I did it - one suitcase!!!

Congratulations! Happy Anniversary! Have a wonderful trip!

Still think that is too much - BUT - make a complete list of everything you took. On the way home, when bored on the airplane, evaluate each item on the list as the number of times worn, how it performed, AND whether or not it should go on the next trip. Add anything you think you should have had, what would have worked better, etc., Save that list and the evaluation. That is the first thing you should consult for the next trip. I am willing to bet that there will be three or four items from the above list that will be dropped for the next trip.

Congratulations - I know it has been hard.

Well done....

Once you travel like that, you'll probably never overpack again! When you return, please post your trip report and tell us how you fared. Have a fun and safe trip!

Wonderful! Happy anniversary and have a great trip. I look forward to reading your trip report!

Congratulations! You will love having less to cart around, and now you will take even less next time. At least that's the way it worked for me! Happy Anniversary and have a wonderful trip.

That is wonderful! I agree with doing a post mortem on your wardrobe on the way back. In my journal I usually list what I wore each day so I can remember once I start looking at what I can change for next time.

My guess is also that you will find you can cut down. With 2 dresses, I will bet you don't need the dress pants or keep the dress pants and take out one of the dresses. I'll also bet you can chuck one of the capris. Does this include your transit clothes or are those on top of what you have listed? Hopefully you are wearing the jeans and sweater on the plane. Does the sweater go with both dresses as well? If not, I would probably consider adding a sweater.

I hope you will come back and say what worked for you! It is always a learning process everytime you pack and travel.

Diana,

congrats.

i think once you get back and if you think about what you packed, you may realize you can do without or with less.

but have a great trip.

happy trails.

Congratulations on achieving your goal.

I think you'll find that you still packed slightly heavy and that you could do with less clothes. I bet you can get it under 20 pounds if you get rid of a capri and 2 tops. I also hope that this includes what you are wearing on the plane. I'm going to bet that you'll come back thinking that jeans are a bad choice for summer (hot, heavy). To sum it up, I would personally take 3 pairs of pants max (1 worn on plane), 5 tops and 2 dresses. Hopefully one of the dresses is a day dress that you can wear touring when it gets hot out.

You will be so happy that you only have one suitcase to deal with...Just watch some of the other travelers struggling with all their bags...then take a look at them...do they look any nicer than you do???? Chances are you will lighten your load even more next trip, but this is a great step towards making your trip a little easier....Plus, you will have plenty of choices on what to wear...Have a wonderful trip.

Have a great trip. Happy Anniversary!! Thank you for the motivation. My husband and I are taking our 10 and 13 year old kids to France, Italy and Spain this summer for a month. We are each taking a European size carry on and using packing cubes. I plan on taking about the same number of items! Wish me luck.

Diana;
I am the queen of over packing. This time around I will be going as the queen of under packing as per RS suggestion.
We are going to Italy and France for two weeks, each one of us with a carry on, woohoo!!! Even my twelve year old is giving me the thumbs up!
Two things I am not leaving behind are my RS Italy and Paris books!!!

Happy anniversary!

Once you travel light, you'll never go back to carrying five times more stuff than you need. Congratulations from all of us here who travel with one bag.

What works for me personally is "the rule of 3"; that is 3 tops, 3 bottoms, counting the outfit I wear on the plane as one of the outfits. This translates to 2 nice T-shirts and 2 pants in my carry-on bag. I wear a rain jacket with a hood onto the plane, so I don't have to pack it. No umbrella; I rely on the hood on my rain jacket. If I will have a dressy occasion, I slip in a black lightweight knit dress, scarf, and ballet flats. (And that knocks out one of the Tshirt/pants outfits.) Every trip, I take less. Have a great trip! And Happy Anniversary!

Not to discourage you but it won't be long until you look at your list and think, "I traveled with all that?"

I generally cut it to 3 pants, five tops (mix of button-up, polo or t-shirts), 1 or 2 light sweaters (depends on the season), rain shell, 2 pairs of shoes, 3 pairs underwear and socks (I hand wash a pair of each daily in my room), a pair of warm up bottoms (for pjs, really casual, or laundry days), shave kit in two quart zip locks (one for wets, one for drys).

Extra stuff: Ipod touch (travel alarm, music, WiFi internet, email, Skype, reservation and lodging information spreadsheet), cell phone (travel phone originally purchased in Europe, I pick up a SIM card locally), travel guide(s), picnic gear (plastic fork, napkin, and Swiss Army Knife purchased first thing in Europe), and money belt or neck wallet. Maybe a few other odds and ends. I carry a Civita bag but only when I'm using my carry-on.

When I'm done I still have a third of my carry-on bag empty - which is good because loads always expand on the road. I can use the extra space for trip specific stuff if I need to.

Anyone can do it on one bag. I recently returned and didn't even use half the items I took.

We always get khaki pants and jeans starched heavily before leaving at the laundry, and I wore the jeans for another week after returning home--still looking great. I know my wife gets tired of seeing me in the same shirt for 4 days at a time, but she's not complaining.

David's "Anyone can do it on one bag" only applies to regular tourist. Adventure travelers carrying special items that must be checked are an exception to that statement. Skis and bikes are common items that must ride in the cargo hold because of size. Ski and trekking poles, ice axes and a number of other sports items are considered terrorist weapons and must also ride in the hold.

Diana,
Have a great time, but leave your jeans at home. I did 2 weeks in London and Paris a couple of summers ago and took jeans, but I never wore them because they were way too hot!

Yay for your anniversary abroad!
Debbie

I hope you have a great trip! Our family never travels light and only stay at luxury hotels where the staff tends our luggage. You certainly sound like you packed what you need. Happy anniversary to the two of you.

I find it difficult when you're in one area where it's hot, and then moving on to somewhere else that's cold.

We are using two bags for 3 people, and will be checking them because they're too big for carryon, 24".

Wore my jeans on the plane both ways & also once in Paris since it was chilly & rainy while we were there. The only thing I didn't wear was one of the 2 dresses I packed so for next time, I would only pack 1 dress instead of 2. I did laundry once, in Paris because the apt had a washer/dryer combo. In London it was only a washing machine, no dryer. I had to use Google Translate to figure out how to use the thing too! LOL

Thanks for reporting back! Glad you had a nice time!

Congratulations, Diana! I remember my first trip overseas and how excited I was to fit everything into a carryon size suitcase. I even did a "test pack" a few weeks before! :)

I am now preparing for my second trip overseas, but this time with potentially colder weather, so I'm starting planning early (hence why I'm currently on this board).

Yes, congratulations! You'll never overpack again, now that you've experienced the ease of packing just right! :)