What Do You Do To Travel Lighter Each Trip

I bring along three sets of underwear (shorts and sox), cotton/polyester blends that dry overnight. Based on my experience the last three trips, I could probably do with one set, but I am chicken to try. Anyway, the extra pairs don't weight much.

I also bring along three cotton/polyester golf-style shirts. These also dry overnight, with the help of a couple of inflatable hangers that keep the two sides apart. I wear a button shirt on the plane both ways, but leave it in my suitcase for the ground part of my trip.

Another trick, when you check in in the late afternoon, change into tomorrow's clothes and wash what you wore today. This can give your washing an extra 3 or 4 hours to dry. Note, you need two sets of underwear to make this work.

Roll your clothes, that helps adding a bit more room in your suitcase. I pack the same colours so I can do laundry quickly. I don't pack any clothing that isn't going to be worn at least twice. To minimize my liquids, I've learned to tolerate using bar soap, but I bring my own. I'm quite conscious on smelling nice and since I don't want to risk having to dump my designer fragrances, I'll walk into a department store and spray some on. LOL. To keep my clothes smelling pleasant, from the local supermarket, I buy Glade mini linen freshener. I have a bottle at home and I spray my suitcase before and after packing.

Now, that I have an iphone, I'm leaving my macbook at home.

The thing I find most useful is to hoard all travel-size toiletries throughout the year. I keep the sachets that come in magazines and never turn down free samples in shops. If I get given a gift with purchase or "smellies" with small bottles in I put it straight in my holiday drawer. As I get near the end of a bottle/jar of something I save it so there is just enough left for a holiday. I am going away for the weekend and discovered my holiday drawer has 40 shampoo sachets in!

I have been buying more coolmax shirts that are very light, so I now have a collection to choose from when I travel. They wash well in the sink and dry quickly. I use the bundle packing technique from the one bag.com guy. His website describes the technique well. Each time I take less reading material for the plane.

On my last trip to Italy, I had collected a lot of info on restaurants, etc and printed them off on different colors of paper for each town or area. When I left Venice, I threw those sheets away. They are saved in a word doc at home and i emailed myself the document so I could retrieve it if I lost any info. It worked really well. I believe the different colors of paper idea was from this site. My reservations were in a brighter color to catch my eye. I put them in a large ziplock bag.

I used more ziplock bags for keeping items together in my last trip. That worked very well. For instance, my wool socks that I might not need but wanted to have along in case of cold feet at night were in a ziplock, so very easily found in my bag.

At the end of the trip on the plane home, I made some notes in my travel diary about what clothes I rarely wore and what I wore often while it was fresh in my mind. For instance, I am throwing vanity out the window when I comes to warmth. I was too cold without my thick fleece jacket, so that is coming with me on the next trip. Happy Travels.

I bring a lot less clothes. I really get sick of my clothes when I bring so few, but not as much as I get sick of lugging around a big suitcase. Also I am willing to wash clothes now. I used to think washing clothes was incompatible with being on vacation. But now I think washing a few things in the sink is not a big deal. It's worth it to fit everything in one small suitcase.

When I book accommodations I make sure that at least one will have a washer. Since we usually rent appartments that is not that difficult to do. I'm not a fan of sink washing so being able to do regular laundry halfway through the trip without spending much time on it allows me to reduce the amount of clothing needed.

Our key to pack light and lighter is maintaining very strict packing lists. And, equally important, evaluation of that list after each trip. The list is so refined now that it now takes us less than two hour to pack for a trip and never have to second guess if some item was packed. We are headed out in 7 days for about 30 days we know right now what is going in the bags.

I bring less clothes, and less "things" . for instance,, I never would bring a flash light. Not becuase I would NEVER use it,, but as Rick says in one of his travel shows,, would I use it ENOUGH to make it worth bringing.

And a flashlight is near the top of our misc list. We have found a small flashlight to be very handy and necessary.

Carroll took the words right out of my mouth!
Something I'm doing I didn't do before is that I wear better looking clothes on the plane, but still comfortable for a long trip. So that's another outfit I can wear without looking like an ugly American. I bring one pair of shoes that I'm wearing on the plane.
Decent looking, but again comfortable. I never bring flat irons for my hair, blow dryers, etc. If I have a bad hair day, I wear a nice hat that is easy to pack.
Just like what someone else said, I collect samples all year and use them for my trip. For me it really is not that hard to travel light, and still look good. On my trip this fall, I'm only taking a medium sized backpack and that's it! Flying to London I can only bring one bag, and no purse, or anything else.
I bought a great purse in Macy's that is very easy to put in my backpack. I always bring a very tiny flashlight, the kind you can put on a key chain. There are often times I need to get out that tiny light. Speaking of light, I love my new watch that glows! Great to see what time it is when it's dark. I'm all set for London and Paris this fall!!!

I'm thinking about not buying good booze at the duty free shop...

Who am I kidding, a liter of single malt is totally worth the extra three pounds.

It's schlepping all that extra weight that keeps me fit enough to have cocktails in my room every night.

I think Beatrix would become a fan of sink washing if she just followed my example.

I pack less clothes especially pants. I find three pairs of underwear and socks work great. 2 pants and one capris...
I tried those soap "leaves" my last trip and ended up throwing them out. They worked terribly. I would never pack a hairdryer/flat iron, and I pack minimal makeup. However this makes more room for my netbook. I guess everyone has their priorities :)
I am going to try that Lush body bar and maybe use that my next trip.

I bought packing cubes before my last trip and became a HUGE fan. Fit all of mine and my daughter's clothes in 3 of 'em, one big and 2 medium.

I'm in the process of packing now for 3 weeks in Ireland. I love packing cubes. Everything is packed except for pants and tops and I keep narrowing them. As stated above, I tend to pack too many tops and then I don't wear them. I coordinate everything so everything can be worn with everything. I'm packing 2 capris & 2 long pants (1 denim). I wear a nice top on the plane. My 3-1-1 bag is a piece of cake due to sample size Clinique & travel size items. I don't take any electronics although I am taking my cell phone for the first time this year. This year the Civita bag goes into suitcase for day use as I found I can get most everything into Rick's shoulder strap Civita bag which is smaller than the backpack style & a little easier to use on the plane. The flash lite is one of those little LEDS thumb ones that Rick sells & I attach to the Civita bag as a zipper pull. Works great! Everything fits into Rick's 21 inch 8 lb rolling bag and is carried on. I do some hand laundry but I also check out laundry places before I go. I have one for Dublin and one for Dingle
that have convenient schedules. Thanks Rick!

i used to use rick's classic bag that has a total dimension of 44 inches...i have always packed light but not really that sparse...and though this bag is great i always had spare space...i have since downsized that bag to just use rick's appenzell bag which has total dimesnions of 37 inches and everything fits snug...rick's packing cubes work great...i can take 10 well folded shirts of various nature, 2 pairs of pants, weeks worth of socks/underwear, small toiletries kit and all the other odds and ends with no prob...the appenzell and a small personal bag and i'm set...

I keep a packing list on my computer. Each time I come home, I revisit the packing list and take off stuff I didn't need to pack.

I long ago traded a big camera for the smallest camera possible.

A swiss army knife and plastic fork covers virtually all of my picnic needs (I found I didn't need a spoon but my wife eats a lot of yogurt so a plastic spoon is still on her list).

I keep ditching clothing that is heavy and/or bulky for something lighter and easier to pack: lighter shoes, lighter-weight fleece, less bulky wool sweater.

I keep trying different high-tech materials for the best combination of comfort, wrinkle free, fast drying and nice looking.

The other area that I tend to overpack in is my toiletries and emergency kits. I'm really backing off on liquids because they're heavy. I still pack a sewing kit, some bandaids and some duct tape for emergencies but they come home unused more often than not.

I don't take extras from hotels unless I'm ditching the equivalent item from my bag.

Similar to Lee's comment. I shower and dress for dinner in tomorrows clothes after a sweaty day touring. I wash whatever I can then and it has more time to dry before the next morning.

Re: Swiss Army Knife

If you take your own that automatically eliminates the carry-on option. And it's not really an item that's easy to find in the next grocery store at the destination like shampoo. So what do you do?

Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets: used them on my last trip (10 days in Taiwan) about a month ago and they worked great! Cut them into strips and rub them right on a stain if extra laundering is needed. The soap rinses out easily. You do need to use hot water to dissolve the "fabric softener" strip, but I just do that first and then add cold water to fill up the sink.

Conditioner: I use a LUSH solid shampoo bar, but need a liquid conditioner, so I use the tube from boxes of hair color. It's concentrated so I end up using less than my regular conditioner.

And, this is anti-packing lighter, but I hate ripping up books. So I bring one whole guide book (for my trip to Ireland this week, I'm bringing Rick's), and will Xerox the pages that I want for Dublin so I don't have to schlepp around the entire book while in the city. I'll rip up the Fodor's guidebook for some of its more helpful pages, but wouldn't dream of taking the entire thing.

Audiobooks instead of real books: I check out audiobooks from the library and download them into my iPod. I delete when done. Or I just buy certain books from iTunes. (BIG fan of Jim Dale.)

When it comes to clothes, I'm a "moody dresser" - I never pick out an outfit the night before because I don't know what I'll feel like wearing in the morning! I've made my travelling life incredibly difficult by picking out my entire wardrobe when I'm in a certain mood, and then, when I get to my destination, I hate everything! I always pack way too many clothes! So now I force myself to try on everything I'm thinking about taking in every possible combination to make sure I'm comfortable, not sloppy, not over-dressed, and that I like what I'm wearing. I can then narrow down all of my choices and become a minimal packer.

Sarah: thanks for owning up to a moody dresser. Me too and I'm forcing myself to drive on every possibility. I have changed the tops so many times it is driving me crazy.

I'm usually always warm and walking/hiking around, I stay warmer than most people. This makes it easier not to pack bulky items.

I'm a fan of the small LED flashlight, and I also use it as a zipper pull on my civita day pack.

For clothing, I use travel "space bags" (I have a couple of different brands and they all work the same) that you roll to get the air out instead of using a vacuum. I pack them in a way a friend of mine taught me, after 4 weeks in Ireland and much sweater shopping, when I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to fit all of my stuff.

First, place all of your long sleeve shirts in a stack, but don't fold them individually. Place the first (bottom) shirt, buttoned, on a flat surface and lay the arms out flat to each side (just go with however the sleeves will lay flat). Then do the same for each successive shirt. If you only have a couple of long sleeves, then put your short sleeves on top in the same flat manner. Then carefully take hold of the sleeves on both sides and fold them inward, so they lay flat on top of the top shirt. Then slide into the space bag, zip, and roll. It might take a little extra time, but it makes a huge difference.

I do the same with pants, laying them flat in a stack (each pair with the legs folded next to each other, as if you were going to put them on a hanger), only I alternate waistlines and hems so that the stack isn't too lopsided.

I use packing cubes for underwear, socks, etc.

Also, I always pack at least one pair of underwear, socks, a shirt, and maybe a pair of sweats in my carry-on, so that if my luggage is delayed (happened just last summer in London) I at least I can sleep in the sweats and whatever shirt I wore on the plane, and have clean stuff for the next day, provided my pants stayed clean. :)

So how light have you gotten your bag? I just test-packed my bag (the MEI) and it weighs 25lbs. Not sure where its all coming from! I have stuff inside packing cubes and the underwear in a vacuum-type bag. It's not stuffed, everything fit in nicely and zipped closed without easily, but its heavier than I thought it'd be.

Hmmm, I've never paid attention to how much my bag weighs at the airport, although on the way home once it was labeled "heavy" (too many photo books from various castles, museums, etc.). I have a 21" roll-aboard, but I always check it. Last year I packed it for a week in London and I don't think it weighed more than 20 pounds. Those vacuum bags are great, but all that extra room can be deceiving. It's hard not to be tempted to take more stuff.

Well, Mike, not sure who you directed your question to but I'll chime in....25 lbs is way overweight for me. I'm shooting for about 16 or 17 lbs--if not lighter.

Packing lighter gets easier with each trip as you learn with each trip what you could have lived without. I'm very cold natured and often travel in the fall so always have to have warmer clothes. I've bought cashmere sweaters on sale and they are the thinnest, lightest, yet warmest sweaters. Another thing I've done is quit taking jeans as they are heavy and take forever to dry. I take microfiber pants which are light, easy to wash, and don't wrinkle. I take black pants and tops in colors that can be mixed and matched, no set outfits that can only be worn one way. I used to want to take a lot of books and have had to cut back, and photocopy certain pages of books to take with me. I take minimal liquids and use shampoo to wash things out in the hotel sink.

Beatrix,

Yes. I use to be able to carry on a swiss-army knife but that ended after 9/11. I was in Germany on 9/11 and forgot to ditch my knife before flying home but amazingly wasn't ever questioned about it and didn't realize I had it until I unpacked.

Now I buy a knife on my first day on the ground and give it away before flying home. I make sure the knife I buy has a blade, cork screw, scissors and tweezers.

each trip I asses what I did not need.....and where I may have overpacked.
I think I might be down to about as light as I could ever go.
One thing I have learnt is to really cut back on the toiletry products. Unless you were going to some third world country or something you can always get stuff when you need it.
I ussually find I have a tendency to bring too many shirts so now when I am making my lists I make sure I reduce it by one or two.

I'll tell you one thing I wish I HADN'T tried to skimp on: RS Guidebooks. Since we were visiting France, Switzerland, and Germany I ripped out only the relevant portions of each book - but because of a couple of screw-ups we had an unexpected day in both Lyon and Frankfurt. Can't tell you how much I wished I had better info on what was worthwhile to see and eat at each place. I don't really mind a few extra pounds anyway since I'm rolling the damn suitcase!

Dorothy: Others travelers have reported the same thing here: that their plan to pack lighter by ripping pages from their Rick Steves book left them without guidebook coverage when, in mid-trip they decided to spontaneously change plans (oh horrors!) but were then stuck without guidebook pages for the changed itinerary.

hence why I wont skimp on not taking a netbook...
ie: change of plans, last minute ideas, reservations ect....

Brad, Rick Steves has said, even after 9/11 he always takes his swiss army knife in his carry on, and no one ever notices! Surprising!

Lisa: "Rick Steves has said, even after 9/11 he always takes his swiss army knife in his carry on, and no one ever notices!"

That's interesting, where is it that he says this?

My travel bag weighs one pound, when empty. My travel journal (diary) book has a thickness of 1/4 inch. It is a very light weight. Its dimensions are : Height = 8 1/4 inches (21 cm) x width = 6 inches (15 cm). Its cover is a tan color. Green elastic band for keeping the book closed. It is the "Green Journal", made in Italy. It is for sale in Barnes and Nobles book stores in the U.S.A. For my next trip to Europe or England, I will not bring a travel guide book. In all of my trips to Europe and England, I carried a Rick Steves travel guide book for the country I was in. (Lonely Planet book for Greece). But I did not use the books when I was there, except for the small maps of city centers. I will bring a photo copy of a small map. I write or print some informaton from the books (extra hotels, Telephone number of U.S.A. embassy and consulate office, ...) on a paper that I bring with me.
In all of my international travel, I brought only one pair of shoes : the shoes that I was wearing in the airplane. I did not ever need more than one pair of shoes. I do not bring a Swiss Army knife (many tools on it).

What is everyone using flashlights for? I haven't brought one, I can say I have never thought to bring one and I can't think of an instance where I wish I had had one???

The hairdryer was a big one for me - on my third trip I finally left it behind. Well worth it.

Ditto what someone said, now that I have an iphone - I am leaving behind the Mac.

This trip, I am brining a fairly sizable camera though...hope i don't regret that.

And WOW to those that only bring three pairs of underwear. I might wear the same shirt or pants 3 or 4 times, but I always pack PLENTY of undies!

Amy, after staying in two hotels that have lost power, I always carry a small flashlight with me.

Amy : I needed a flashlight in a hotel in Europe. When I walked from a bathroom to my hotel room door,at night, there was total darkness. No windows, no electric lights. I could not see the key hole to put a key in, for unlocking the door's lock. I could not see the door knob. And, if a person is riding a bicycle : when the bicycle is parked outside, it should be locked (using a chain or cable) to a bicycle rack or pole or fence. At night, a little light may be needed to see the numbers for the lock's combination. (I prefer to not carry a key with me, in Europe). A tiny LED light is adequate for that purpose. Using small matches for light can be unsatisfactory. Wind blows out the flame on the matches. And, to be prepared for an unpleasant situation : I want to have a flashlight with me in an airplane at night, to be prepared for the unlikely event that all the elctric lights go out in an airplane at night

Fewer undies = more frequent hand washing.

Forgot to mention I stopped taking a hair dryer, too. Too bulky, and unnecessary in the summer for someone with medium length straight hair. I guess I'd take one for traveling in winter, though.

Re: Flashlight. I now take a small headlamp with me. Mine was inexpensive, from MEC in Canada, easily found at REI type places in the US. Great for reading in bed if your roommate is sleeping. I keep mine in a clear zippered bag in my carryon in the plane and I put it on my bedside table at the hotel; I know where it is and is within easy reach if I need a light at night.

Mike, part of that 25 lbs. is the packing cubes you're using. Sure, they keep all your clothing neatly separated, but the weight of those cubes adds up. I've used cubes myself, so I'm just as guilty, but I think they also can wrinkle your clothes. (see post about bundle-packing) I don't mind squashing my sox, undies, and fleece, but not the nice shirts and slacks.

We leave for England in 5 days and I may leave the shirt-stacker at home!

I use packing cubes for everything and together they weigh a little over a pound...so some people must have some really heavy packing cubes. They keep things organized, easier with security at airports and I can actually take more. Plus, I must have some type of magic because the cubes keep my clothes from wrinkling. My new bag will be between 16 & 18 lbs packed.

(And since I don't fly Lufthansa I don't care about their weight limits.)

I grew a beard so I wouldn't have to carry a slightly less than 1# electric razor. Why would I carry packing cubes that weigh a pound? The trouble with packing cubes is that, while adding weight themselves, they only reduce the volume of the clothes you carry, not the weight. Volume has never been a problem for me; I reach the weight limit before my bag is completely filled. Well, actually I no long reach the weight limit or the volume limit now that I have cut back on some non-essential, heavy items.

When I left for Germany this time, my bag weighed 14½#. When I returned I found that it had increased by over a pound form all of the paper (receipts, broshures, etc) I had picked up.

I found a shopping bag "made from recycled plastic bottles" and take it along for all sorts of tasks. It weighs 1 oz and is handy for laundry, shopping, etc. I leave my RS toiletries bag at home along with most other bags and packing devices. Those things all add weight. I discard most receipts as I go along; no point carrying them home to discard later. I ditch books and other printed materials as I go along, too. I carry one paperback novel for recreational reading and look for others as I travel. When I got my RS wheeled carry-on bag I removed all the "extras" such as the zip-on extra bag on the outside and the nylon bags inside. My daypack is a very lightweight RS bag (the soft, washable one). It can collapse and be shoved into the larger bag if necessary. Purchases are lightweight things like towels or postcards. I don't take clothes I "might" need. If I find myself without enough warm clothes, I buy a shirt or sweater. I find umbrellas to be unnecessary, so I don't carry one. I usually don't carry a camera.

It's interesting how everyone travels differently and takes different things. One person may not want to weigh his/her bag down with packing cubes, but will take a computer.

I no longer take a computer. Between my quad band blackberry and ipod touch, there's no need for one. And with one multicharger for both, the weight of all is less than a pound.

Some take umbrellas, some don't. Some carry books, others tear out pages. ONe's person souvenir is another person's trash.

What this proves...there is no one right way to pack. Everyone does what they prefer and none of us should criticize anyone else unless they are bringing their entire house with them.

We are gone in exactly 12 hours for 33 days. Just weighed the bags - 20 and 17. Maybe a new low for me as I am normally closer to 25. However, one pair of shoes this time. And two new ultra lite umbrellas. Frank II hold the fort for all the Franks.

After reading all of these responses, my question is....

Do you guys leave room in your luggage for stuff to bring home? Or do you not shop when you travel?

In years past, I've packed one suitcase inside another so that I have two suitcases returning home. Yes, I know I have to lug them around, but part of the fun for me is bringing home all kinds of goodies.

Just curious.

Alexandra,

On past trips, I haven't had much room in my Backpacks for "goodies" so my packing method is kind of "self limiting" in terms of shopping.

I did manage to bring home a few bottles of Wine on the last trip, but that's about all I had room for.

I'll probably be changing my travel methods to "carry on only" on the next trip, so probably will have even less room to bring back souvenirs. I always pack Camera gear, so that's a priority.

Frank...have a great trip....I'll hold down the fort for all the Franks....except the ones from "Lubbick."

Alexandra...over the years I've learned a few things about "shopping" in Europe...

1) Almost anything I can buy there I can get here cheaper

2) I have enough junk.

I go by the National Parks motto: Leave only footprints, take only memories.

I purposely pack tight and light so I don't have to bring home "goodies."

Alexandra - I have never done the two suitcase thing, but on two occasions I did buy a very cheap case abroad because I'd picked up some fabulous souvenirs (presents for Christmas and some gorgeous clothes that are not available in the UK).

I tend to leave just a little bit of room for souvenirs mainly because I live in a TINY flat and have no room for clutter! I tend to limit what sort of souvenirs I buy. I love jewellery and crafts so will tend to buy a piece of jewellery from a local artist or perhaps some beads or fabric that are made in that area. I try not to buy anything else unless I utterly adore it.

If you love shopping and souvenirs I would personally keep doing the two cases thing. Travelling light is not right for everyone.

We tend to look for Xmas or birthday gifts for family while we're abroad. Sometimes we get ourselves something like an art print -- never anything heavy. And, since we'll usually have some leftover space in the bag, or an expanding gusset, we can check the bag on the way home. Or, one of us carries a folding tote in his/her suitcase, and then we put well-padded souvenirs in it for the trip back home, and it becomes our second tote.

But, yeah, I haven't traveled with a blow-dryer in years. I never take wool anything -- I'm allergic, and it's heavy -- but opt for fleece instead. The only makeup I take is mascara, lipstick, and a pencil that works for eyeliner and eyebrows.

The one item that has allowed me to pack lighter for an upcoming trip is an Ipod Touch with free Kindle software. I have loaded all of my travel books on the IPod and will only take copies of the maps. I have also loaded all of Rick's guided tours for the IPod.

(At first, it appears hard to use the travel books on the Ipod, but if you pre-set book marks on the pages that you will use often, they become very easy to use on the Ipod with Kindle software)

Alexandra,We returned from a trip to Paris and CH 3 weeks ago.I always pack an empty suitcase in side another one. The day before we leave CH to come home,we buy about 22-25 lbs.of different varities of cheeses,put them in my aunt's frig,and pack it away the next day.{ Not to mention some chocolate,too]

Alexandra : My travel bag has space for putting souvenir items, and many picture post cards, and a small wall calendar, in it. My bag is slightly bigger than a carry-on size bag. If a traveler wants to bring an extra bag (in the travel bag), to put souvenir items in, Rick Steve's Pocket tote may be adequate for that. I think it is his most clever travel accessory.

After 10 good years or so, my pack was just disgusting. I recently upgraded to a smaller wheelie/convertable from REI. My old pack was a North Face (max-carry on size), that had been to about 3 dozen countries.

http://www.rei.com/product/778779

I have been looking for a bag for a few years, why did I change? This thing is light as hell and has just enough compartments. More importantly, it rolls like a champ and feels great on your back.

Over the years, one thing I notice is that the easier stuff is to get at in your pack the less I carry. If I can see everything laid out nice, I am more likely to see I have everything I need. Organization is key.

Good rules for clothes: your max warmest need should be wearing every possible layer together, everything should be matchable.

You should be able to re-pack in 5 minutes max, note this a point of contention with my wife :).

Another tip is to get rid of stuff you no longer need, whenever possible. I once started myself on a round of meds for various stomach issues (giahrdiah and amoebas) when I finished my Peace Corps service in Benin. I was traveling around W. Africa, and the drugs were supposed to be for when I got home (and no longer exposed to the parasites). After a week in Ghana, I said screw it and started taking them. They were bulky as hell, and who knows if they would have lasted 2 months of pretty rough travel.

Hope this helps!

Peace,
Tom

Well we are leaving in less than two weeks and I had every intention of really packing light this trip. But sometimes the best laid plans go awry.
We have good friends we see in France and I bought some nice gifts to take to them. I thought I would be very clever and send them ahead to the villa that we always rent. The owner lives next door and said this would be fine with him.
So I packed everything up and took it to the post office. $212.00! This for regular, unexpedited, untrackable shipping. So we will have a checked bag and I will have plenty of room for souvenirs on the way back. C'est la vie!

I only take a few tshirts, (black and white) and 1 or 2 pair of pants. It is boring especially if you like fashion, but I always but clothes from Europe before I return to US.
I only carry a small hair dryer, no straigtener or curling iron. This saves alot of room.
I use compress bags or vacum bags.
I never carry books.I make copies of the pages I need or right down the info I need, especially addresses.This way you save a lot of room and weight.
I found a liquid soap that I can use as body wash and hair shampoo. It doesn't really work very well on my hair, being course, but I can put another little bottle of shampoo in my bag.I don't use conditioner, so one less bottle for me.

My grandfather used to buy new socks and underwear a couple times a year, and he'd coordinate when he did that with his annual travel plans. As his vacation approached, he'd buy new underwear and leave them at home. Then, he'd pack his perfectly usable, but yellowing, t-shirts and his worn socks for the trip. He'd make the most of what he packed, but as the final week of vacation approached, he'd shed the dirty clothes rather than wash them again. The old stuff went into the trash, making his bag lighter along the way, or making room for more souvenirs. When he returned home, he had his new clothes waiting for him!

Oh, and I never take a purse any more. Why worry about theft if I don't have to? Everything is either in a money belt, or in secure pockets in my clothing (skirt, pants, and/or jacket). I have also used the small Eagle Creek slash-proof camera bag for the same purpose -- camera in the main compartment, flat items (ID, ATM card, tix, money) in the pocket closest to my body, and lip balm, hand sanitizer, and tissues in the outermost pocket.

This way, I don't have to worry about anyone snatching my purse, and I don't have a sore shoulder at the end of the day.

My first experience at packing light.

My daughter and I went on our 1st trip to Europe for 8 weeks and visited 8 countries during the summer of 2005.

I did my research well. Reading the Graffiti Wall and going to The Thorn Tree....had asked my hundred questions, etc. Bookmarked, copied and pasted information. Prepared Excel spreadsheets with our home check list, items to take check list, itinerary check list with all the travel dates, train timetables for our travel days, hostels and hotels web page on itinerary, their phone #, etc. And I had Rick Steves' travel books and all so I thought I knew exactly what we "needed" for the trip.

My daughter came down to my house the day before we departed. She spread a sheet on the dining room floor and told me to dump all the non-clothes stuff I was are taking because she could see we had too much.

She eliminated about at least 3 pounds of "stuff".

We get to the local train (BART) to take us to SFO and she asked me "where did that bag come from"?
It was a shoulder bag full of stuff I felt we still needed, such as pounds of large moist bath sheets, pound or 2 of Ponds facial cleaners, etc. Whew it was heavy.

We get to our hostel in A’Dam and climb up 3 flights of stairs. My daughter was my Sherpa on and off trains. On our last day in A’Dam she had me dump all the “stuff” on a table and we decided we did not need all those bath sheets and other stuff. We left about 10 pounds at the hostel for them to give away.
Needless to say the backpackers loved the “stuff”.

We each had left our day back packs and each a Rick Steves’ 21” Roll Aboard.
Once we made it to Paris we mail my shoulder bag full of souvenirs back to the states.
We also mailed other packages of souvenirs home during the trip.

I learned my lesson well. I went to Israel in 2007 and truly packed light.

My daughter and I are planning a 5 week trip to Portugal, Spain and Italy the summer of 2010.

We will only take what will fit in our day back packs and our Rick Steves’ 21” Roll Aboard. We will probably have to check the Roll Aboards. Our clothes, shoes and cosmetics do not weight hardly anything. It is the cameras and chargers that add weight.

JB- check out the new charger "pods" that allow you to charge anywhere from 2 to 8 items at one time. They are small and save time!

I am taking oen of those light weight bags tht pack into itself incase I need an extra bag for the way home.

iPhones double as pretty good flashlights. In fact there is an app to brighten the phone if the normal back light isn't good enough.

I take only a carryon, but as someone else said, lots of underwear. I don't mind wearing a shirt or pants a few times, but not underwear.

Baby powder/talc is a nice item to use to freshen up clothes rather than washing constantly.

Cheaper than a Chargepod is a twenty dollar 4 port USB charger at Wal-Mart. Charges with 4 usb ports simultaneously. International voltage.

Frank II is spot on. What is this obsession on shopping in Europe? With the internet you can get anything without having to spend the time shopping in Europe and taking away from your real adventure!

And for those who say things are cheaper there, then they don't know how to shop wisely online. Travelers bring home all this crap they think is unique or a must buy and then they store it in a box and look at it every couple of years.

I read over my journals and photos from previous trips and can retrace every trip or step from our yearly and sometime twice yearly trips to Europe. This way I can relive every moment without cluttering my home with useless stuff.

There is so much to see in this wonderful world. Take more time seeing it than buying those plastic Eiffel tower souvenirs! But then again, most shoppers are clueless and couldn't pack light if their lives depended on it!

I am using the Lush solid shampoo bar with their tin. The "Godiva" variety is shampoo, conditioner and it even makes a nice clothes wash and body soap. Lots of suds. I have replaced 4 items with this one item and no liquids. Sells for $9.45 and the re-usable tin is $2.95.

I make a spreadsheet packing list for each trip in google docs and weigh items on a little kitchen scale. Since I've done this several times I just have to copy and paste the items in for the new trip with just a few changes. I think the biggest place to cut down on weight isn't clothes (though you should use some sense here) but it's the stuff. Toiletries, chargers, umbrellas- you know, stuff!

I'm getting even more fanatical now because my next goal for a trip is a cool-weather running vacation to the UK. I want to be able to load up all my stuff and some water and run between hotels in different parts of the country. The challenges here are finding a good way to carry stuff and water while I'm running (think I have this one sorted out), being able to have my 'travel days' be the ones where I'm wearing the least clothes, and keeping the weight down under 5 pounds or so.

Just a note about the Lush shampoo bars: If you're allergic to wool, make sure you don't get the Godiva one, which is the one that has lanolin. All the others are fine since they're vegan.

I enjoy these boards and have gotten a lot of good information but sometimes the zealotry of some posters is a little off-putting. It takes all kinds to make a world and what works for some may not work for others. No reason for the blatant put-downs.

A friend of mine who travels a lot is a great book buyer and used to end up paying for extra luggage. She told me that now she packs simple blouses/tees or underwear that she does not care about anymore and gets rid of them during the trip. This way she makes room for her books and pays less for extra weight! I think I might try it next Fall!
Ziplock bags are a must for me, specially useful if your laundry is wet or as snack containers to take along on city tours.

I haven't been so lucky with Swiss Army knives. I have had two of the small ones confiscated after I forgot I had one in my purse.

Put clothes in compression bags and then into packing cubes!!!!!!If you can't zip up the cube, then I eliminate something in the bag. I do Europe in winter, so the clothes are a lot thicker and bulkier. 3 pants, 4 long sleeve thicker shirts, 4 long sleeve thinner shirts, 4 sox/underwear, lounge wear for sleep and laundry day. Now if only my RS guidebooks could be electronic for my iphone........depending where I go, I may need 2-3 guide books.

Kelly--
I put the Kindle software on my IPod Touch and then went to Amazon and put all of Rick's guidebooks for Kindle users on my IPod. I am packing my Ipod and just a few key pages from Rick's book.

(once you have the book via Kindle on your Ipod Touch, spend some time setting bookmarks to key pages)

I would also like to put in a vote for Crocs shoes. The original ones are ugly, clunky, and big, but there are new, sleeker styles that should please many. I took 2 pairs of shoes on our recent 10-day to UK -- wore the heavier shoes on the plane, and packed the "Olivia" style Crocs in my carry-on.

Crocs are incredibly lightweight, and you never have to worry about them getting wet or dirty.

The only reason I brought the heavier lace-up shoes was that I anticipated colder weather where we were going.