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?

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.

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.