Packing light is a skill, and like most skills it is learned by doing it badly first. After ten trips with one bag, these are the rules that stuck.

Build around one colour palette

If everything matches, everything works together. Three tops, two bottoms and one layer cover a month of changing weather.

Photo: Jeffrey Kam via Unsplash
Photo: Jeffrey Kam via Unsplash

Laundry is your friend

Choose fabrics that dry overnight and plan a laundry stop every ten days. It is cheaper than checking a bag.

  • Roll clothes tightly and use one packing cube per category.
  • Wear your heaviest shoes on the plane.
  • Photograph your passport and keep a copy offline.

Leave room for one souvenir

Keep a fold-flat tote at the bottom of the bag for the single thing you will fall in love with on the way.

Everything you carry, you carry for the whole trip. Make every item earn its place.

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