I read with interest this morning, Merlin Mann’s post about traveling light, The Art of Packing Light. It was especially intriguing to me since I am traveling today to Dallas for a quick business trip (I’ll be gone just a little over 24 hours) and also because I expect to be traveling often in the future on my motorcycle which will necessitate me traveling light. I had already intended to pack light, so the timing of the post was great.
What I was reminded of in Merlin’s post was to not take all the things that I ‘thought’ I might need. Instead, I should make certain that I need the item or not take it at all. This was especially appropriate for me because of my propensity to plan for all expected situations. In doing so, I usually pack what seems like half my closet for every kind of weather, social or other situation possible and end up bringing back more than half the clothes I packed unworn, but now wrinkled.
I even visited one of the sites listed by his readers in the comments section, One Bag. The site is loaded with info on packing light and I fully intend to utilize some of the techniques mentioned there on my next multi-day trip.
If you travel frequently, take a look at Merlin’s article here. You can even find a link there to the article that prompted his writing. And take a look at the suggestions on One Bag.
And by the way, I am traveling with my Timberland laptop backpack and a small, Travelpro carryon. We’ll see how it turns out.
Happy travels to you!