The Tips:
First, I want to thank Valentina Sgro, Helen Montfort, and Janet Greene for supporting me with my perspective shift by relaying personal experiences and providing me with some of the following tips for surviving with less while on the road:
• When selecting bottoms (pants or skirts), choose something neutral or jeans as they go with everything and are basic enough that they can be recycled during a trip without feeling like you are wearing the same outfit everyday. Though we had been to Paris before, my husband was especially aware this trip that men don’t wear shorts in Paris. He ended up wearing his two pairs of jeans almost everyday.
Take only half as many bottoms as the number of days you will be there. For six days in Paris and two travel days, I had one pair of jeans, a pair of khaki capri pants and one pair of brown linen capri pants. In addition, I had two pairs of yoga pants for the travel days.
Take one or two basic cover–ups in a neutral color. It’s best if these two could be layered if necessary. I took a black thigh-length rayon summer sweater and a lightweight black thigh-length unstructured knit jacket. I layered these two pieces on the plane for warmth and to keep warm on chilly June evenings. The unstructured jacket was my most essential piece of clothing during those eight days. It traveled with me everywhere, either stuffed in my purse or on my body. It provided the perfect amount of warmth and looked good doing it.
Opt for a raincoat or an umbrella, not both: There is really no need to carry both of these unless it looks like rain will be your constant companion on your trip. Take a look at the long range forecast right before you leave and decide to decide what makes the most sense given the best information you have at the time.
Take one pair of comfortable walking shoes and one pair of dressier shoes. This is the area I’m most challenged by, because I love shoes! My husband had no trouble selecting his two pairs: Ecco walking shoes and his Birkenstocks. I struggled mightily with narrowing it down to two. In the end I selected a pair of Clark’s Unstructured slip on sandals in black leather with brown accents and a pair of gray and khaki Ecco walking shoes. I opted for two super comfortable pairs and skipped taking anything dressier as we agreed to only take casual clothing and shoes on this trip. I ended up tossing in a pair of black flip-flops at the last minute, bringing me up to three pairs of shoes. Thank goodness I did this because the flip flops were great for the airport and the plane and even for walking around the city on the warmer days.
What have you learned about packing light during your travels? I’d love to hear your tips!