If you're like most of us, the day has come or will come, for you take a trip. An overnight trip probably doesn't require much in the way of preparation. Motels provide shampoo, soap, and of most comforts, so you probably won't need a lot of preparation.
But if you intend to travel any distance, across the country for example, and especially if you're traveling across an ocean to Asia or Europe, there are some serious considerations that should be taken into account. Nothing can spoil a long trip than bringing along too much luggage to haul around.
1. Less is more. Unless you're a visiting dignitary, there's no need at all for too many changes of clothes. As an average tourist, few people are going to see you twice, and even if they do, they know what you know: light travel is good travel.
2. Certainly, a (very) few changes in underclothing and socks will be desirable. But it's very easy to rinse these out at night and by morning, they'll usually be dry. No one wants to have a suitcase-full of soiled clothing to haul around from city to city.
3. The old military trick of rolling clothing works for everyone. When you roll most items tightly, you'd be amazed at how little room they take in that suitcase.
4. Among the personal-care items, you'll want to include would probably be not only a universal charger set for your electronic pieces.A shoe horn can be quite handy. Remember, after a long day of sightseeing, etc., your feet can become swollen and getting those shoes back on may be more of a challenge than you anticipated.
5. If you're a woman who wants to take along some necklaces and extra earrings, a good suggestion is to run the necklace through a soda straw to keep it from tangling during your trip, and as to earrings, attaching them to buttons appears to work well for many, so give it a try!
6. Any experienced traveler will have learned (sometimes the hard way) to put Rule One to good use. Rule One: back to the beginning: Less is more. Very few travelers end up using all the clothing they feel they need to bring along. Ask mentioned earlier, travelers are unlikely to see the same people often if at all, and no one is likely to notice that you're wearing the same jeans or shirt you had on the day before.
7. Shoes: In most foreign cities, you're going to encounter rough stone streets built before Columbus came to America. That means sometimes awkward walking and you're going to want to avoid heels. You'd be amazed that every day, in a wonderful city like Paris, you're likely to see at least one pedestrian tripping and falling into a cobblestone trap as the poor soul crosses the street.
8. For that suitcase you'll be schlepping around, you should remember to pack heavier items at the end near the wheels so that when you're walking you don't end up with a top-heavy suitcase that tries to fall over every chance it gets.
9. Shoes can get soiled after a day on the march so one cheap way to keep from getting clothing dirty in a suitcase or elsewhere, is to bring along a few empty plastic bread wrappers, or something similar. The length usually fits most shoes nicely and if you have to pack one pair, it won't dirty anything else.
10. Be sure to check ahead of time about liquids. Nothing is more tiresome (and sometimes expensive) than to have to leave some products behind at the airport.
Be a careful traveler. No matter how far you're going, or how long you intend to stay, it's really important for your comfort and convenience to pack as lightly as possible. In most cases, clothing can do a double-duty, and these days, all over the world, casual is in, so you don't need to carry along a lot of formal wear unless you expect to have dinner at Buckingham Palace or an ambassador.
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