Pack Light For Your Next Trip

I don’t know about you, but my husband is usually unhappy if I pack a lot of bags for a trip.  He hates having to load all the bags and truly, your gas mileage goes down with the added weight.  And if you are flying, you have to pay more at the airport if you are a heavy packer.

We know the reasons it is good to pack light but how can you do it?  It seems you need everything when you travel.  The truth is you really don’t and there are some tried and true ways to pack light and not miss anything.

Pare down.  The most common pitfall of packing too much is we just take more than we need.  Rather than take two dresses for a family wedding and decide later which to actually wear, decide now.  If you aren’t going to workout each day, you don’t need a daily set of workout clothes.  Be realistic here.  What will you actually need?

Think versatile.  Over the years, I have learned to pack versatile pieces.  Choose outfits that can mix and match to save on clothing items you need to pack.  Go for a basic color palate that complements each other.  For example, I recently packed for a vacation and stayed in the color theme of khaki, navy and denim.  One set of exquisite jewelry made by Nicole Rose was easy to use with each outfit since they were all the same color scheme, as well as one pair of sandals.  I have come a long way since my days of packing a pair of shoes per day.

Leave the ‘mights’ at home.  You know, you might need a nail file or you might decide to use hot rollers so you better take them.  Drugstores are everywhere and if you don’t know for sure it will be used, leave it at home.

If you pack light, you will find it makes your vacation more organized and easier to deal with all the way around.