1. Reversable clothes – any jackets I take travelling must be completely reversable so one jacket replaces two. And a fashionable wrap dress which doesn’t need ironing – classic black one side, subtle multi-coloured pattern the other – for evening.

2. I always take 3 or 4 silk scarves from India, a cashmere Pashmina shawl from Pakistan with two distinctly different sides (one conservative, one dramatic) and a handful of light weight costume jewellery brooches made by local artists. The brooches are stored in a double-sided drawstring silk bag which can be used as 2 different evening purses. Any of these instantly changes the tone, focus and formal/business look of my clothing.

3. Three pairs of classic business pants/trousers, four blouses and one skirt should be more than enough for me for two weeks with these additions

It’s one of the only ways I know to cut straight past the tourist traps and right into the heart of the place.

I personally don’t care how much $$$ I’m making, I’ll try to “surf” before paying for room and board because you can’t buy friends as good as these.

But my essential pack-light item is a micro-fibre towel. They’re small and dry in a jiff. They’re also good to squeeze water out of your clothes after washing. It makes me cringe when I see backpackers with a huge cotton towel that never dries and takes up half their bag!

Thanks for the great feedback!

@Anita,

Sorry to hear your negative views – my perspective on world travel is much deeper than what can be conveyed in one guest post, or in one short comment. Feel free to visit my site to learn more of what it’s really about, or feel free not to – but this post was mostly just about reducing stress and simplifying the travel process.

Mletta, In my travel experience the people who look like slobs are not the people who pack light. If I may generalize broadly and badly, the same people who carry enormous suitcases and get in everyone’s way at the airport are the same people who wear flip-flops and sun block into the Vatican.

I pack very light, and have a few items that I can use to look appropriate in many places. A peasant-style skirt for instance, is easily packed, easily washed, and can be worn on the beach or in a cathedral. I have backpacked/hosteled in Europe, and except for the times that I actually have the backpack on my back, you wouldn’t be able to guess that I didn’t have conventional luggage or wasn’t staying in hotel rooms. (Though in the heat of summer, I generally do have flip-flops with me, and wear them in appropriate places– but the hostels don’t look down their noses at me for wearing them, I promise.)

For business, I operate the same way a guy does– the guy who brings one suit. I take one blazer, two pairs of slacks, or a pair of slacks and a skirt, and a few shirts or shells to change out. I may bring a simply mostly rayon dress for evenings out and dress it up with the blazer. I wash out things in the sink and make use of the iron in the room. I did a week business trip with one carry on bag, and I smelled good and looked polished. Sure, my wardrobe was a little repetitive, but it worked.

I do confess that this is made easier by the fact that I am a tiny person. My husband is a tall and broad guy and his clothes, no matter how few of them he brings, just don’t fit into the same tiny amount of space mine do. So he can’t do the carry-on I do.

Some of us simply cannot wear three simple pieces a hundred different ways on a ten-day business trip. Just won’t work.

I now ship things ahead and then ship them back home. Easier than worrying about carry on, checking, or whatever. Less stress.

Most of the real weight/clutter comes from stuff other than clothing anyway. The tech stuff alone (computer, cords, etc and the chargers for phones, etc.) is what really makes packing HEAVY. That and the business-related materials (no, not everything is online, on a flash drive, etc. Would that it were.)

Also, I simply do not want to wear the same clothes almost every day on a long trip. Ugh. Clean or not.

Depending on where you travel and what you’re doing, your apparel can make a huge difference. In how you are greeted, treated, seated and more, as it were.

For both biz and leisure travel, we tend to go to some very nice places as well as more casual ones. We don’t wear shorts and flip-flops, nor do we want to, when traveling in both U.S. and foreign cities.

Travel “light” if you must, but please, consider dressing appropriately and not using the weight of your luggage as an excuse to dress sloppily. The whole world is NOT Disneyland or Disneyworld. Oh, and don’t wonder why you are treated like the great unwashed when you show up at a five-star eatery or venue in your dirty, wrinkled clothing that looks like you’ve just come off a boat or a day at the beach. If you don’t respect yourself enough to look good and clean up, what do you want from others?

Sorry, didn’t mean to go on a rant, but I really have issues with people who dress like they are in their backyards doing yardwork when they are out in public and traveling in the U.S. abroad. Look like a slob, be treated like one.

I also recently purchased a kindle dx I look forward to taking on future trips. Kindle, magazine (for takeoff/landing), iPhone, and headphones: all the carry-on I need.

Here are some ideas below – er – ah – I mean feelings about what I write here.
Thanks again! Enjoy these videos. – Deborah

Packed – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlNyCHlLt1Y

Take Off – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ta9ltJGxjk

Visiting – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY

When I travel I tend to pack light as well. What’s the point of packing along so many clothes when you’re going to have to lug them all over the country and get them washed every single time. I for one don’t want to spend the majority of my trip doing laundry.

Sounds simplistic to the point of arrogance. I don’t see the point in going to a country just to say you’ve visited it. If you truly have an interest in a place, take the time to see it properly and understand it, rather than rushing through to check it off a list. It may take you longer, but you can be sure it will be infiniely more rewarding.

To me, travelling is supposed to be about discovery and opening your mind to new points of view; this sort of statistical tourism does nothing for me.