Ten Tips on Traveling Light

In less than 2 days, I'll be flying out to the Young Living Essential Oils convention in Salt Lake City, UT!  I'll be gone a full week and I'm only taking a carry-on so packing is proving to be a little interesting!  Here are some tips from my own experience and good ol' Google on how to go from this:

 

 ....to this:

1. Don't pack everything that you can possibly fit, instead pack only what you absolutely have to have.

2. Roll, don't fold.  Stuff fits better.

3. Try to stick with lighter weight clothing that takes up less space.  If you need any bulky clothing while there, wear it and leave more room in your luggage.

4. Mix and match.  Instead of taking a full outfit for each day, take a few skirts and tops that you can wear more than once and mix up if you want a different look each day. 

5. If you're flying, all liquids (toiletries) must be in 3.4 oz bottles and fit in a quart size bag.  But even if you're not, you still don't need to take your giant bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc.  Take only what you need or even just what you'll need before you can make it to the store.  If you're flying, have your quart bag out and ready so you don't have to dig for it during security.

6. Don't take tons of shoes!  I will be wearing my moccasins (easy to remove at the airport and comfy for walking through terminals) and taking along my flip flops, (dressier flip-flops so they go with anything from very casual to church clothes.)  IF they fit, I'll throw in my Vibram Fivefingers as well, but I don't HAVE to have those.

7. Buy whenever possible.  Small things like toiletries mentioned above, umbrella, even some clothing....if you're going to spend more on checked baggage than you would buying the stuff once you reach your destination, you might as well do so and give it away before heading home.

8. Leave space for stuff to bring home and if possible, take things that you can leave behind when you're through with them.  I'll be doing some shopping at the convention so I want to leave as much space as possible for extras.  If it's just not possible, I'll visit the post office and mail it to myself.

9. Just an idea...don't even take clothes with you.  Wear one outfit and pack your undies.  Once you arrive, go to the thrift store and buy just what you need for while you're there.  If I had an extra day to go clothes shopping in SLC, I would totally try this!

10.  If you're traveling as a family....pack a suitcase for each day with everyone's things in it for that day.  Then all you have to do is grab that one bag, toiletries, etc. and you're good to go instead of unloading a suitcase for each person at each destination.