A recent article on About Travel, a student travel website, brings up the issue of what items you should leave behind when traveling. We think the advice could apply to anyone, although the advice for hostels may indeed be more of a /cheap traveler thing. (We’ll leave the youth hostels to our younger compatriots!)
A lot of the advice boils down to the simple recommendation that you act like you do at home instead of gearing up and buying a lot of specialty items. For instance, the author said she paid $100 for a silk sleeping bag liner that she had never used.
Wenger Swiss Army knife. These aren’t always necessary, unless you’re going camping. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The article also discusses the fact that money belts aren’t necessarily as useful as some may think. Just be conscious and careful as you are at home with your money. A Swiss army knife is another overrated item. It can be useful, but isn’t strictly necessary because things you need will probably be available unless you’re camping.
And don’t buy dedicated travel clothes. Just wear what you normally wear instead of buying special clothes. People do tend to over pack in general. You can’t really pack for every possible situation unless you want to deal with a massive suitcase. Just plan in advance, and figure out how to do laundry while you’re on your trip.
You can also assume that wherever you’re going, they have stores and you can purchase something if you have an emergency.
Another thing to think about: Do you need to take a laptop on a non-business trip? Especially if you have a tablet or even a smartphone. You can give up that luxury of the bigger screen for efficiency. You’d be surprised at what you can accomplish with a smartphone, and a pen and notebook.
The advice in the article and from TravelPro boils down to keeping common sense in mind when packing. Be realistic about what you will really need while you’re traveling and try to think back to other trips where certain items have sat in your luggage for the entire time. Leave that stuff behind.
What are some travel items you’ve learned to live without? Visit our Facebook page and leave a comment, or just leave one below. Let us hear some of your travel secrets.
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