Pack lightly for your next trip with these tips

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If you are an avid traveler, perhaps you have had this realization before. Or perhaps you are someone who wants to pack incredibly light. Whatever the case may be you may have thought at one point how absurd it is to be waiting for luggage at the airport or even having to deal with lost luggage. Especially in situations where you cram your suitcase with stuff you don’t need.

And now with baggage fees more common on almost all airlines, checking luggage makes less and less sense.

In short, you want to be travelling lightly. As in having only-a-carry-on-as-your-entire-luggage lightly. This is certainly a possibility, so long as you know what you are doing. We’ve put together a list of items that will make this a lot easier for you.

The first group of items on our list is all of your paperwork. This is important for you to even get onto the plane. These are items like your passport, your local ID, boarding pass, a copy of the itinerary, copies of important documents, extra passport pictures, petty cash, a debit card without ATM fees and a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Some of these may be out of the ordinary (like the extra passport photos and the itinerary) however this is accounting for customs of countries. Some will refuse you if you lack extra passport photos (even if you have your passport with you) or a clear date and time of when you are planning to leave the country.

The second group of items is toiletries. If space in your carryon is precious, then don’t bother packing them. You can always buy toiletries when you arrive. Furthermore, if you omit packing them, you won’t have to worry as much about security, or the three-ounce bottle rule. If you can pack them in, consider only the bare necessities such as your toothpaste, face wash, and toothbrush.

The third group of items is your electronics. Of course, we all have our own preferences for technology to bring but here are some things to consider when bringing electronics. The most standard of items is items like your cell phone along with a charger and earbuds. Furthermore, if you are bringing a laptop you’ll also want your charger for that as well. Some other items you might not have considered though are things like a travel adapter (with dongles that fit in any plug across the world), and a power strip so you can charge multiple devices.

Our fourth group is gear. I know this is rather broad but it’s essential gear that compliments your experience. For example, you are allowed a personal item, meaning an extra bag that you can carry around and can fit under the seat in front of you. Some other items you can consider are things like locks to protect your carryon from getting stolen and broken into. Packing cubes is also great in saving space and organizing your luggage as well. There’s also other basic gear like a travel towel, pen (filling out forms), water bottle, and for those long flights earplugs and an eye mask.

And finally, the last group on our list is clothing. If you plan on traveling lightly, then you want to be making adjustments appropriately. Keep in mind that you don’t always have to wear something different every single day and there is merit to wearing the same outfit twice or three times if need be.