Pack Like a Pro

I am often baffled when I see people at the airport with an excessive amount of luggage. You know who you are...with two pieces of giant luggage, plus a carry on, and a tote/backpack. What do you have in there? How long are you staying? I have to admit some things are hard to pack, like puffy ski gear-but you can still get it all in one bag.

For the past several years, I have packed in only a carry on bag, plus camera backpack (my purse fits into one of those bags). I started doing this after my luggage was lost in Rome. The lady we rented our apartment from pointed us to some shops where locals shop for clothes, but those are some skinny-ass jeans they wear over there. My sister and I had a change of clothes in our tote bags, but the guys were SOL. Fortunately our apartment had a washer, unfortunately the directions were in Italian. We did our best to figure it out, but the washer stopped halfway through and that was that. We rinsed them out in the tub and hung them to dry. But in the morning they were still damp and the guys had to iron/blow dry their jeans.

The airline never called us with our luggage, we even had family back in the states try to locate it with no luck When we went back to the airport to pick up our rental car a week later, we checked with customs, and found our luggage-which had been to 5 more cities than we had. Knowing that we could survive without all the stuff in our bags, we vowed never again to check bags unless absolutely necessary.

I have packed the following into one carry on bag:
10 days in Costa Rica, including two snorkels and masks
13 days in Argentina, which included a stay in a tropical rain forest and in freezing Patagonia
18 days in Italy, which included a wedding, so I had a bridesmaid dress (my sister had her wedding dress!)

How do you do it? Pack light and smart. Some tips:

• Go with a color scheme-either based in black, or neutrals. That way everything goes with everything else, and you have more outfit options with less clothes.
• Layer, layer, layer. This way you can span a wider range of temperatures with less clothes. 
• Keep shoes to a minimum. I bring 4 pairs (which is excessive, I know-but they fit in the carry-on)! A pair of heels to go out in, flats, flip flops to wear at the rental or beach, and either my trail runners or my bikers, which ever I think is more important to have.
• Roll or bundle wrap your clothes to to make best use of space (and prevent wrinkles).
• Stuff anything you can into shoes-socks, undies, chargers, anything that fits.
• If you have something bulky, make use of those space saving bags that you squeeze the air out of. You can find them online or at Bed Bath & Beyond.
• Keep liquids to a minimum. The TSA helps with that since they all have to fit in a zip lock bag now, but always keep in mind that liquids add weight, and almost everywhere in the world you can find shampoo.
• Use a packing list. Either make your own, or download one like this one from OneBag.com

I usually pack 3 tanks, 5 tops, 2 long sleeve shirts/sweaters, 1 jacket (or a rain coat depending on the trip), 2 pairs of jeans (I wear a 3rd on the plane), cargo pants, shorts, a casual jersey knit black dress, enough socks and undergarments for 5-6 days, plus the 4 shoes I mentioned earlier. I may actually travel with more photography stuff (It certainly is heavier). I switch to a small purse that I can shove into one of the other bags.

It all fits, I have never wished I had more stuff, and am glad I am not lugging around all the extra stuff!