There's no question: overpacking tops the list of biggest travel mistakes. Thus this Web site, offering exhaustive (some might say exhausting!) detail on the art and science of travelling light, going pretty much anywhere, for an indefinite length of time, with nothing more than a single (carryon-sized) bag.
If youve done a good job of selecting what to take, the task of actually packing it is mostly a straightforward one. Nonetheless, here are a few ideas that you might want to consider
Everyone has their own secret technique when it comes to folding shirts, but in the end, it doesnt matter what a T-shirt or sweater looks like once its sitting in a drawer. The technique you use to fold your garments isnt so important. Some prefer to fold their sweaters in half before folding the sleeves in; others prefer to start by folding the sleeves and then folding the sweater in half. Either way doesnt make much of a difference. What is important is that your garment must be flat and wrinkle-free before you start folding it, and the fabric must remain nicely spread out throughout the folding process. By doing so, youll keep your garments free of creases and will therefore get to skip out on ironing before wearing them. Where shape is concerned, some prefer to fold their garments in a perfect square while others prefer a rectangular shape. Just keep in mind that a rectangular fold will help you maximize deeper storage spaces while a square fold is more practical for spaces with minimal depth..
If youre packing a pair of shoes (in addition to those youre wearing), consider the use of shoe bags: lightweight, inexpensive, drawstring bags designed to keep any residue of Parisian streets away from the rest of your belongings. Shoes are perhaps the most difficult items to pack, given their typical weight, bulk, and awkward shape. Minimize the number you take, and try to wear (rather than pack) the bulkiest pair when reasonable. It is usually best to pack a pair of shoes tightly together, soles out, with the heels at opposite ends. Also, dont neglect the spaces inside your packed shoes; theyre great for fragile items, or anything else that will fit, for that matter. If you have an extremely compatible travelling partner, you might consider packing half of each persons things in the others bag. That way, in case of a bag being lost (much less likely for the carryon traveller), each of you will still have half of his/her stuff. This method may have the downside of providing something in the way of a disincentive to pack minimally, however! Whether or not you do buddy packing, it should be obvious that when two or more travel together, many of the packing list items (alarm clock, guidebooks, repair supplies, etc.) need not be replicated in multiple bags!
Recent U.S. Transportation Department figures report that the odds are about 1 in 150 that your bag on any given flight will be lost, damaged, or pilfered; this means an average of one or two disappointed passengers on every flight. In less developed countries, the odds get worse. And these problems are escalating. The Air Transport Users Council (AUC), the UK-based consumer watchdog for the airline industry, recently (17 July 2003) reported that baggage problems continue to increase more than any other category. There was a 44 percent increase in written complaints, with mishandled baggage at the top of the list (almost a quarter of the years total complaints related to lost luggage). Further, many travellers have rather naïve ideas about the compensation due them for such mishaps; the AUCs helpful Mishandled Baggage overview offers illuminating reading in this regard.
 The photograph right shows 244 locks collected from under an airport baggage handling conveyor belt (where two belts come together), over a one-month period at a single New York airport. Depending on the bag design, the strategic use of duct/gaffers tape (to prevent locks from dangling) can reduce the likelihood of this sort of mishap. Finally, remember that you should be concerned not only with the issue of items being removed from your bags, but those being introduced as well. This is of particular concern to international travellers: a number of reported cases have involved the transport of contraband goods in the checked luggage of unsuspecting passengers. There are even cases where people have been imprisoned because of what is claimed to have been articles introduced into their checked bags. Such occurrences are, fortunately, pretty rare. They do happen, though, and it would be foolish not to consider the possibility of their happening to you.
We found in the course of our journey the convenience of having disencumbered ourselves, by laying aside whatever we could spare; for it is not to be imagined without experience, how
a little bulk will hinder, and a little weight will burden; or how often a man that has pleased himself at home with his own resolution, will, in the hour of darkness and fatigue, be content to leave behind him everything but himself.
Samuel Johnson, on packing for travel
If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light.
Cesare Pavese
The biggest mistakes
that tourists make? Packing too heavily, relying on outdated guidebooks, not wearing a money belt, leaving home with too many hotel reservations, and taking other peoples opinions too seriously.
Rick Steves, in
International Travel News
March 1998
I try to carry on, so I always take as little as I possibly can
Jane F. Garvey
14th Administrator of the FAA
1997-2002
On a long journey, even a straw weighs heavy.
Spanish proverb
To know what to leave out and what to put in; just where and just how, ah, that is to have been educated in the knowledge of simplicity.
Frank Lloyd Wright
I aint takin nothin thatll slow down my travelin
Johnny Cash
This is a non-commercial post. Im associated with neither the travel industry, nor any of the references I mentioned, except as disclosed above. I do not sell anything, nor have I any financial incentive to recommend a particular product or company. THIS TRAVELLING TIPS ARE PROVIDED ON AN AS IS BASIS. In plain English
you take this tips as you find it. As far as the law will let me, I guarantee nothing about this post, particularly the information provided in it. I do not guarantee that the information reaches any legal minimum standards of quality, or that it is good enough to be used by you for anything in particular that you want to use it for. You use this post for travelling at your own risk. If you want to sue me, I do not have to pay you damages of any kind. I also do not guarantee anything regarding the sites that I link to, and those sites do not necessarily reflect my opinions, unless I clearly state that they do.
Mazalien, above us only sky
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