What to pack for a trip ~ One Week, two or longer

Pack light, check itinerary, avoid excess baggage charges

Top 6 Reasons to Pack Light (Lecture Alert!)

1. You will look like a seasoned traveller, not a tourist.

2. Bellboys do not enjoy lugging heavy suitcases. Really.

3. It's embarassing to have the airline slap a 'HEAVY' sticker on your luggage.

4. You should be able to carry your bag up five flights of stairs yourself. Or onto a plane, a bus, a subway. Sometimes, you're all you've got!

5. You can stow your luggage in the overhead bin (if permitted) and bypass the baggage carousel.

TIP! Several major airlines are planning to implement lower allowable baggage weight limits. As well, they will begin charging much higher excess baggage fees.Check with your carrier to be sure, as well as for the total number of bags and weights allowed. .

Traveller A Dec 2007 flew from Toronto (YYZ) with British Airways to London (LHR). In Toronto, she was allowed to carry on her back pack and travel purse (2 items). In London, for the return flight, she had to put her purse into her backpack as she was allowed only one carryon, and that back pack still had to meet the size requirements.

Traveller B March 2008 ~ Checking in at Pearson (YYZ) Toronto Canada, Traveller B had two checked bags, plus a carryon that weighed 33 lbs (well over the 22-lbs limit) and a large purse. Long story short : $125 in excess baggage charges and no valid credit card to pay it.

What to Pack tips to pack light, and pack smart

Many things need to be done only once (photocopy your passport), or updated as needed (buy new travel pants). Before you know it, your own What to Pack List will become second nature. The basic rules apply regardless of the climate, though it's more of a challenge for trips that include both hot and cold climates.

The basic rules apply regardless of the climate, though it's more of a challenge for trips that include both hot and cold climates.

On trips to China, I encountered the cold of Beijing and the heat of Hong Kong (see China travel clothing list). For a trip to Chile and Argentina, I packed for sweltering Iguazu and chilly Patagonia and Ushuaia. You just have to 'think through' your trip and pack accordingly. It's all in the layering! It takes some thought and planning but at least you'll be warm when it's cold, and you won't be schlepping a whole whack of useless clothes around.

If you're not sure what to pack, then pack light. You'll save your back from grief, and you'll save money by avoiding excess baggage charges. (See How to Pack Suitcase pictures page)

I never used to know what to pack for a trip, so my packing method consisted of tossing much of my wardrobe and toiletries into one enormous, and cruelly over-stuffed suitcase. Is this you?

This practice ended abruptly one day seven years ago, in Vancouver, B.C.,Canada. I was leaving to go to the airport for the 5-hour flight to Toronto. As I heaved this enormous suitcase into the car trunk, something in my back made an ominous and very painful crack that took more than six months of various therapies to put right.

This painful lesson forced me to pack light. On my very next trip (two weeks in Australia), I had a new, smaller, wheeled suitcase, and a very streamlined travel wardrobe. This new suitcase could easily be wheeled down the airplane aisles and fit nicely into the overhead bin.

Changing your long-standing packing habits isn't the easiest thing to do, but once you learn what to pack and to pack light and pack smart, your body will thank you. Best of all, you can relax, knowing that whatever the day brings, you are prepared to handle it!

No one cares if you wear the same thing every day. (From what I am wearing in photos of a trip through China, it looks like I travelled the entire country in one day!) Always remember it's YOU that's taking a trip, not your wardrobe. You are not obligated to showcase your personal style and trendiness to a host of strangers -- just obliged to cover your body in a socially accepted manner.

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