My Duffel Bag and I

One of my life goals is to stop packing so heavy when I travel. Yes…this is a real life goal for me! For some reason, I think I need every shoe so that I can have options. I think we pack heavy to have these options and because we think we are going to be able to do more on our trip than what time will actually allow. So I promised myself that the first time I traveled this year, packing light was going to be a must, as in no checking-in luggage!  I did it! I had one duffel bag…ONE. The pictures below will show this; I rolled my clothes to make it easier to stack them on top of each other, which saved room. To minimize wrinkles, I covered my outfits with plastic. I packed two pairs of shoes. I made sure one pair would work with every outfit. My make up “collection” was small enough to just put into my purse. Jewelry, well, I kept it very simple. (Do we really need to pack all of our earrings?!) I found that just remaining realistic about my schedule helped to lighten the load. It also didn’t take me two days to pack either! Saving money is always on my to-do list, so avoiding that dumb “luggage check-in” fee made me smile. I just got through packing for another quick trip; took me less than 45 minutes to pack. I can get used to this. When your trip is over you have less to unpack. Unpacking for me was as dreadful as listening to a person’s attempt at a Prince song and they don’t know the lyrics! If you are a heavy packer, you can cross over into the …light. Your travel life will be so much easier.

One DB: 3 outfits, 3 pairs of shoes (including the shower shoes!), & everything else! Side note: one pair of shoes with a neutral tone, animal print will work with all outfits. Did I mention I still have room left in my bag?!

Instead of using a fancy toiletry bag, I found that using a simple ziploc bag takes up less room.