Agreed! Spouse and I are masters of packing light. We managed to take our two small kids (6mos and 2yr) to France by train (from Denmark) with only one bag. We're doing it again, this time all the way to Morocco.

Remember, most everything you "need" can be acquired at your destination or along the way. If you really need it, that is. Requiring there are other humans there of course!

Um...I think you mean "erring" on the side of less, not "airing."

I find that packing a few versatile pieces is best. For me, a black polo, a pair of nice jeans, a button down shirt, a pair of slacks, a couple t-shirts, a black sweater, underwear and my jogging attire and running shoes are all I ever need to pack for a weeklong vacation. However, I rarely get to spend a week in any one place given the paucity of vacation days provided by my employer.

Heh, traveling light saved me and my traveling companion a great deal of stress on the way home from Italy. Despite having taken off on time, our flight landed half an hour late in New York so our hour between flights was now 30 minutes. In those thirty minutes, we needed to snag our bags, haul tail through customs, go back through security and get to the next gate. Since our bags were merely in the overhead bins, we made it through customs and security with about 20 minutes to spare. Naturally, at that point we discovered our flight had been delayed so that passengers who had checked bags could still make it, but we were much calmer for being done quickly with no fear of misplaced baggage.

I can pack for a month in a teeny backpack if I need to and I loath checking baggage. Solid shampoo has sealed the deal. One carry-on bag from here on out!

Packing mix-and-match clothes is a good option too, provided you have laundry services where you're going. Plus, if you realize that you packed WAY too light when you get there, it gives you a great excuse to go shopping! Who doesn't love that.

What is solid shampoo, and where can you buy it?

I'm all about packing light (though my husband really takes the cake - in college he took one carry-on-sized suitcase for six months in Italy!).

I notice that lately, though, I'm having a harder time with the "if I find I need something I can buy it there" concept. It can be crazy expensive to buy items at vacation spots, and sometimes even wasteful, if you can't take your purchase back with you (liquids, for example). So although I'm still packing light, I don't feel like it saves me time, because I literally can't afford not to plan ahead.

Here's what I do:

pack stuff that aren't not my favorites (most Americans have too many ugly clothes anyway)

wear the stuff, and then donate to some charity in the country I'm visiting. No baggage on return flight.

One of my favorite things about packing light is that it eliminates the burden of trying to figure out what I'm going to wear every day on my trip. If I've only got one pair of pants and three tops, I can get dressed in a flash.

It also makes it a lot harder to lose stuff or leave it behind - I'm going to notice if one of only two bras goes walkabout!

For those who go with you can shop once you get there if you need something, what if it's clothes? How are you supposed to get them back home? Unless you took a big suitcase with plenty of room for extra things, you will have to leave it or buy another bag.

I do agree completely there are things you can buy at the destination that makes packing less stressful - like deodorant, shampoo, etc since you don't have to buy a large bottle. I tend to wind up with a large suitcase for a week since I don't want to be forced to buy something like a jacket and umbrella when it rains (my example) - I feel better knowing I have everything I need. And anything you don't wear can just be placed back in the dresser or closet granted you put something between the dirty and clean things.

"I'm going to notice if one of only two bras goes walkabout!"

Not if you're having a really great time on vacay, picking up lovers like seashells.

I go just about everywhere with a large purse. Most things you "have" to have for a week aren't necessities.

I travel mostly with lightweight silk tshirts I can layer and clothes i can wash in the shower or sink that dry overnight (no jeans unless I won't need to wash them).

it makes travel and return home unbelieveably less stressful not worrying about "stuff" or lugging things around.

Lush.com has solid shampoo bars

burt's bees used to have shampoo bars (not sure about now) and dr. bonner's soap comes in bars, there are also shampoo "sheets" at REI and other travel stores.

I have pretty thick hair and none of these worked for me. I try to carry the one use samples or just take my chances with small bottles.

I'm all for the concept of packing light (one pair of shoes with mix-and-match outfits kind of thing), but I do not enjoy paying $30 for a bottle of sunscreen or bug spray at destination.

I agree, my least favorite part of travelling involves the TSA. Therefore, when it's possible, I only bring carry-on luggage.

My tip for light packing:
-Make an excel spreadsheet with various columns for shirts, going out clothes, shoes, accesories, media, toiletries.

Add the essentials to each column, and while you're packing you'll notice anything that is redundant and that can be eliminated.

I like sassifrassi's plan. It is amazing how many people travel with WAY too much luggage not realizing how much they will have to pay in luggage fees once they change planes in any European airport.

i just want to know what kind of luggage that is....

when i travel for less than a month, i pack to fit one carry-on but put it all in a suitcase so all liquids can be checked-in. As there is no way i can travel and not buy stuff, i only bring enough clothes for 3-4 days as I will have shopped at least twice by that time lol. i rather not have to buy a suitcase at the destination, its always more than you want to spend (i learned this twice already). luggage fees for asian/european airelines are horrible but i have had stuff shipped home before and they were held at customs for no reason I could think of!

I travel a lot and I use this packing list for every trip that I take: http://www.onebag.com/checklist.html Some of the items I find aren't necessary since I'm not backpacking e.g. toilet paper, but it's a good guide to follow. I also pack my own toiletries in 100ml travel size bottles from Muji. Muji also do these great laundry paper soap for washing your own clothes.

It all depends on where you are going, how long you're staying and what kind of trip it is...
On a trip to Indonesia and Thailand I managed to spend 50 days with the stuff I could fit in my backpack. Super hot weather tough.... bikinis, shorts, tank tops, flip flops... still took some medicine I could need, shampoo, deodorant and sunscreen.
But what if you're going to NY during the Fashion Week? One carry-on just for the shoes!!!! Imagine the rest...
Now I'm going to Brazil for 2 weeks.... the trip includes my birthday and a wedding at the beach... what will I take????

Ugh, just check the damn bag. It's not like you're required to check a humungo bag just because you don't carry it on. Traveling domestically, it's fifteen bucks or so, then you don't have to worry about whether your toiletries will pass TSA, you don't hold up the security line while you juggle too much crap as they x ray your stuff 17 times and/or paw through it, and you don't fart around looking for the one overhead bin that will actually fit your giant "carry-on" while 150-300 people also wait for you to fart around when there's no cool air circulating.

People should be charged for carryon luggage, not the checked bags. It seems every flight I've been on since the new TSA rules has taken twice as long to board/unboard while people pick their noses at the apparently insurmountable challenge of putting a bag somewhere. If you have to bring a huge-ass bag in the name of "packing light," just please please please be aware of what's going on around you. Know if and how your bag actually fits in a compartment so you're not playing Tetris with it for ten minutes. And take what you need for the flight out of your bag BEFORE you board. If no one can get to their seat/get off the plane because you're tunneling through your rollerbag stuck in an overhead compartment fifteen rows from your seat, you suck. Don't be the suck. Travel light, travel heavy, whatever, just please don't travel stupid.

Does anyone know where one can find a functional suitcase like the ones in the picture in carryon size (22X14x9)?

Those vintage hard-sided suitcases are the last thing you should be looking for in a carryon bag, here2help!

I agree with FantasticMrFaux, if its a good vacation you come back with less clothe than you set out with. I have fond memories of a lonely bikini top lost somewhere in the pacific ocean *sigh*.

I always bring one large bag and check it in. It's practically empty on the way there and stuffed on the way home. I've tried bringing a small bag and with a empty duffel to fill with purchases, but then having 2 bags is cumbersome to get on trains and buses and gives you more stuff to look after. Plus, you have to check one of them on the return trip anyway. I like being streamlined with one large bag with room to spare...

I don't travel much, but I've been using the same carry-on for 15 years. It has a big outside pocket to easily store my ziploc w/liquids. My brother created my last itinerary, and it initially included one plane change and 2 stops. The 2nd leg of the trip was delayed, but I managed to get an earlier nonstop home. Luckily I only had my carry-on, otherwise I would've been worrying about where my luggage would end up.