With new air travel rules that charged significant fees for second and third bags, the need to travel lightly has become more urgent. To save money on your next trip, you'll need to learn how to travel lightly.
Start out by packing no more clothes than can fit in your carry-on luggage. Not only will this save you time dropping off and picking up your luggage, but it will mean you will not have to pay extra to check the luggage from your vacation shopping spree.
Pack clothes especially designed for travel that are lightweight and wrinkle free. This way you do not have to worry about packing your items too tightly. Add a collapsible bag to your suitcase to hold extra items for your return trip.
Stick to one basic color in your travel clothes. This way you can mix and match easily. For women, a dress, skirt, suit jacket, and slacks all in black, grey, navy, brown, or white can be mixed with any number of different colored blouses. For men, one suit, one sports jacket, two slacks and a few shirts will last a whole week.
Put all of your underclothes in a large sealable plastic bag or two. Pack one pair for each day, plus two extra sets. Sit on the zippered bag with the zipper sticking out from under you. This will press the air out and vacuum seal your unmentionables, allowing you to slip them in a side pocket.
Carry travel size toiletries, enough for one week in a zippered plastic bag. This will keep your items from being confiscated and eliminate the bulk from your luggage.
When placing the items in your suitcase, first place suits and dresses in the luggage, with the tail of the item hanging over the side. Next, roll all of your items, military style. Fold your items in half, then starting at one end, roll them into a cylinder. This maximizes space and minimizes wrinkling. Finally, fold the ends of the items on the bottom over your rolled items. Place shoes on top.
