If you’re a camping enthusiast (or even if you live in an apartment with a tiny kitchen), this incredible nesting cookset is perfect for you. I can’t stop looking at it. I may even be drooling.

(via NotCot)

Here’s the basics: In a personal quest to visit every country in the world, I regularly pack up and hit the road for two weeks at a time. On any given trip, I’ll probably visit at least three places on at least two continents.

Much of my travel involves round-the-world flights, so I frequently have to think about going from Africa to Eastern Europe, Northern to Southern hemisphere, and other regions that are considerably different from each other. I also have to work wherever I go, so I can’t leave the laptop or paper notebooks behind.

I’ve been doing this kind of travel for a while, and I’ve noticed something interesting: less is more.

Yes, I know, this concept is hardly novel, especially for readers of Unclutterer. What I find interesting is the relationship between stress and stuff. After visiting more than 100 countries (I still have 80+ remaining, so I’m far from done), I’ve come to believe that the more I take with me, the more stress I’ll encounter along the way. To cut down on the stress without cutting out stuff I really need, I’ve learned to adopt a few principles.

The Principles

The overriding principle is take less, but here’s how it looks in more specific terms:

• Fewer Clothes. Generally speaking, I need more shirts than pants. Most of them are t-shirts or polos, but bringing a dress shirt helps me out when I need to have a business meeting or talk my way into a hostile country without a visa. (You never know what will come up.)

Some travelers are anti-cotton, on the grounds that cotton is hard to wash along the way. This is probably true, but I don’t usually worry about it. For me, the most important quality for clothes is “easily packable.”

• Nothing Big in the Bag. No matter what I have to take, I want it to be as small as possible. The only bulky items I bring along are my running shoes, due to my habit of trying to squeeze in marathon training at many of the stops. Otherwise, the smaller, the better.
• Travel Is an Art, not a Science. I don’t have a spreadsheet that tells me where to put each item, and my packing list is quite loose. Since I avoid the engineering approach, I try to take the less-is-more approach: if I don’t need it, it doesn’t go in the bag.
• Combine Items or Multitask Whenever Possible. I can charge my iPod while syncing, so why bring the wall charger? My laptop has a built-in microphone, so out goes the USB mic I used to travel with.
• Leave Things Along the Way. After I finish a book, I leave it behind for someone else. Hostels are great locations for drop-offs, but I’ve also left books and magazines in restaurants, airplanes, and buses. If I’m unable to do laundry, I’ll recycle an old t-shirt somewhere and buy another on the street.

A Few Things That Help

I try to be low-tech, because if something doesn’t work, I’m not good at fixing it. That said, these technologies have been helping me a lot lately:

• Gmail Offline. I love the new Gmail Offline feature (it’s in Labs) so I can process my email no matter where I am. If you use Outlook, of course, you already have this option – but as a Gmail fan, this feature rocks my world. On a typical 10-hour flight, I’ll reply to 200 or more messages, which will then zip out the outbox as soon as I land and connect to wifi. To get it, check out this short tutorial from the Google team.
• Verizon MiFi. At least in the U.S. now, I have my own wifi hotspot wherever I go. I can also share it with up to four others, which I like to do in airports that don’t offer free wifi. Coming back to Grand Central Station from Hastings, New York recently, I was able to work online for 40 minutes, and I shared the signal with my friend Ishita so that she could work too. When I set it up last month, Verizon told me that an international version is in the works – something I’m deliriously excited about.
• MacBook Camera. I recently started making videos while traveling, and by using the built-in camera on my MacBook, I’ve avoided the need to get more gear. Once you learn to look at the top of the computer instead of the screen (it takes a few tries), it works great. My videos aren’t Oprah-quality – at least, she hasn’t called yet – but they’re easy to make and I try to have fun with them.

Wrap-Up

The more I unclutter, the less stress I encounter when traveling. Your experience may be different, but if you’re looking to see the world without lugging a suitcase, rest assured that it’s doable. Now, if only I could find a way to avoid leaving my iPod behind in the back of a taxi, I’d be set.

When music is such an integral part of your life, you constantly look for ways to store and minimize what you own. The following are some of our solutions:

Frozen Ape Tempo. We got rid of our metronomes recently after discovering this iPhone application. It’s actually better than all the metronomes we had in the house. My favorite feature of the program is that I can plug my earphones into the audio jack and have the beats pulse straight into my ear. The program is 99 cents. Yet again, my iPhone replaces a unitasker.

Storage boxes for strings. A few years ago, we noticed that a CD storage box is the perfect size for holding spare strings. We buy strings online at a discount, so it’s nice to have a permanent place for them to reside until we need them. And, since 10 of our instruments have strings, we regularly need them.

Self-binding sheet music. After years of having sheet music strewn around the house causing a mess, we reached our breaking point. We sorted the sheets of music into piles and then used a CombBind C55 at the office to bind it all into nicely bound books. We created an index for the front of each book and store the bound music on our bookshelves. No more loose papers, simple storage, and it took us less than half an hour to create. If you don’t have a binder in your office, they do the same service at Kinkos for a minimal fee.

Repurposed decorative items. On a table in our music area we have some candles and a decorative jar. We purposefully bought a decorative jar that has storage space inside of it so that it can have multipurposes. Now, this pretty little piece of art holds my harmonicas, castanets, and a case for guitar picks.

What tricks do you use in your music room to contain the numerous supplies that come with instruments? We’re always on the lookout for solutions, so please share your ideas in the comments.

The clean and striking IF Mode is aimed at commuters of the mobile generation who, until now, may have not considered cycling or folding bikes to be an option. IF Mode avoids oily chains, complex tubes with hidden dirt traps, and the clutter of traditional bike features. Meant for city commuters rather than bicycle warriors, it looks at home folded up on a subway or in an office, like other well designed accessories in your life. It also performs on the street like any lightweight, well-balanced full size bike.

I agree, it is a very attractive piece of industrial design. If you’re in the market for a folding bike, check out the IF Mode as well as the others we have reviewed over the years.

The perfect laptop bag has a pocket for everything you need to carry with you, has a comfortable shoulder strap, is made to last, is professional in appearance, and doesn’t scream I’M CARRYING A LAPTOP FOR YOU TO STEAL. This bag is so perfect that you want to name your pets after it. We have found many bags that come close to meeting these requirements, but none that is perfect.

The day after this post ran, I got an e-mail from a lovely woman at Tom Bihn bags explaining that the reason I hadn’t found the perfect laptop bag was because I hadn’t tried her company’s top-of-the-line product. Fair enough, I hadn’t tried the exact bag she was referencing in her e-mail. I told her I would take it out with me on a few trips and see how it handled. My expectations were low; I’d been let down so many times in the past that I assumed I would be let down again.

I’m not one to eagerly admit when I’m wrong, but I was. This bag is amazing. It meets my qualifications for a perfect laptop bag for business travel — and more. I’ve since taken it out four times (three of those involved air travel), and feel comfortable singing its praises.

The Checkpoint Flyer:

The best part of the bag is that you don’t have to take the laptop out of it to go through security checkpoints at the airport. You flip the pouch that holds the laptop out when you lay it on the conveyor belt, and then flip it back in after it has gone through the x-ray machine. I didn’t time the event, but Tom Bihn’s website says it should only take three seconds. The laptop pouch sits on little hinges that move it far enough away from the contents in the rest of the bag so that it meets TSA requirements:

Closeup of hinge:

There are different pouch sizes you can order based on the size of your laptop. It also has pockets for all of my cords, cables and wireless peripherals, enough space to hold two days’ worth of business casual clothing and work papers (I put these in what they call the Horizontal Freudian Slip), and has the best shoulder strap I’ve ever had on a shoulder bag (it’s springy, like a wet suit):

My only complaint is that it is obviously a laptop bag to anyone who sees it. However, it’s attractive and professional, and I can walk into any meeting with it. And, it doesn’t really scream its laptop-bag status, it says it casually, as if having a conversation with friends over a couple beers. The fabric on the bag is very sturdy and the stitching is impeccable. My bag showed zero signs of wear after my trips. Yes, it’s pricey. But, I sincerely believe you’re getting what you pay for. On trips longer than three days, I’ve put my clothes in my Zuca bag and wheeled it around with this bag resting on top.

The bag is made in Seattle and Tom Bihn, the guy with his name on the company, actually designs the bags. I was sincerely surprised to be so impressed by it. My search for a perfect laptop bag is complete. (Could I gush more? Probably.)

First two images snagged from the Tom Bihn website, the other two are mine. I drastically need a nice photo setup in my house.

(via Swiss Miss)

The World Traveler’s Plug Set is a nice, compact solution to this problem. You can attach to the bright yellow base only the plugs that you’ll need on your trip, and you won’t have to worry about individual plugs getting lost in your luggage.

Additionally, the set is relatively inexpensive at $18. The World Traveler’s Plug Set is a clutter-free solution.

TripIt

How it works:

1. You email all of your travel informations to Tripit.
2. TripIt builds you a master itinerary with all your plans, weather, maps, restaurants and more.
3. You can then print, access, or share your itinerary via paper, email, personal calendar or mobile device.

For those of you who travel quite a bit this looks like a helpful tool to keep your travel information in one place. The mobile feature can also keep all of this information in the palm of your hand without having to carry around the hard copies.

TripIt is compatible with over 250 websites, including airlines, hotels, rental car agencies, cruise lines, and travel agencies. And best of all the service is free so why not give it a try the next time you head out on the road.

This holiday season, with prices at the pumps lower but airline prices not really dropping, many of us are taking to the road instead of to the skies. But is your car, truck or SUV ready for the trip over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house?

If you’re like me, your car is normally pretty clean, but this time of year there’s stuff in it that you don’t need. (I live at Land’s End in Cornwall. That free map of Scotland isn’t much use, so I can take a digital picture of it and throw the paper version away.)

Loose objects in your car can be more than just an eyesore. They’re potentially lethal projectiles if you have to stop suddenly. So use those little nets, compartments and pockets wisely. Embarrassing holiday incidents shouldn’t include a coffee flask to the back of the head.

Often, a messy car results from not having anywhere to put things away. When I downsized to a smart earlier in 2008 it took me a while to figure out where to put my iPod, phone, maps, water and coffee. My tiny car doesn’t really have enough nooks and crannies, so I buckled an old daypack-sized backpack into the passenger’s side seatbelt so my stuff isn’t going anywhere if I have to slam on the brakes.

Take a look around your local auto supply store for things that would be helpful. I love my CD holder that holds elastically to the sun visor. Beware the temptation to acquire things just because they might be useful, though! You almost certainly don’t need a Hello Kitty Mirror Muff, but one of those FM transmitters that lets you play an iPod through the radio could be a great investment.

If you’re going far, make sure that everybody in the car has something to keep them entertained. Don’t forget that new gadgets will need power or batteries! That new iPod isn’t going to play for long if you haven’t charged it. Before it’s wrapped is the perfect time to load it with its new owner’s favorite music or that thirteen-hour set of The Lord of the Rings, and music gift cards let the recipient pick something new and interesting to listen to. Recent models even play video. And if you’re going for a seriously long drive, consider getting hold of a car charger that fits into that round 12v socket we used to call the cigarette lighter. It’ll be a lifesaver when your music player starts to lose power three hours from your destination.

Lastly, and perhaps most important of all, be sure your vehicle is mechanically prepared for the season — whether you’re below freezing in Norway or Nebraska or sunning yourself in Argentina or Australia. Make sure you are comfortable driving in the weather conditions. Check your local automobile association’s website for tips appropriate to your region — and remember to check for your destination too, if you’re traveling!

Happy travels and happy holidays!

At that time, I was in a hate-hate relationship with my overnight bag. It was a multiple-pocket duffle bag that had the worst strap configuration known to man on it. When I got it, the bag was empty, and I had no idea how much pain the strap could inflict on my shoulder with even the smallest amount of weight in it.

I decided to check out a ZÜCA bag and see if it might be a nice alternative. I’m glad that I did, because the ZÜCA bag is my new best friend for when I need to travel for a week or less.

These are the reasons why I think the ZÜCA bag is great:

• The wheels. They maneuver better than any luggage with wheels that I’ve ever test driven. Plus, you can order customized ones that look like roller skate or skateboard wheels.
• The built-in chair. The aluminum frame on the bag allows you to be able to use the piece of luggage as a chair. Often times, at the airport, I find myself waiting in lines. Now, I just sit while I wait.
• The TSA-compliant zipper pouch. The pouch has a specialized pocket right inside the bag so that I can easily grab it when heading through security and then pop it back into place after putting on my shoes.
• The laptop pocket. Actually, I’m pretty sure ZÜCA didn’t imagine the side pocket to be a laptop pocket, but mine fits right inside of it. When going through security at the airport, I just slide it out of the pocket without having to unzip or unsnap anything. I have to be careful, however, if I store my bag in the overhead compartment to either take my laptop out of the pocket or store my bag laptop-side on top.
• The insert bags. I don’t always use each and every one of the insert bags, but I use most of them. I put my shoes and belts in one, my shirts in another, etc. They keep shoe crud from getting on my clothing.
• The washable exterior. If the ZÜCA bag gets dirty, you can remove the bag from the frame and wash it. It’s also water resistant, so if it rains, your stuff is nice and dry inside. Also, if you decide you want something snazzy, you can change the bag to a different pattern the company sells.

My only problem with the bag is that I have yet to find a way to store a suit coat without it getting wrinkled. My assumption is that this is a failing of mine, and not a problem with the bag design. However, if the bag had a suit pouch that would wrap around the insert bags, I wouldn’t have a concern at all.

Also, the bag isn’t cheap. It retails for close to $300. A quick search through some other luggage websites finds that the price is comparable to similar bags of its size. I believe the price is worth it, though, especially for people who travel a lot for business. If you’re in the market for a new piece of carry-on luggage that holds up to a week’s worth of clothes in an incredibly organized manner, you definitely need to check out the ZÜCA bag.

magnetic paper-clip dispenser

Original purpose: Controlling desktop clutter.

AHA! use: Corralling bobby pins. Collect stray pins from the bottom of your bathroom drawers and stash them in this handy container.

Reward: A bathroom vanity that’s neat as a pin.

Rosario Sorensen
Salt Lake City, Utah

I really like this idea, and I think that you could use these magnetic dispensers for storing more than bobby pins. Screws, safety pins, nails, washers — anything small and magnetic could easily be contained this way.

What inexpensive and clever solutions have you found in your home or office? Please tell us about them in the comments.

Belkin promises that the Flythru Laptop Case will make your security checkpoint time more streamlined. From the product description:

Things are getting easier at the airport-with Belkin’s FlyThru, you no longer need to take your laptop out of the bag in the security line. This revolutionary new bag isolates your laptop on one side, and the clear window makes it easy for TSA agents to identify it. Just unzip the bag and lay it flat. Keep your other personal belongings away from the laptop and you should get the all clear.

It fits laptops with screens up to 15.4 inches and has a minimal amount of metal, which makes it that much more security friendly. Now you can concentrate on removing your shoes rather than dealing with removing your laptop from its bag.

Instead of bringing lots of trinkets home with you, take something with you and photograph it at the different locations you visit. Credit for this idea goes to AT&T’s Sweet Pea commercial. In the commercial, the dad takes his daughter’s stuffed animal and sends her pictures of it wherever he goes. Rather than having a box full of junk from Dad’s 30 business trips, she has an online scrapbook of all the places her stuffed animal has traveled with Daddy.

This can work for you even if you’re not leaving someone at home and you want to avoid bringing knick-knacks into your house. Choose an item that goes with you on all of your trips. And, if you don’t travel often, see if friends or family would want to share an item. I have some friends who like to pass around a miniature referee. After returning from a trip, share the pictures of your item at the various destinations you visited. It makes vacation pictures interesting and uncluttered!

What can we do to take cars off the road and help unclog everyone’s commute? Private and public efforts are being made across the country to make our roads less cluttered spaces.

Last Thursday, I got the chance to talk to RideSpring founder, Paul McGrath. RideSpring is an online service that helps employees find ride share opportunities with other employees at the same company. We discussed McGrath’s journey from employee to entrepreneur, in his current pursuit to offer web-based alternative commute solutions.

He got the idea in the mid-1990s when he worked as an electrical engineer for a 200 person company in Scotts Valley, CA. He enjoyed an 8-mile bike ride up a narrow, snaky two-lane highway to and from work most days. On driving days, though, he wanted to ride share. “For the days I wasn’t biking,” says McGrath, “I thought it would be good to find a carpool partner.” Why not socialize with a co-worker during the ride and tread more lightly on the road and save a few dollars on fuel?

But, as many commuters know, finding a carpool buddy isn’t always easy. McGrath sought public carpoolings systems first. While he wouldn’t mind sharing his commute information within his company, he didn’t want to post it on public sites. “I looked for a product within companies but it didn’t exist.” This led him to search for (and eventually create) a solution.

He dove into market research and found that regional services attracted very few users, which dramatically limited good ride-matching opportunities. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area, frought with highly congested highways, an organization called 511 exists for the public, but fewer than 1% of commuters have signed up for the system.

His research squashed a number of myths about commuters. “It’s a myth that people aren’t willing to leave their cars at home,” say McGrath.

What he discovered is “There’s a shortage of drivers willing to accept passengers, rather than the other way around.”

Another myth he his company is helping to debunk is the notion that carpooling doesn’t work. However, the US Census reports that carpooling for Americans remains the second most popular way to get to work. This is second only to driving alone to work.

After his data collecting, McGrath could see the need to develop an easy-to-use method for commuters.

Rides

McGrath wanted to get cars off the road and make commuting more enjoyable. With his technical background, he launched a web-based system through RideSpring targeted at companies of 500 people or more. When companies subscribe, co-workers can drive to the same company together. The RideSpring system searches possible ride matches through it’s web process that scans zip codes for people riding in their areas across the US.

The statistics are promising. Some of the companies that subscribe to RideSpring show a nearly 60% sign-up rate for the service. People are actually using it.

Rewards

There are intrinsic rewards that come from finding an alternative commute. You get to do your part for the environment, have a good conversation with a coworker, or even get some important work done. With the US Census reporting that 77% of American commuters drive alone, many companies offer financial and other rewards to encourage people to free up road capacity and reduce CO2 omissions. This allows employers to contribute to the environment, reduce the need for new parking lots, and make their employees happier.

McGrath summarizes RideSpring’s services by saying: “What we deliver is effectiveness. We show companies our proven approach to get people signed up. We make it fun and easy to use and employees will actually use it.”

What do you do to unclog your commute? Does your company offer incentives to commuters who carpool or use public transportation? If your company had (has) more than 500 employees, would you consider using a program like RideSpring? Why or why not? Do any of our readers already use this or a similar service?

Sue Brenner is a regular contributor to Unclutterer. She offers her own eZine at www.actionsymphony.com and if you want to hear her voice, she gives free, monthly goal-success tele-seminars.

I have found a solution that can substitute the stroller and free up a lot of space. It is the Traveling Toddler: Car seat travel accessory. It is simply a strap that attaches your child’s car seat onto your carry-on luggage. So rather than bringing along your child’s clunky stroller, you can replace it with a strap. That sounds like a big space saving trade-off. Just make sure you watch where you are going and you’ve tightened the strap sufficiently.

With the escalating cost of jet fuel, airlines have had to make service cuts and are trying desperately to improve the bottom line wherever they can. Unfortunately, to this end, some airlines are now charging for EVERY checked bag. I’ve had a long-standing policy of not checking bags anyway, so this new rule doesn’t affect me, but if you’re reluctant to pay the extra baggage fee, here are some tips I find handy for packing light.

Use a consistent packing checklist. I have used hand-written lists in the past, as well as the LobotoME Pack-Me List (pictured). Your packing checklist should be a standard template, not a fresh list each time. This helps you standardize your packing, which means less thinking and fewer on-the-spot decisions.

Plan your wardrobe around a limited color scheme and choose your neutral first. I typically choose EITHER black or brown, and then plan the rest of my clothing around two other colors such as blue and tan. This way I can mix, match, layer and create a bunch of different outfits without needing a ton of items.

Use your shoes as containers. I can get three pairs of socks and my sports bra into my sneakers! Mens’ dress shoes are roomy too, as are some ladies shoes. Plus when your shoes are stuffed it keeps them from getting crushed. Bonus!

Call your hotel ahead of time to see what they offer in the way of conveniences to save space in your luggage. I never need to haul a hair dryer, steamer, or iron because most hotels will provide them at no charge if you ask.

Leave home any inessential toiletries. Now that the airlines are restricting the liquids and gels you can carry on, pack only the toiletries that are unique to your situation and leave shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and mouthwash behind. Most hotels are providing those items as standard now (and usually good brands at that!).

Get yourself a couple of Eagle Creek Pack-It Folders! They keep your clothing all folded up into a nice tight bundle, reducing movement thereby reducing wrinkling. You can find these at The Container Store.

If you carry a purse, don’t make it your second carry-on bag. Change out your purse to a small one just for the trip, and bring only the bare essentials in it. Then stuff the whole thing INSIDE a larger carry-on bag or your laptop bag. Poof. No checked baggage.

If you just have to have that second pair of shoes, suit jacket, or your workout clothes and they just won’t fit into your carry-on luggage, ship them to yourself in advance.

Try to bring shoes that will serve more than one purpose rather than a specific pair for each outfit. Ladies’ shoes with a low to medium heel can usually serve multiple functions and are a great compromise because they can dress up or down depending on the outfit. This saves you a ton of space in your luggage. The same goes for a comfortable pair of men’s leather lace ups.

Keep your travel size toiletries full and packed at all times. Refill any travel size containers as soon as you get home from a trip. This way, you’re already good to go for your next trip, and you won’t risk forgetting something important.

These are some of my favorite tips for traveling light. Be sure to check out Unclutterer’s post on the One bag travel website for folding help. How do YOU travel super light and avoid checking luggage? Do you have any great tips or secrets to share?

Just last week, maybe you tossed a business card from a new client into your car? You can look up the website on the Internet, but you would like to have the e-mail address and direct phone number of this hot new prospect. Is it under the ream of paper spilling onto the passenger’s seat? Wedged between the booster seat and the seatbelt? Or, is it mangled in a corner of the glove box?

Whether it’s a business card, your cell phone, or the extra pair of socks you need for the gym, it’s great to be able to find what you need in your car when you need it. The more you use your car and the more people who travel in it can result in your car becoming quite a clutter collector.

Use these tips to unclutter your car for mind clarity, fewer distractions, and, hey, you might just find the pen you need when you’re in the drive-through teller line at your bank.

The Ideal

If you envision your car exactly the way you want it, what would it look like? How would you feel when you got behind the wheel? What things would be useful for emergencies? What things would you want to keep to a minimum (such as trash, gym clothes, and popcorn kernels)? Start with the ideal in mind. You don’t have to create the perfect car setting, yet … but it’s good to have a goal to move toward achieving. With small steps, you can make it happen.

Divide and Conquer

Tackling car clutter can make you sweat. Divide your car into zones before you begin. Your zones might include: the driver’s quadrant, the front passenger’s side, the space behind the seats, and second-row seating. Unclutter one section at a time, and be sure to have a recycling bin and trash can handy for the apple cores and junk mail. Even uncluttering just one section of your car can begin to part the sea of clutter.

Do I Need This?

Let us say, hypothetically, that you find your old cell phone in a cup holder of your car. Do you keep it as decor or should you donate it to a charity that accepts cell phones? You will want to get rid of what you don’t need or what never should have found it’s way into the car initially. An extra pair of safety scissors? That may be a keeper for your car. Four coffee mugs? Probably not. (You can pass along used cell phones to Collective Good, a company that supports groups such as Red Cross.)

The 3-Bag Approach

This tip comes from my book The Naked Desk: Along with your trash and recycling bins, bring three grocery bags with you when you clean out your car. Label the first one “Does Not Belong Here.” Write on the next one, “Give Away/Return,” and label the final one, “Storage.” Each bag will serve as a receptacle for the variety of things that found their way into your car. The “Does Not Belong Here” bag, for example, would be good for tossing in the spoons, client folders, and other items you want to keep but don’t belong in your vehicle. Return these items to their homes after you’ve completed your car uncluttering project.

Junk in the Trunk

Depending on what’s in your trunk, you may need at least 15 to 20 minutes to free up space in this part of your car. Just like you did for the interior, you can section off your trunk into sections. Starting with one small area will help you sift through the jackets, dig out the suitcase from last month’s business trip, and take out the ski gear from January’s family vacation. Getting through a section will motivate you to clear out the other stuff jammed in there. Continue the 3-Bag approach to fully de-junk your trunk.

Try one or all of these tips and let us know which ones lead to a smoother, more clutter-free ride.

Dale Jewett, citing a Nature article in AutoWeek, writes about the possible correlation between bumper stickers and aggressive driving:

“The number of territory markers predicted road rage better than vehicle value, condition or any of the things that we normally associate with aggressive driving,” psychologist William Szlemko said. “What’s more, only the number of bumper stickers, and not their content, predicted road rage.”

I’m not sure of the merits of this study, but it sounds legitimate enough to me to keep bumper stickers in high numbers off the back of my car.

For more on the study behind the AutoWeek article, check out the Nature magazine article (registration required).

If there is a bottom line, it’s that travelling light is simply a better way to go. You have more time, because packing takes little. You waste less energy hauling stuff. You know what you have, and where everything is (as you pack your bag the same way every time). We’ve all seen those hapless folks at the airport, with too much baggage and panicked expressions, worried that they have lost track of something, or left something behind.

The paragraph above rings true with Unclutterer’s philosophy: living a more simple life without all your stuff getting in the way. This idea definitely applies to travel. One Bag gives you tips on what to pack, how to pack it, and what to pack it in. It is a one-stop shop for all your packing needs.

Our Cargo Laptop Sleeve streamlines the transport of your laptop and computer essentials. Composed of extra-thick neoprene, this sleeve stretches to fit your laptop and offers a substantial amount of protection. Three external slip pockets provide snug and convenient storage for various sized gadgets and accessories. The zigzag stitched seams improve water resistance and durability. The Cargo is available in three sizes.

It definitely looks less bulky than any laptop sleeve I’ve seen and with the extra pockets for storage it looks like it can keep all your laptop accessories in one compact device. Another great looking product from Built.