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How the hell do you pack lightly???

I consider myself a...

  • Light Packer

    Votes: 31 88.6%

  • Heavy Packer

    Votes: 4 11.4%
  • Total voters
    35
cyph

cyph

Captain
Captain
I guess this comes from being an engineer and fashion-conscious; I'm flying to Chicago tomorrow to speak at a conference this weekend at the University of Chicago... I'll be there for 6 days, and now that I'm done packing, I can not fathom how some people "live out of a backpack/suitcase".

For a 6-day stay I have packed...
6 undershirts
2 longsleeved undershirts
7 underpants
7 wife-beaters (aka a-shirts)
9 pairs of socks
2 pairs denim
3 pairs of slacks
1 pair of pajama pants
4 pairs of shoes
6 short-sleeved shirts
2 jackets
1 zip-up sweater
3 ties
5 dress shirts
2 vests
2 belts
2 hats
toiletries
laptop, chargers, business cards, sketch book, pens, markers, ipod, watches

But really, it's the clothes that take up the space. I mean, I was trying to save up on space too! I didn't bring any bright-colored clothing because then I'd have to bring my complementing shoes. I just packed primarily black, brown, and reds to go with my black, brown, and red-accented shoes...

Do you pack lightly? Or are you a fellow heavy packer? How much and what do you typically pack for a week-long visit?
 
Wow. For me, if it won't go in one bag and one carry-on, it doesn't go, period. This is a long habit from growing up in a house where they would NOT pay for an extra carry-on, or pay if you went over the weight limit.

What do you need with 4 pairs of shoes?? One casual and one dress pair should be enough, and you need to pick shoes that will match as many outfits as possible, NOT pick an outfit and then decide you HAVE to have those particular shoes.

You have undershirts for the whole week and then some, so why do you need the wife-beaters? Couldn't you use one or the other for an entire day instead of packing both? And you have both long- and short-sleeve undershirts...you may need to spend a bit of time researching the weather where you're headed. Know what the temperature is like this time of year, and for the particular week when you're going, so you're not packing extra crap you won't be wearing due to weather.

Also...do you have access to a washer and dryer? You seriously do not need to have enough clothes for the entire week, at least not for your casual stuff. I can understand not duplicating exact outfits for your formal stuff if you're not meeting with the same people, but any way you can cheat by mixing and matching with the same stuff will lighten your load. And if you have access to a washer and dryer, this really cuts down on what you have to have in your suitcase.

Toiletries...get travel-sized stuff. Excepting your hairdryer (and your hotel may have one built in), you really should be able to cram almost all of it into bag the size of a large shaving kit.

You know, though, you COULD FedEx your stuff ahead of you if you have a major space problem and you get your destination in advance (especially good if you have enough of a lead time to do FedEx Ground), if you really DO have to have all that stuff with you...
 
I pack *very* lightly. When I go on my typical two week vacations in NYC, I only take one week's worth of clothes - T-shirts, shorts, socks - and do the laundry when needed (I stay with relatives). That, plus essential shave/shower stuff, is all I ever take.

I don't even check luggage. I take everything with me in a carry-on bag.

In fact I seriously considered *leaving* a week's worth of stuff at my relatives' place so that I wouldn't have to take anything at all with me (I always stay with them when I travel out east). Then I decided it would be stupid to ask them to store my stuff that I would only use for two weeks. :p
 
Light packer. I did fine for a month in LA with one suitcase and a duffel bag of T-shirts, shorts, and underwear and socks, plus a backpack of books. The secret is being willing to do laundry every few days. :techman:

And somehow, for the flight back, I had space to cram in a TOS phaser & communicator set, four or five CDs and a dozen new books I bought down there. :lol:
 
I tend to be a moderate packer, so to speak. I try to allow for different eventualities, but if it doesn't fit in one bag and one carry on, then I'm doing something wrong.

And IMO, you're waaaaaay overpacked there. You have far too many duplicates, and you should really try to rewear things instead of packing an outfit for each day and then some. The only things you should go over 1:1 on your days:stuff ratio on is socks and underwear, if you ask me.
 
Good lord, dude, why do you need so much clothes?!

I went on a 2-week roadtrip and packed everything into a duffel bag.

For 6 days, I would pack...

-2 pairs of pants (one pair of jeans, one pair of dress pants if I needed them, plus the jeans I'd already be wearing). You can easily wear the same pants 3-4 days in a row.
-6 or 7 shirts, but they'd all be mostly t-shirts that I could just roll up in my bag.
-7 boxers
-7 pairs of socks
-Bathroom stuff (soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving stuff)

I would not pack a belt because I would already be wearing one. I would not pack shoes (unless I needed a pair of dress shoes) because I'd already be wearing them.

The End
 
I'm a heavy packer. Last weekend I went to a Trek convention and took an entire suitcase packed with stuff. In the end, unpacked most of it back home and put it unworn back in the wardrobe. But even I can see that you could cut your suitcase down by half. Depends, though on what you prefer - a lot of choice when you get to your destination, or a light trip. Me, I'll put up with carting around a heavy case if I don't have to handle it much (car/air travel) in order to have good choce. If I have to carry the case around myself (train travel with no huband to assist) it really focusses my mind on what I really need!
 
I take part of the "Just-In-Case" mentality... also, if you go clubbing/out at night, you need club/evening clothes. I'll be damned if I'm wearing my clean button ups all day to get em wrinkled and dirty before I get to the jump-off spot at night, or light-colored shirts from dusk-till-dusk...

Hence the extra undershirts as well. Extra socks in case it snows, this time of the year Chicago can be sunny one day, snowing the next, sleeting the day after that. Also, what do "casual shoes" entail? Is there a match-all pair of "casual shoes" I'm missing out on????

No access to washer or dryer.
 
For a week long visit?

5 Shirts (including one dress shirt)
Socks & Undies
1 pair of Jeans
1 pair of slacks
1 pair of sneakers
1 pair of dress shoes
Toiletries (Deodorant, razor, cologne, toothbrush/toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, shampoo)
A mini first aid kit
A Star Trek book of my choosing
PSP (includes case, adapter)

That will all fit in my duffel bag.

J.
 
cyph said:
Extra socks in case it snows, this time of the year Chicago can be sunny one day, snowing the next, sleeting the day after that. .
Click to expand...
As someone who grew up in Chicago and still lives in northern Illinois, I can safely say I have never needed to change my socks because of snow.
 
cyph said:
I guess this comes from being an engineer and fashion-conscious; I'm flying to Chicago tomorrow to speak at a conference this weekend at the University of Chicago... I'll be there for 6 days, and now that I'm done packing, I can not fathom how some people "live out of a backpack/suitcase".

For a 6-day stay I have packed...
6 undershirts
2 longsleeved undershirts
7 underpants
7 wife-beaters (aka a-shirts)
9 pairs of socks
2 pairs denim
3 pairs of slacks
1 pair of pajama pants
4 pairs of shoes
6 short-sleeved shirts
2 jackets
1 zip-up sweater
3 ties
5 dress shirts
2 vests
2 belts
2 hats
toiletries
laptop, chargers, business cards, sketch book, pens, markers, ipod, watches
Click to expand...

You goin for 6 days or 6 months? Damn bro.
 
I would have to say that's the downside of being so urbanized. ;)

J.
 
^No kidding.

Pajamas...every day clothes...clothes for "clubbing"

All of those are the same clothes for me. The only difference is that pajamas do not require blue jeans.
 
RoJoHen said:
^No kidding.

Pajamas...every day clothes...clothes for "clubbing"

All of those are the same clothes for me. The only difference is that pajamas do not require blue jeans.
Click to expand...

Hell, I might just wear pajamas to a club. It would make things easier.

J.
 
I never travel with more than a backpack; if you don't have enough clean clothes left you can always wash them (there are public laundromat everywhere), no point in carrying around bags full of dirty clothes all the time.
 
I did two weeks in europe from a single carry on backpack.

Packed enough for 1 week (rolled sets of pants/shirts tightly together, no wrinkles) and wore everything twice then tossed it in the garbage. A small spray bottle of fabreeze can freshen everything up.

A former pilot (air force 1 no less) taught me to just take two pair of underwear and socks - both silk. Then you wash one every night in the sink, the silk dries very fast.

Wear your jacket on to to flight, then hang it or put in the overhead.

not that difficult
 
A couple of shirts, a pair of dungarees, toothbrush, razor, deodorant. Some people pack more for a few days than I own. :rommie:
 
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