Travel Tip Tuesdays: What Not to Pack

I’ve written blogs about packing light before— I swear by the one-bag policy when traveling solo and in most situations in general. No matter how heavy you’re packing, though, here are five things you can (almost) always do without:

1. A heavy coat. On my first solo trip, I brought a trench coat because I knew that the Northwest got cold. Although it did help keep me warm, it was a huge pain to lug around, and added about seven pounds to my pack weight (not to mention taking up almost a backpack’s worth of space!). Unless you’re headed somewhere severely cold, you can make do with a lighter jacket and some layers.

First solo trip, 2009: I was so proud of myself
for only bringing three bags!

2. A big toiletries bag. On my first away-from-family trip when I was 16, I packed an entire little suitcase full of my toiletries— everything from toothpaste and decongestant to a full bottle of shampoo and six different kinds of Band-Aids. I didn’t even have makeup and I managed to stuff a bag! I later learned that this was entirely unnecessary. Just bring the basics, and if you happen to need poison ivy cream or cough syrup, you can buy that as you go along.

3. Non-versatile clothing. While some clothes are single-use, most can serve double-duty. A blank t-shirt can be dressed up with a nice jacket; leggings make a nice extra layer in cold weather; a sarong can be turned into almost anything. Avoid loud t-shirts, an item that doesn’t match the rest of what you’re packing, anything expressly dressy, and so on.

4. Clothes that wrinkle easily. There’s nothing worse than ruining half your wardrobe just because it’s made of the wrong fabric! When your clothes can be wadded up, carried in a backpack for a week, and pulled out looking good as new, you’ve found the “keeper” clothes.

Third solo trip, 2010: I had cut my packing list in half.

5. Anything you justified taking along by saying “just in case.” This isn’t a tried-and-true rule, but if this was your excuse for packing it, chances are you won’t end up needing it. Since I have a bad back, I carried around instant heating pads for six trips, just in case. I never needed them. The same is true of countless little items that I carried less and less throughout the years.

With a light pack, your travel will be much more fun and relaxing. I have often packed too much for a trip, but I have never packed too little.

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