RE laundry: I always take only 3 day’s worth of fast-drying clothes. This gives them enough time to dry, and in most climates I have a clean & dry set ready to go. I pack each set of clothes in a separate plastic bag which makes it easy to grab & go.

Doing this, I travelled for a month from northern hemisphere summer to southern hemisphere winter with one daypack – it was wonderful. I did get searched at every customs point though – single young female with no luggage looks dodgy, I guess. The plastic bags worked well here as they just checked each bag without going into it, and it was easy to repack.

We enjoy travelling light with our kids and would recommend it to anyone!

Yvette

I’ll post a photo on my blog when I get home.

I manage to travel with a minimum of toiletries and still make room for some first aid items, my feminine products, and a little travel pot for heating water. I have been finding lately that you can’t assume you’ll have anything to heat water with in your room, so I always take a sandwich baggie with a handful of tea bags and a few packets of instant soup.

I also pack a sandwich-sized baggie with 2 days worth of cold/flu/stomachache etc products since I’ve experienced how unfun it can be to deal with trying to find those when you manage to get sick on the trip.

The trick is in choosing all your items carefully and with attention to being able to wear the same thing a few times (cleaned or not). Eliminate unneeded clothing/shoes. Don’t obsess over planning for contingencies. Plan for the most likely ones, and know that you’ll still be able to buy things you’ll need.

One of my tips is to pack like those clever Europeans and bring a lot of black or other neutral clothing that can be mixed and matched for multiple occasions and settings.

Thank you,
Crystal D.
Sparkleizer and Home Organization Expert
http://www.sparkleize.com
E-mail crystal@sparkleize.com

Once again, I was tagged for the escalated security search. I really get irked at having carefully packed a bag, and having them tear it apart. My husband laughs that I put socks and undergarments into ziplocs, but this is not funny. This is not the first time. I am so far from the demographic they are actually looking for, that they use me to balance their statistics.

However, on our family trip coming up in June, I am going to test my conclusion that I get this 3rd degree when I don’t have checked luggage. In the past, we have often put all of our checked bags (2 for the 3 of us) on my husband’s check in, and hand-carried airport amusements and a change of underclothes. Yes, I know, but our family vacations are at least a week, and often involve multiple venues, climates and temperatures. This time we’re each checking one bag per adult ticket, and I’ll see if I get tapped again.

As for minimal packing, I do try, but this trip involves a night-time observatory experience at Kitt Peak, where they warn you to dress warmly for the 7,000 foot altitude, in the open roof observatory, in spite of what the temperatures in Phoenix and Tucson will be (80-90F+) for other parts of the trip. I’m assuming they are responding to previous experience with oblivious visitors.

We did two weeks in China (in the winter) with only one carry-on each! It’s about asking, “What are the bare essentials I need for this trip?”