Pack Light, Travel Far

Five things worth taking - and a (metaphorical) do not pack list

One time, when I moved from Washington, D.C., to Eastern Europe, the sea freight took months to arrive. When the boxes finally showed up, I opened one labeled Miscellaneous and found a bent wire hanger, an empty shampoo bottle, torn tights, and several single socks. It took me a while to realize the movers had carefully packed up an entire wastebasket and shipped it across the Atlantic.

I’ve done five international moves in my life, and one requirement is categorizing your belongings correctly: what goes with you on the plane, what goes air freight, what goes sea freight, what goes into storage, and what should just go (or be given) away. I’d clearly made a mistake.

As they say: wherever you go, there you are. And there I was, with all the things I meant to cast aside.

These days, I travel almost every week for work. I’ve learned to pare down the belongings I bring with me. Even for a week-long trip overseas, I try to stick to one carry-on suitcase and a generously sized carry-on bag that slides under an airline seat. My main motivation is practical – no stress with tight connections, no waiting at baggage claim, and no panicked scrambles for missing bags. But I’ll also admit that I’ve been careful about packing since I shipped garbage. And averse to large suitcases ever since I dropped my newborn child in an airport (read all about it).

Even when I travel light, my baggage is laden with metaphors. It’s about what I carry, what I leave behind, what I think I need, and what I’ve learned I can live without. In that spirit, here are five things I’ve learned not to take – metaphorically. And five things I always take – literally.

DO NOT PACK LIST

Here’s what I leave behind.

These things are mostly metaphorical and yet all too real. I do not recommend carrying them in either sense.

1. An Item for Every Eventuality

I spent much of my life thinking I had to haul around things for every possible situation, only to discover I was profoundly flawed at predicting the future – and the weather. Now I just pack for the most likely outcome. Surprises are a reason to resourcefully go without – or to go shopping at your destination.

2. Outfits for Imaginary Katya

In the past, I have packed not just for where I was going, but for the person I imagined I’d be in that place. She never materialized, and the jaunty hats and blood-red lipstick went unworn. To my earlier point: wherever I go, there I am.

3. Guilt Souvenirs
I try to leave behind the things I used to carry out of obligation — bad relationships, unwanted roles, unneeded and bulky gifts. If it’s breaking my increasingly resentful back, that’s a sign I should put it down.

4. The Traveling Circus of Critics

Then there are the more abstract things on the do-not-pack list. Like these clowns who keep showing up in their caravans, sometimes freeloading it in my head and other times hanging out with the real-world trolls who suggest I’m too much or not enough. Best to ignore them, like a bad seatmate on a long flight.

5. The Need to Be Liked
Like the circus, this one sneaks in the bags all too often. It’s fragile and takes up far too much room. Best to shed it. No one in Security will ever be handing out validation anyway.

PACKING LIST

Here’s what I take.

While I don’t pack for EVERY eventuality, these items are indispensable, and I end up using most of them every time I hit the road.

1. Big-ass Shoulder Bag

This Rothy’s bag looks fairly sophisticated but because it’s just a giant unstructured tote bag, it can fit multiple laptops, notebooks, cosmetic bags, a wallet, and anything that doesn’t fit in the suitcase. Mine weighs an absurd amount so to avoid looking like Quasimodo, I place it on my suitcase while traversing the airport and the handles line up OK with the top of my retractable suitcase handle. It is a bit hard to keep it steady because it’s so unstructured - but more structured bags I’ve used don’t fit as much and can’t be smushed under the airplane seat. You can get matching zip-up clutches or wristlets to stick in the bag to organize power cords – and then they double as a purse as needed. Best of all, it’s machine washable. So are their shoes.

2. Lambswool

This is what ballerinas put in their pointe shoes – and what I pack into the toes of my high heels. Cushy for the toes, keeps the fit at the heel just right, and takes up no room in a suitcase.

3. Anti-blister balm

Sometimes I end up walking far more than anticipated on a trip and can feel the beginnings of a blister coming on, high heels or not. This stuff is amazing. I rub it on the painful spot before things get worse – and have never gotten a blister.

4. Fashion tape

Saved me the time my blouse showed too much of my bra. And the time my pants hem came undone. And it doubles as a lint remover in a pinch. Much better than safety pins and safe on even silk.

5. ReliefBand

I get motion sick turning in a circle. A friend at work recommended the Flex model, and it’s saved me from a life of nausea. I used to have to pound Dramamine to survive laptop time on Amtrak. And then coffee so I could stay awake. I still felt sick. Not anymore! I keep this baby in my Rothy’s bag and pop it on when I take the Acela, my flight gets bumpy, or I get stuck in the back of the conference bus.

So there you have it – good baggage and bad. Whether it's lambswool or life lessons, the secret to traveling well is knowing exactly what to carry—and having the courage to leave everything else behind.

Now it’s your turn: What do you take? And what do you leave behind?