Top tips for packing less to travel lighter and more functionally, and get through airport security with minimal fuss, from a travel pro who ignores her own rules. Me.
First of all, do as I say, not as I do, because what I do is pack too much. Every time. For decades. Doesn't matter whether it is a cruise to the Caribbean or a ski trip to Chile -- both of which have been on my travel calendar this year. Evelyn the Professional Traveller, who knows better, still packs like a beginner.
Once upon a time I travelled through Europe with a backpack and a smile. That was then. This is now, and I overpack, and the weight of the bag sometimes prevents me from smiling.
The number one rule is that bags get heavier each day. Must be the dirt and sweat that gets into what you wear as you travel, making bags heavier.
Number two rule is that, besides heavier, even if you don't buy anything en route, you cannot fit everything back into the duffel or suitcase in the same way you did yesterday. Must be the dirt and sweat that gets into your clothes, making those t-shirts and sweaters thicker, along with heavier.
I know the rules -- I write about the rules -- but I ignore them. Silly me, because after years of ignoring my own advice, I have back problems from schlepping and lifting onto trains and airplane overheads and into car trunks and off airport baggage carousels.
So, never mind the advice I give you that I ignore myself. Here is advice that I do not ignore --
Keep a travel toiletry bag packed and ready to go. That minimizes the chaotic time just before a trip when you are grabbing things like toothpaste, shaving cream, hair mousse and a nail clipper from wherever you keep them in the bathroom. And maybe forgetting something important.
I keep spares of everything, ready to go, in a travel kit. Ditto mascara and lipstick., which is not something you guys have to worry about. Or, maybe I'm wrong about that, too.
When I return from a trip, I replace anything that needs to be replaced, on the theory that I'll remember when I get home that I ran out of tooth flossing string or Motrin during the trip, but will have completely forgotten by the time I'm packing for the next trip.
Obsessive me -- the same one who packs too many t-shirts in the summer and too many fleeces in the winter -- has a second travel kit already packed with anything and everything I might need for a medical emergency, including band-aids, antisceptic towelettes, dramamine for seasickness, Rolaids or Tums for late night dinners and morning afters, and aloe vera for too much sun (the SPF 30 is in the other toiletry kit).
Since my pre-packed toiletry kit already contains teeny tiny bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion, those get removed and left behind on the bedroom dresser if I am headed for a spiffy hotel or resort where I know I will like -- and perhaps abscond with -- the teeny tiny bottles they provide.
I also have a pre-packed bag -- size and shape and see-through-ness that makes the TSA security mavens smile, or at least not growl -- that contains a toothbrush and paste for those fuzzy-making overnight flights, plus teeny tiny headphones, eyemask and ear plugs.
What are your packing secrets? Or packing disasters?
