Hasta La Ideas

How do you decide what to include on your packing list for any given trip? Obviously, the nature of the trip will determine some things, such as the need for hiking boots or formal wear. The following are some questions to consider as you develop the rest of your list:

• For air travel: Do you want to have carry-on luggage only? Going carry-on only gets you out of the airport sooner, and it minimizes the risk of lost luggage. It also means you’re dragging more stuff through the airport and fighting for space in the overhead bins — and sometimes it’s simply not going to be practical. I make different trade-offs on different trips. You need to make this decision first when you’re flying.
• For other travel: What space constraints do you have? If you’re not going by air, you’ll still want to consider how well your luggage will fit in the car, bus, train, or other vehicles you’ll be using. How much space will you have for your things?
• How much technology do you want with you? Sometimes I’m going to need to do enough work that I’ve got to bring my laptop with me. On other vacations, I won’t take the laptop, but I will bring some smaller devices so I can do quick email checks, read e-books, etc. Other people prefer to go technology-free on a vacation.
• How will you handle washing clothes? I’m usually a daily hand-wash kind of traveller, which lets me pack a limited amount of clothes. I’ve got a friend who’s a Laundromat user, so she packs more than I do. If you prefer not to do laundry at all — and your trip is short enough to allow that — you’ll need to pack to accommodate this decision.
• How much wardrobe variety do you want? Sometimes we need a range of clothes to handle different types of events or different weather. But, sometimes how much we take is more a matter of this: How crazy will you go wearing the same few things every day? Will adding some accessories, which take less space than more clothes, give you enough wardrobe variety?
• What would be hard to get at your destination? Some things are easy to pick up if you need them for any reason, but others are more difficult. The answers to that questions will change depending on your destination, and they’ll also vary from person to person. Are you OK with using hotel shampoo, or do you really want your own brand, which may not be available at your destination? One thing I always pack is a spare pair of prescription eyeglasses — ever since I broke a pair on a trip and didn’t have a spare pair with me.
• Do you want to bring gifts? There are definitely times when I do want to pack some gifts: to give to people whose homes I’m staying in and/or to give to any special people I meet along the way. I do try to ensure that whatever gift I’m giving won’t create clutter for the person I’m giving the gift to; consumables often work well. Sometimes I can just purchase a gift like flowers or chocolate at my destination, but other times I really want to give something representative of home or something very special that I can’t just get on the run.
• What worked well in the past? I keep a personal packing checklist so I don’t forget what things I want to take, based on prior travels. I’ll never pack everything on that list, since it covers a range of locations and weather conditions, but taking a look at the list ensures I won’t forget something important.
• What do other people suggest? There are online packing lists that you might find useful: from Rick Steves, One Bag, Real Simple and more. These might give you ideas for your own list.

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