I admit it. I’m a bad packer. I started out this Italy trip with too much luggage. After warning my good friend not to overpack because of the difficulty and the cobblestone streets, etc. I say this every time, then by the end of the trip, I’m looking for or buying extra luggage to accommodate what I initially carried, plus what I added along the way. Frustration. Embarrassment. The looks. Oh, the looks. And envying those people who whisk through the airport and train stations, with only the tiny carry-on bag or duffle bag. And I’m thinking, “What could they be carrying in that tiny little bag? I need more space than that to just carry my hair products alone, and maybe two pair of shoes.”
Well, no more. I found religion on this trip. I am never …. ever … overpacking again. No more extra fees for checked bags, worrying if my luggage will get lost. Thinking about the money wasted on either additional luggage, and/or the added cost of the airlines now strict overweight fees. Starting with my next trip, I will not be checking a bag. Going to make it with just a carry-on, or carry-on and a half empty backpack.
To my defense, on this Italy trip it was one of the longest trips that I have taken. We were gone for 6 weeks (39 days in Italy, and a few days more in New York when we got back to the states). That’s a long time. And with contact lens solution and hair gel alone, that is a lot of liquid that I couldn’t put in my carry-on bag. But I’m going to figure it out going forward. I have to. The look on Betty and my face when we pulled into Lecce train station, and we had all the luggage in the picture above. We are smiling in the picture, but it was before we realized that there was no elevator at that train station, and we have to go down a lot of stairs with all that luggage, and then back up another set of steps. We were lucky that some very nice people, two young gentlemen took pity on us and helped us. My friend Betty and I looked at each other and said, “Never again, will we be in this position.”
So I thought as I worked through this for myself that I would research 1) Why people tend to overpack, 2) the effect of overpacking, and 3) how this problem can be remedied. Below is what I found out:
Cause: Fearing not having something you need. Not knowing what events you have planned on your vacation/trip, to know what clothes and shoes are appropriate.
Experts believe the tendency to overpack is driven by the urge to prepare for countless “what if” scenarios, “rooted in anxiety and the loss of control that comes from leaving one’s personal space. The extent of that anxiety can depend on factors such as the level of familiarity with your travel destination and the length of the trip”, according to an REI article.
Effect: You pack everything except the kitchen sink.
You know you have packed too much when you thought it was essential to pack your “personalized” face mask. Really, did I even use this ‘Rosita eye-mask’ while in Italy. It didn’t add much weight, but it was just a mindset that I have to travel with all the comforts of back home. And on hindsight. No, it really wasn’t a necessity.
Upside to Packing Everything: You feel prepared for every possible scenario. You have less stress and anxiety because you know you have every outfit for every possible scenario or event. You even have your hobby supplies or special exercise clothes and equipment. (I bought art supplies and yoga outfits and my yoga position book. I haven’t used any of that stuff yet. I’m still on my trip, but I will see if I use it).
Downside to Over Packing: Outside of the United States, and in many countries (especially those countries that are older, like in Europe), there is not accommodations to easily roll a lot of heavy wheeled luggage. There are more steps. You might visit smaller towns by train that don’t have elevators. So you could be struggling up and down steps, and also incurring extra charges and fees for either overweight bags, and/or checking extra bags. Also loss of flexibility in the ability to change flights, because you can’t catch an earlier flight because you have checked bags.
The Looks: Oh, the looks. Everyone looking at you with all that luggage like you are crazy. So the taxi drivers know you are helpless, and they just add more charges to your taxi ride. In Florence, our AirBandB that we rented was just across the street from the train station. And we had just taken the train from Rome. But we had so much luggage, we couldn’t cross the large street with cable cars and tons of people. So we had to get a taxi, which I think charged us 13 or 15 euros just to cross the street. Even the cab driver told us when we got in, that our destination is just across the street. But there is no way with each of us having 3-5 bags that it was possible. Now if we only had one small carryon bag or a backpack, then that would have been money we could have used for dinner.
My Story:
Well, deep down… way deep down, I consider myself an artist. Although for me, art has always been a hobby. For some reason, I buy all these art supplies, but never make time to paint, draw or whatever. And then when I go on vacation, I tell myself. “Oh, this is my time to get in touch with my inner artist. I’m going to paint every morning on the terrace of the apartment we rented in Lecce.” Or I’m going to get inspired by see the statue of David again, and sketch David while in Florence.
Even though you haven’t sketched or painted watercolor in over 5 years). In your mind, you intend to do this. Oh, and you brought your yoga position book and your new yoga outfits, and said you would buy a yoga mat at your destination, and get up early every morning before breakfast and do yoga. You almost bought your brass song bowl. But the truth is you’re not a morning person, so you probably won’t be this super yoga master all of a sudden on vacation. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Well, this is the reason I lugged travel books, watercolor and sketch pads, and watercolor and brushes. A new set of sketch pencils, and erasers and pencil sharpener (which since it contained a razor blade, had to be in my checked bag). Long story short, I didn’t use any of the art supplies.
Same thing for the large packing cube full of “dressy outfits”. Never wore any of it. All this talk about we are going to dress up and go to the catholic church every Sunday while on our trip. Didn’t happen. We did go into several churches to look around, and maybe spent a few minutes of quietly praying or reflection and being thankful for what we were blessed with. But we didn’t go to church, nor did we go to any restaurants where we needed to dress up, even the ones close to where we were staying. Didn’t happen, and those clothes … although they were travel clothes that didn’t wrinkle, they were very heavy. They could have definitely stayed at home.
Tips to Packing Light:
According to the experts, below is what you should do, and what I plan to do going forward, in order to pack lighter:
- Choose the right luggage
- Use Packing Cubes
- Multi-functional fabrics
- Picking Versatile Shoes
- Adjust Body Care Routine (you don’t need everything you use at home)
- If you don’t do it at home, you probably won’t do it on vacation. Leave it at home.
The REI recommendations:
REI is a very popular store with camping equipment, outdoors equipment and gear, and great products for travelers. They had some very specific advice about how many items you really need of each type of article of clothing. REI calls it their 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 rule. This is what that means according to REI:
To pack light you should pack no more than this number of each of the following articles of clothing:
1 Hat
2 Pair of Shoes
3 Bottoms (pants and shorts, and suggests one pair of convertible pants)
4 Tops
5 Pair of Socks
6 Pair of Underwear (plus bra for women)
Photo above courtesy of REI.
Not sure who made this list. But I’m going to try to pack this way for my next trip, which will be to Peru. This should work, it isn’t that long of a trip, and I don’t see any reason I will need to dress up. It will be more like a hiking trip. Or at least a hiking trip for me. I’m taking hiking boots. Wish me luck. I will report back if I was able to successfully stick to this, and not overpack. Two pair of shoes, instead of my usual 7-10 pair. Oh, that will be a change. Novel idea. But I’m up for it. Bring it on. Challenge accepted!
You can read more from the REI article linked here, but it also reminds you that you should obviously plan on doing laundry during your trip with this packing list. Also to choose clothes with lightweight fabrics that dry quickly. Also choose clothes you can layer, which also means you probably want to have neutral colors that go well together.
Happy Travels everyone, and lets all say goodbye to the overweight baggage fees.
