A number of people on this thread have mentioned taking tweezers, nail clippers, sewing kits and suchlike in their carry on bag. There is no way we are allowed to take sharp items like these inn our carry on bags here in the UK. Or am I misinformed?
I had all of these in my carry on flying into and out of several UK airports last year without a problem.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rojaan
I too try each trip to pack lighter than the trip before, sometimes that is hard as our trips are usually 6 weeks and a couple of continents. Our son lives in NYC so we are there at least twice a year.
Over the last couple of years I have finally reduced what I pack in makeup/ toiletries. After years of watching those infomercials for Bare Minerals I went and had demo at their Philly store, and I was hooked ! Now you can get mineral make up in various brands but I like the Neutrogena mineral make up as it is so compact and great for travelling as the brush and make up is in an all in one small applicator. You can pop in in you purse and no worries going through the screening checks. I now only use hotel shampoo and soap, I use the bathgel/shower gel to do the hand washing of undies, I use make up remover sheets that are made with coconut oil to remove ALL make up and then I dont need a night cream !
After each trip when we get home if I havent used it - I take it out of my bag and try not to pack it for the next trip. By the time I am 80 I should be down to using just a roll on bag !!!
I'm also hooked on Bare Minerals. Clientele also has a nice solid foundation with a brush. I haven't traveled with liquid makeup in a few years.
I also like a facial scrub when I travel (especially after a long international flight) and now just mix sugar packets in with my facial cleanser. White sugar packets for a softer scrub, brown sugar packets for a little denser scrub. Works perfect and one less liquid in my bag!
AFA packing light is concerned, start with a small bag. The larger the bag you start with, the more "stuff" you'll pack into it. I can go for 2 weeks to Europe with a carry-on. It isn't as easy for Mr b1513 since has size 13 shoes.
Apparently he's taking on the challenge of going around the world with no bags for six weeks. Everything he needs is in his vest or pant pockets.
I don't think I'd be able to do that (six weeks!), I mean, tampons et al alone would take up two pant pockets! And I'm sure I won't be able to buy tampons on safari.
I also get the heebeejeebees thinking about having to wear ONE pair of pants for the entire trip. Although, I could just buy and discard pants along the way. That would be pricey though.
Tampons? Oh no no no. Look into a diva cup (divacup.com). I've had mine for about six years now, and it paid for itself in less than six months. Ideal for travel like that!
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I would find it rather disturbing to know that some guy named Rolf is flying around the world with pockets full of tampons. But maybe that's just me.
I've read Rolf Potts some years ago. I must have been inspired by him on some level. I have a photographer's vest from the 1980s that I could easily travel the world in, without bags, if I had to. I just did a week in Australia with a purse, laptop bag, and the photo vest. So I'm getting pretty close just doing it to travel light, without any further motivation to promote a book etc. Sufficiently motivated, it seems to me it would pretty easy to accomplish this.
One small comment -- if the safari is going to be 6 weeks in the wilds, rather than carrying tampons then I would switched to an alternative method so that the tampons are not needed. Low dose BC pills take very little room, ask your doctor if you don't know quite what I'm getting at here. Of course if you can't take even the low dose pills, this won't work for you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Golden Sparrow
Did you guys hear about Rolf Potts?
Apparently he's taking on the challenge of going around the world with no bags for six weeks. Everything he needs is in his vest or pant pockets.
I don't think I'd be able to do that (six weeks!), I mean, tampons et al alone would take up two pant pockets! And I'm sure I won't be able to buy tampons on safari.
I also get the heebeejeebees thinking about having to wear ONE pair of pants for the entire trip. Although, I could just buy and discard pants along the way. That would be pricey though.
Last edited by peachfront; Sep 23, 10 at 3:09 pm..
Tampons? Oh no no no. Look into a diva cup (divacup.com). I've had mine for about six years now, and it paid for itself in less than six months. Ideal for travel like that!
Phedre, I have researched it but I guess I'm just afraid that my clumsy ways will somehow spill the contents all over myself when I can least afford to. Gosh, how humiliating would that be.
Quote:
One small comment -- if the safari is going to be 6 weeks in the wilds, rather than carrying tampons then I would switched to an alternative method so that the tampons are not needed. Low dose BC pills take very little room, ask your doctor if you don't know quite what I'm getting at here. Of course if you can't take even the low dose pills, this won't work for you.
Ah pills, for some reason, I never remember to take them no matter how important they are or how much they could help with my pain. As for BC, I do have the ring. And you're right, I could go about 6+ weeks without needing to worry about fem products.
I will have to someday try traveling a few weeks with nothing but a small knapsack. But I'm one of those "what if..." people who tends to think along the lines of "better safe than sorry".
Apparently he's taking on the challenge of going around the world with no bags for six weeks. Everything he needs is in his vest or pant pockets.
Am I the only one who thinks that is just plain disgusting? Does this guy have no sense of smell? or consideration for the people around him? Unless he's allowed to basically cheat and keep buying new clothes along the way, those clothes are going to reek, no matter how much he personally may bathe. Even if you hand wash it every night, a piece of clothing worn daily, be it shirt, pants, underwear, vest, whatever, is going to accumulate odors and stains.
Yes, our ancestors probably wore the same clothes for weeks at a time, but historians agree the world was a lot stinkier place in those days! I for one am glad I live in a time and place where frequently bathing and laundry are the norm.
He claims (and people along the way who've met him confirm) he doesn't smell, nor do his clothes smell. No one has commented on how much his boots smell (he's been wearing one pair for the whole trip.)
He got into an 'upscale' club in Thailand with his travel t-shirt and zip off pants. I'm not sure how likely that is to actually happen and I know a woman wouldn't have got past the bouncer with the same outfit.
He is 'cheating' in one respect. Mostly he's been staying in higher end hotels (even in Africa and SE Asia) and so has had access to twice daily showers (and he washes his clothes while in the shower), lots of towels and a place where his clothes will dry overnight. Sure, they'll dry in an air conditioned room after wrung out in a nice thick towel but would they dry in the humidity of Singapore if they were hand washed in a sink with minimal amounts of water, hand wrung out and hung outside to dry?
It has been so humid here at home (Southern Ontario) this summer that my dry overnight clothes haven't been drying overnight when I hang them up inside the house. I'm sure if I used a/c or put a fan on in the room, they would but I'm not about to waste the electricity.
When I travel in Europe I rent apartments and get one towel per person to last me the whole week (or until I wash it again in the flat.) I must travel with my own facecloth and my luxury item is a micro-fiber hair towel so I'll have a separate towel for my hair. Luckily, the apartments mostly have washing machines in them so I don't need a second towel to wring out water after hand washing.
He's traveling without a towel and without a clothesline so he's just lucky he's staying in places with lots of towels, dry enough his clothes will dry quickly and with a shower in which to keep himself and his clothes clean.
He also cheated in that once he got to NZ he had to borrow clothes because it was cold there. So he didn't carry the hat and sweater with him around the world, like I had to carry my boots and coat last January when I did SFO-NYC-DEL-CPH. It was so warm in NYC that I didn't need boots and you should have heard me shout for joy when we landed in CPH and I saw 3" of snow on the ground. I'd carry those bloody snowboots for 3 weeks at that point and was finally putting them to excellent use since another 4" of snow fell that night and I had to walk to church the next morning long before the city had dug out.
Last time I took two bags, and came back w/ a bag of gifts so I decided one big bag with space, and a nice bookbag or laptop bag as carryon.
2 wks work trip Morocco, Paris, Spain one week. I will wear some of this.
white dress Sh Shirt. brown and pink striped suit. Pink LS shirt, cream long sweater, pink and cream tanks. nice jeans, jean jacket, khakis, white shirt, nice shirt, jean capris, black dress, scarf, jewelery, pjs, sweats,workout shirt,
sneakers, cream heels, brown sandals, timberlands? hot shoes, hat?
2 socks, 5 underwear, pantiliners, bra, sports bra.
small bottles for shampoo, conditioner, facewash, body wash, some makeup. brush, headband, glasses, small purse, large purse.
pepto, fizzy stuff,
oatmeal, fiber bars, waterbottle.
ipod w/ books! laptop, camera, charger, need converter? cell
Looks pretty good! I'd take sun screen (I'm religious about it) and skip bug spray. I'd also re-think the number of denim items you're taking - denim is bulky. All those shoes are also going to take up a lot of space - wear the heaviest ones. What are hot shoes? Shes for hot weather? You've got sandals. Only 1 3rd layer (jacket/sweater) item?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by C. Howitt Fealz
I wish I could convince Mrs. Fealz to read this thread and use some of the techniques listed.
Does Mrs. Fealz carry her own luggage? That includes in/out of the car and overhead bin, plus up/down curbs or steps. If so, you probably won't have much luck. If not, I suggest Mr. Fealz become unable/unwilling to assist.
I for one am glad I live in a time and place where frequently bathing and laundry are the norm.
