Packed in nice and tight

After many years of packing for various trips — from day trips, to weekend trips, to week-long trips to a semester-long trip — I can finally say that I am a packing master.

On many a trip in my adolescence I was guilty of the classic girl problem of over packing. One outfit per day could not POSSIBLY provide enough options for me to choose from. There was NO WAY I couldn’t take that extra pair of shoes ... or that make up bag ... or that jewelry box ... or that extra skirt ...

However, luckily, I have grown out of that stage of my traveling. My semester abroad in London, when my friends and I would take weekend trips practically every weekend to a different European city, broke me of my over-packing habit. Having to schlep your own bags while trudging through an unknown city looking for your hotel will do that to you.

So I learned to pack light.

First, there has to be a size limit on the bag. I had a very convenient shoulder bag about the size of a small duffel that trekked around Europe with me. That was my limit. If it didn’t fit in the bag, it didn’t come.

Second, you have to take into account your travel accommodations. On my recent trip to India, I knew I didn’t want to check any bags because I was changing flights mid-way and I didn’t want to risk the chance of a bag getting lost and me having to wear the same pair of underwear for two weeks. I also knew that the trip involved a lot of moving around on different kinds of transportation and that I would have to carry my bags with me. So I packed a small carry-on suitcase and a backpack. My tour guide said that I packed less than any other American he ever had on his trips.

It’s all about editing, and seeing as editing is my profession, that’s no problem for me. For example, for India, I know that I can wear a pair of jeans for about a week, especially if I throw in a skirt day somewhere in the middle. So I packed a pair of jeans, a pair of cargo pants and a couple of skirts. Next, I knew India would be hot, but I didn’t want to walk around in a tank top so as not to be disrespectful to the culture by showing too much skin. To resolve that, I packed a tank for approximately each day I’d be there and then packed about three or four shirts that I could wear over the tanks on alternating days. And finally I topped it all off with a jacket, flip-flops and, of course, 14 pairs of underwear.

The trick is to pack a lot of stuff that’s not heavy and that doesn’t take up a lot of space. I wore a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt with sneakers on the plane, so those were taken care of and tank tops take up very little space, so I was all set! I went with my friend Sheila, and we had a layover in England, so we decided that we would shop duty-free there for shampoo and toiletries, so that was stuffed into my backpack last minute and we didn’t have to worry about checking bags because of large liquids.

Essentially, packing light entails a bit of size limiting, a bit of editing and a bit of planning ... and, ultimately, imagining the weight of that bag on your back as you walk through a crowded airport or train station will have you throwing that extra pair of high heels out of your bag in a hurry.