Friday, June 28, 2024

100 Ways to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience # 12 If you can't tote it, don't pack it

 

My father had a simple philosophy on packing for travel, take half as much stuff, and twice as much money as you think you need.  I am not a backpack or carry on only traveler, at least not yet.  But I am finding that I pack less and less. Pack simple things that are mixable and layerable.  Who cares if you wear the same thing more than once.  Reduce the friferie.  

But what do you  do when the adventure is a long one, like the nearly five week trip we took this spring?  You do laundry along the way.  We had a bag of laundry done on the ship, a simple wash and fold service was $35 for about a weeks worth of fresh clothes.  Was it perfect, no, but it was fine.  The Gite we rented had a washing machine and dryer (a rare find in Europe.) We did a couple of weeks worth of laundry, enough to more than get us home.  In the USA, many hotels have self service laundry facilities (look at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn.)  One of the fun experiences on our adventure in Germany back in 2015 was finding a self serve laundromat in Frederikshavn Germany, and doing a couple of large loads of laundry (Sweetie Bear was in the road three weeks on that trip.) 

The next time you return from a trip, look at what comes out of the bags that has not been worn, and remember to pack less the next time.  


18 comments:

  1. You sound like me. I get all the clothes I want to take, lay them out, and make outfits, then start editing them out. What's left is things I can mix and match to get more outfits but taking less.

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    1. I count, toss in the bag and figure out what to wear on the fly.

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    1. The bags on this last trip were heavy.

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  3. It makes it easier to travel and easier to get ready each day, the less you pack. We have always tried to travel light and when we succeed it makes things smoother.

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    1. The trains were really challenging with heavy bags

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  4. I pack less and less too. It makes lugging the suitcase so much easier!

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    1. Who cares what I look like when I am that far away from home?

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  5. This is a lesson I learned many years ago. My past three trips to Europe have been with one carry-on suitcase and one tote. It makes travel much easier.

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    1. Coming back, I checked my roll aboard, I had two free checked bags, it made getting on and off the plane so much easier.

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  6. I usually use a carry-on if I have to fly somewhere but of course, your trip was too long for that. I have a friend who uses that plastic packaging where you suck the air out using your vacuum to compress it tightly and she can fit so much into her bag.

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    1. Weight is a factor for me. I need to pack lighter so I can lift the bags as needed.

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  7. Excellent advice! I'm getting better about packing less.

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    1. I have a dear friend who always checks two bags, one for shoes.

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  8. Excellent advice, which we followed on our European tour back in '85.

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    1. I promise to do better next year.

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  9. I am and never was good a 'packing light' - the hardest is having enough undergarments and giving up the notion of 'not wearing the same Spo-shirt two days in a row"

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    1. I had 22 days of undies and socks on the trip this year. Not wearing t-shirts saves a lot of space.

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