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

Packing for CHINA? see China travel packing
Packing for Dominican or other Caribbean? see holidays to Dominican

Pack light, check itinerary, avoid excess baggage charges

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.

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.