Travel Tip: Packing Light

As you impatiently wait for your checked bag to (hopefully) arrive on the luggage carousel, you might be thinking about Rick Steves’ adage: “On your trip you’ll meet two kinds of travelers: those who pack light and those who wish they had.” In fact, on Rick Steve’s tours, which are often 2 weeks long, travelers are allowed one carry-on bag.  No checked luggage. Wow!

Steves’ website includes a series of articles that extol the virtues of traveling light and provide lots of advice on how to do it: “Don’t pack for the worst-case scenario. Pack for the best-case scenario and simply buy yourself out of any jams. Bring layers rather than a heavy coat… The world is small: you can buy Dial soap, Colgate toothpaste, Nivea cream, and Gillette razors in Sicily or Slovakia.”

Rick Steves’ travel playground is predominantly Europe.  We Global Travelers often venture to places where Colgate toothpaste might not be readily available, but his advice still holds true: “When in doubt, leave it out.”  Read all Rick Steves’ packing tips here.

Famed minimalist Joshua Becker recently published an article with 10 steps to help you pack light — including mental exercises that precede the physical act of packing: believe it’s possible and be thoughtful. He quotes his mom: “Overpacking is lazy packing.

You can read all of Becker’s tips here.