There's an old adage that when you travel you should pack half as much as you need but double the amount of money. After traveling around the world twice, I couldn't agree with that statement more. It's important to pack light on your trip. Packing light helps you avoid fees on airlines, saves space, and gives you less stuff to carry, and allows you more freedom.
When we travel, we plan too much. We typically bring lots of clothes and stuff because we think you never know what might occur. So we leave for a two week holiday with a suitcase packed with half our clothes. However, the trick to travel is packing light. We often go on holiday and only end up using half of what we bring, upset we bring so much in the first place.
I never have more than one bag when I travel. In fact, all of my belonging can fit into one tiny day pack and a bigger sized backpack. That's it. I often find I end up with too much stuff and get rid of some of the stuff I have picked up on the road. Packing light isn't hard. Lots of people ask me how to do it. Here are tips on how you can reduce what you pack:
For starters, make a list of everything you might think you need for your trip. No matter what it may be. This list will be very long. That's O.K., we will get it down but the important thing is to visually see what you think you may need on a trip. Often, we just start putting stuff in a suitcase never really thinking about what it is we are taking.
Next, look at your list and think about it in relation to your destination. If you are going to the beach, do you really need pants or jeans? If you are going to Rome when it is warm, do you really need to pack long sleeve shirts?
You should have cut down your list now. Lets move on to your toiletry list. In this age of over caution and hyper-cleanliness, people pack every medicine because they are afraid of any dirt or germ. But no one ever really uses them. If you are going on safari, pack lots of medicine but if you are just going to London, you don't really need to pack much medicine. If you get sick, you can get it there.
What about the non-medical supplies your packing? Soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, razor, and shaving cream is all you need. If you are staying at a hotel, you don't even need soap or shampoo since it is provided for you. You're going on holiday, not to a corporate function so ditch the cosmetics and facial products.
Now, think about your packing list. What can you buy there if you really need it? Probably lots. Get rid of the bug spray, the suntan lotion, and whatever else you are packing. You can't take it on the plane anyways.
Thee final step is to just cut out another half of your list- the stuff we didn't cut. You are holiday, relaxing and your clothes won't get that dirty unless you spill something on them or sweat a lot. Take half as many clothes. You can wear them for more than one day. Most people do anyways. If you are just sitting in the sun, you won't even be wearing a shirt. Juts get rid of it- you never wear it anyways.
That is the secret to packing light when you travel- cut, cut, and cut some more. Most people just throw things in a bag but you must be organized if you are to know where you can cut because you need to know what you are taking and what you will need. Be realistic about packing and don't be tied to what ifs. Anything can happen on the road and if you have an emergency, you can simply buy what you need. - 16887
When we travel, we plan too much. We typically bring lots of clothes and stuff because we think you never know what might occur. So we leave for a two week holiday with a suitcase packed with half our clothes. However, the trick to travel is packing light. We often go on holiday and only end up using half of what we bring, upset we bring so much in the first place.
I never have more than one bag when I travel. In fact, all of my belonging can fit into one tiny day pack and a bigger sized backpack. That's it. I often find I end up with too much stuff and get rid of some of the stuff I have picked up on the road. Packing light isn't hard. Lots of people ask me how to do it. Here are tips on how you can reduce what you pack:
For starters, make a list of everything you might think you need for your trip. No matter what it may be. This list will be very long. That's O.K., we will get it down but the important thing is to visually see what you think you may need on a trip. Often, we just start putting stuff in a suitcase never really thinking about what it is we are taking.
Next, look at your list and think about it in relation to your destination. If you are going to the beach, do you really need pants or jeans? If you are going to Rome when it is warm, do you really need to pack long sleeve shirts?
You should have cut down your list now. Lets move on to your toiletry list. In this age of over caution and hyper-cleanliness, people pack every medicine because they are afraid of any dirt or germ. But no one ever really uses them. If you are going on safari, pack lots of medicine but if you are just going to London, you don't really need to pack much medicine. If you get sick, you can get it there.
What about the non-medical supplies your packing? Soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, razor, and shaving cream is all you need. If you are staying at a hotel, you don't even need soap or shampoo since it is provided for you. You're going on holiday, not to a corporate function so ditch the cosmetics and facial products.
Now, think about your packing list. What can you buy there if you really need it? Probably lots. Get rid of the bug spray, the suntan lotion, and whatever else you are packing. You can't take it on the plane anyways.
Thee final step is to just cut out another half of your list- the stuff we didn't cut. You are holiday, relaxing and your clothes won't get that dirty unless you spill something on them or sweat a lot. Take half as many clothes. You can wear them for more than one day. Most people do anyways. If you are just sitting in the sun, you won't even be wearing a shirt. Juts get rid of it- you never wear it anyways.
That is the secret to packing light when you travel- cut, cut, and cut some more. Most people just throw things in a bag but you must be organized if you are to know where you can cut because you need to know what you are taking and what you will need. Be realistic about packing and don't be tied to what ifs. Anything can happen on the road and if you have an emergency, you can simply buy what you need. - 16887
About the Author:
Matt is a lifelong backpacker who has spent many years traveling around the world and has written for a lot of travel publications. For more information, visit his site about how to travel.
No comments:
Post a Comment