Favorites From My Lightly-Packed Suitcase
Tara Posted on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 8:54PM Do you perscribe to the as-much-as-you can or as-light-as-you-can packing approach? I used to be quite the overpacker and have been making an effort to travel more lightly. Careful editing and thinking through what items can be most versatile is, of course, a huge help with this goal. But I found add comfort as a top priority to be most helpful.
Take shoes for example. One could easily pack a small suitcase of just shoes for a 1+ week trip. But if think about finding a pair that is extremely comfortable and cute then you can drastically cut that down. I took three pairs of shoes with me to France for a 9 day trip. A pair of the most comfortable flats, a pair of heels, and my running shoes. Those unbelievably comfortable flats would not have even shown up in my normal, everyday shoe buying search... But holy cow where they a great buy! They allowed me to escape the tennis shoe option but still be able to spend entire days walking around cliff-side medieval towns without the slightest hint of tired tootsies.
In addition to the most-comfortable flats- the most-comfortable straight leg jeans, an inexpensive, easy-going cardigan and a light scarf rounded out the favorites in my lightly-packed suitcase.
Keeping it simple and comfortable and not having to schlep around a heavy bag just might have me permanently converted to the as-light-as-you-can packing methodology.
all about the shoes, wear in The Look, Travel
Reader Comments (4)
Oh, how I love these flats. I have the worst time finding flats that don't give me blisters on my heels - even buying in a bigger size is no go. Maybe I need to think Born instead of Payless? Off to investigate...
I've gotten so much better about packing light over the years. People comment all the time on how lightly I travel - but being without as many items is SO worth the freedom of the small bag!
I can't wait to see your photos from France. I hope your post-vacation funk is lifting!
I love Born flats. Though my best purchase prior to our Germany trip? My raincoat. Unfortunately, I had to wear it almost every day. If I would have known, my suitcase would have been even lighter than it was!
Maggie, I also have problems with blisters and these didn't give me a single one! Even though I only wore them once prior to the trip and then wore them every single day. I definitely recommend them.
Emily, I forgot to mention my raincoat! I defnitely did pack one and it got its use in Paris!
I used to a mega packer -- trying to cram as much as possible into a suitcase. But, since we had our daughter, we're always shlepping around so much more stuff -- baby stuff -- that I have quickly converted to the as-light-as-you-can approach!