails that anytime I've tried to do laundry in my sink, it's not dry enough to pack the next morning. Depending on activities and location, pants can be worn a few times, shirts usually twice, and I'm a little OCD about not rewearing socks, bras or undies. Undies are light, pack more of them, and buy cheap pairs that can be thrown out if you need more space as the trip winds down.

No matter where I'm going, I won't take more than a day pack and one bag (carryon size or 24" depending on the trip).

" It never fails that anytime I've tried to do laundry in my sink, it's not dry enough to pack the next morning. " - aside from socks (won't go without my Thorlos) I don't travel with clothes that won't drip-dry successfully. In fact, I "audition" them before they get to go. But I take one evening outfit, and wash my day clothes before I go out to dinner.

Socks and undies only go one day, outer clothes it varies - tops might go one or two, pants a bit longer. I usually wash every other night.

I don't like doing laundry while on vacation, so I usually take enough pants to wear 3-4 times, tops to wear 2-3 times (2 for tanks, 3 for overshirts). I bring enough undies and socks for the trip.

I bring basic clothing in mid to dark colors so they don't show dirt - never white (not that I own anything white). If I spill, etc. then I will usually spot clean as needed. If I fall in a puddle, then I'll actually wash. :-d

I do a lot of mix and match - all tops go with all pants. My main trick there is that instead of bringing all black (or brown) pants, I bring brown and olive or brown and navy or navy and olive, etc. Then I bring tops that coordinate with both colors (yellow, sage, coral, etc.). This way, I don't look like I'm always wearing the same black pants and red t-shirt.

toedtoes - I guess you take fairly short trips? I usually go for at least four weeks, sometimes quite a bit longer, so your plan just wouldn't work for me.

about tossing out clothes on a trip.

I've done that.
I have a lot of clothes.

So on long trips (such as one trip of 101 days, another of 66 days), I took a reasonable number of mix/match items in navy, black, tan, and white. Also two nice jackets, and a number of colorful scarves. It was sort of fun to mix/match, put together different outfits with what I had packed.

About 3/4 way through some trips, I was craving some different clothes, though...

But then I remembered all the things that were at home in my many closets. So I just mixed and matched some more.

By the end of the trip, I was seriously TIRED OF those clothes, so I donated or trashed all the pants and tops except for the one to wear home with one of my jackets and a colorful scarf.

All that was left to pack (clothing wise) was the other jacket, and the scarves.

Underwear? I always pack the still quite nice, but not brand new stuff, and have brand new waiting for me when I return home. After a trip of three weeks or more, the 'not new' stuff can be tossed with minimal regret!

I have also shipped home items that I bought that were too bulky or heavy to carry home. I have used some of the clothing as packing material. Less for me to pack.

Some fellow travelers on a three month trip by ship asked me on final packing day if I knew where they could get some packing material to protect several beer glasses they'd collected along the way. I told them what I do: fill the glass with socks or scarves, and wrap with a sweatshirt or beach towel, then pack it among your other items in the suitcase. Why ADD more stuff by using bubble wrap or other packing material. Use the things you have to pack anyway as your protection for small breakable items.

In moderate climates we wear pants, shorts, and skirts at least a couple times before washing them, sometimes 3 or 4 times. Tops I generally wear 2-3 times. My husband wears clean shirts everyday. Socks and underwear only one wearing.

In hot climates we only get one use out of each item before it needs to be washed. Fortunately clothing for hot climates packs smaller to we can bring more - LOL.

I hand wash bras and undies, send the rest of the dirty clothes out to be washed. It is an expense, but one that I think is worth it - enables us to pack light and we don't spend our vacation time doing laundry.

Our longest trip was 2.5 weeks (I am way jealous of those of you who can get away for longer by the way ;) ). If we could get away for longer, I'd probably find a laudromat and do our own laundry since sending laundry out can get pricey.

The only negative thing about doing laundry on the road is looking at the pictures - oh, I'm wearing the same striped shirt again? On how many pictures? :))

Depends where you're traveling. Sending out laundry (dropping off for 1-day service actually) is extremely inexpensive in Mexico for example.

Thursdaysd - most of my trips are at about 21 days, so it works well.

For longer trips, I will figure in a 1/2 day mid-trip for a "laundry day" to stop at a laundromat, etc. Since I don't bring clothing that will color bleed, I can throw most things into one load and be done within a couple hours including drying time. Then I just start over with the clothes.

- Pack for 7 days max (8 in a pinch), even if your trip is longer
- Never bring more luggage, including camera bags, backpacks, etc., than you can and are willing to carry up 3 flights of stairs (all at once)
- If your trip is for more than a few days, pack limited toiletries (i.e. only for day one) and purchase supplies once at your destination. Toss leftover items before returning home so you don’t have to pack them.
- If you are checking luggage, always pack at least one complete change of clothes in a carry-on. Even on direct flights luggage can and does get lost.
- Schedule laundry into your itinerary (once every 6-8 days…see packing above). For that 6th or 7th night, book into a hotel that offers a guest laundry or track down a self-service laundromat near your hotel as part of trip planning. With the exception of Venice, Italy, I can’t recall a city or town of most any size that doesn’t have a laundromat. No one likes doing laundry, especially on vacation, but the reality is you can usually wash and dry everything in under two hours. And in many places, the attendant at the laundromat will do it all for you, at little or no extra cost, while you are out site-seeing or dining so you don’t really lose much time. Washing anything other than socks in a sink is a non-starter.

Faina - I have the "Wore all over Europe" dress..it is a joke in my family and it is in SO many photos from our trip to Europe in 07.

When I wear the dress at home my family cracks jokes all the time"Oh is that the dress you wore ALL over Europe???" :-d

a solution to "you in the same shirt or dress in every picture". is to take a picture of the scenery, the statue, whatever without you standing in front of it! as long as you are in some of the pics.

still might be the same shirt of course.

When I pick tops to take, I make sure each one is a different style and/or color. That way, I'm not obviously in the same outfit everytime.

For instance, my last trip, I brought a dusty blue 3/4 sleeve top, a coral tank & matching button down, an olive tank & matching sweater, and an olive striped sleeveless. By rotating them with the 3 pants I took (1 dark blue, 1 steel blue, 1 dark brown), I was able to wear 12 completely different outfits that are mix-and-match.

One of the first things to go into my luggage is an expandable elastic clothesline. In fact, I take two. These things can, with a bit of imagination, be hooked up in any accommodation and they are great for drying socks, undies, shirts, etc, overnight -- and you don't need pegs with them.

"One of the first things to go into my luggage is an expandable elastic clothesline."

Kiwi, I pack expandable elastic waistline :)) Skirts and pants.

We learned to "pack light" last Sept. when our checked bags went astray for 3 weeks.

MDH was very happy that I'm a stickler for packing a good carry-on. That, and the fact that we had a washer in our Paris apt. for the first 2 wks. helped us adjust easily. With everything clean, we moved on to the Loire and didn't look back.

Our bags arrived at home 3 days after we returned.

This wasn't bad because we received a large voucher toward our airfare for this Sept. and it taught us that we can survive easily on less.

I do love you idea for a portable washing machine!

TPAYT-

I think a well learned lesson is when you have to survive on less clothing and voila! miraculously one can. Unfortunately, losing baggage is a bad way to learn it, but now you know for next time.

I purposely don't buy clothing I may need for many months before a trip and then shop during my travels to pick up some unique wardrobe pieces, even if it is just a t-shirt, dress or scarf.

I go thru each day of the trip in my mind and think of what I will wear. I will mix and match. Often I will wear the same outfit on the plane TO and FROM. I'll pick a foundation color - black, often - and take only black shoes, black purse. Then I will add one or two shirts "just to be sure". If I'm going somewhere for 5 days, I'll wear one pair of jeans and take 2 more pants - one jeans and one slacks. Only once did I not have the right clothes - but the weather changed drastically.

Great thread!

Oh boy Toedtoes, no I'm not your grandmother incarcerated, but the gold w/ browns and silver w/blacks is a basis on which to build and eliminate accessories and clothing that doesnt coordinate. I always travel w/ khaki and jeans plus either the 'black' family including gray, or 'brown' family including olive, etc. I am a stylist/shopper by profession -- "I get it" ok. But I couldnt agree with you more on the nixing old clothes. Really. Not for nothing, you come home with your 300 pictures with yourself in your soon-to-be garbage clothes. Must say, American women have to learn alot about dressing well (not that I'm not one of them....)too much sloppiness seen. When we lived in Houston for 3 yrs out of NYC area, the well-dressed woman young and old was so overwhelmingly apparent, I vowed never to go out to the grocery store as a slob again, it's about grooming, not worrying about others' opinion.

One can be well groomed and be wearing work-out clothes. Southern Californians are not big "dresser-uppers" for daytime in this climate, but we are well groomed in our matching hoodies and yoga pants. I think it really depends on your lifestyle and age. Color co-ordinated "dress up clothes" for the day time would be rather hilarious in my circles.

Lolly - your posts suggests that it's either "work out wear" or "dress up clothes" and that "dress up clothes" are not appropriate for daytime wear in your region. Whatever happened to "casual clothes"?

Jeans, khakis, capris, cotton skirts, etc. are certainly not "dress up clothes", they are casual wear. To me, wearing work out wear outside of the gym on a regular basis is more of a fad and image statement than an "acceptable dress code" - and I live in an area where it's common wear.

In response to a post above, Venice does have self-service laundromats. I have used this one:
Speedy Wash, Rio Terrà San Leonardo Cannaregio 1520

Turns out, packing light has a benefit I didn't expect. The riad I picked in Marrakesh, the Dar Silsila, fell so far short of my expectations that I decided to check out after one night, only to be physically prevented from leaving! A staff member locked the only door and stood in front of it! Eventually she had to open the door for other guests, and I was able to escape, but only because I was wearing my luggage.

I pack light. I don't take clothes that I'd worry about losing/wrecking. And while I probably wouldn't get singled out for my stunningly fashionista attire, I look just fine --- mostly because when I'm traveling, I'm so freaking happy, I tend to smile a lot. Smiling has always been my best (and most universally functional) accessory. B-)