36. Traveling Simplified

Gibbs is, among other things, a travel writer. In the fifteen years we’ve been married we have traveled tens of thousands of miles all around the world. We’ve crossed huge oceans on tiny yachts; ridden trains across desolate continents; paddled up quiet waterways; rafted down whitewater rivers; hiked over scrub-covered mountains; and walked through many of the major capitals of the world.

If there is one thing we’ve learned in all these years, it’s how to travel light, and still have everything we need. Well, almost everything.

The bind many travelers get into is, in addition to packing all the things they’ll need for a two-week trip, they also pack all the things they might need for a two-week trip. Here are some ways to avoid that.

For most vacation travel, start by making a list of the different types of clothes you’d like to take, such as dressy, casual, sporty, and loungewear. Then cross off everything but the casual clothes. That’s all you use for most trips.

Go to your closet and pull out all the appropriate casual clothes. (Now that you’ve simplified your wardrobe [#22], you won’t have a lot of clothes to confuse you.) Fold them, and arrange them in piles on the bed, shirts in one stack, slacks in another, etc. Then put at least one half of the items from each stack back in your closet. Let’s face it: if you get there and think you need something, in most cases you can get along without it. THIS IS THE SECRET TO TRAVELING LIGHT: THERE IS SO LITTLE WE REALLY NEED AND YOU CAN ALWAYS GET ALONG WITHOUT IT. (This is also the secret to simplifying your life.)

Wear and take only dark-colored clothes.

Make sure each piece of clothing you take can be worn with every other piece.

Always, even in hot climates, wear or take a blazer or jacket or vest with all the pockets you can get, and one that can go from casual to dressy, if need be.

Take only what will fit in one of the rollerboard-type cases with wheels. We recommend the TravelPro 727, available at most luggage stores. It’s lighter in weight than the hard cases and holds more, though if an elephant sat on it, you’d have to get another one. Also, it has a plethora of outside pockets for conveniently stowing tickets, reading material, and other goodies, so you don’t need any other bag. Best of all, it meets FAA regulations for carry-on luggage on all domestic flights and many, though not all, international flights.

Use a toilet kit or cosmetics bag that unfolds and can be hung on the back of a door or on a towel rack and that fits right into your TravelPro. (If you’re a guy, you’ve probably already got a simple kit; if you’re a woman, and have learned how to be drop-dead gorgeous in ten minutes [#90], you won’t need a hair dryer, or any of that other stuff.)

Take only two pairs of shoes, both of the same height, preferably low-heeled, and both of them comfortable.

Imagine how simple it would be to take off for a month and go halfway around the world with only one small bag you can easily roll through busy traffic, up and down stairs, across railroad tracks, around grassy knolls, through cobbled streets, and over the Nullarbor Plain.