Things You'll Need:
- A desire to travel light and a willingness to change your packing habits if necessary.
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Step 1
One way to travel light is to consider purchasing some clothing intended for travel. For instance, TravelSmith is a company that sells clothing and gear for people who travel frequently and who are eager to travel light. TravelSmith has a website (TravelSmith.com) and they also have a catalog if you prefer to shop by catalog. Their clothing is designed to be comfortable and interchangeable. That is, you can buy “mix and match” items from TravelSmith (and other similar retailers) in order to get several different travel outfits out of a relatively small number of garments. Clothing that is designed for travel also tends to pack well and fold up pretty tightly, so it takes up less room in your luggage. Travel clothing (such as the travel clothing designed by TravelSmith) is typically made from materials that do not wrinkle much at all, so you won’t have to worry about packing an iron or wasting your precious travel time on ironing your clothing.
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Step 2
When making an effot to travel light, consider getting some “travel size” versions of certain items, such as a small, travel size hair dryer. After all, a full sized hair dryer can take up quite a lot of space in your luggage. These items are not usually very expensive, and you can often buy them at discount stores or on sale to save even more money.
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Step 3
When your goal is to travel light, try not to pack too many pairs of shoes. Shoes tend to be something that people "over pack," so think long and hard about all of your potential “shoe needs” for your trip before you travel. Shoes, like the full sized hair dryers mentioned in step two, tend to take up a lot of precious packing space, which is the main reason why you want to limit the number of shoes that you pack.
Comments
ailin85 said
on 7/22/2009 I think the reason why people do not travel light is because they like to take "options" or "variety" of clothing during the trip. They do not really plan out their outfits -- that's what I do. Good article, however, I think the main tip would be "plan out what you are wearing" and you will be able to travel even lighter. I have gone to trips where I overpack and then I only wore about 3 outfits out of 6! I have really learned my lesson, it takes such a toll on you when you overpack!
vallain said
on 4/5/2009 I hate paying $15 a bag for checked luggage, so I'm going to borrow clothes from my sisters when I visit. Then I can travel with just a carryon for a few basic clothing pieces.