Stuff that suitcase with rhyme, reason

| Friday, June 13, 2008

Orbitz recently asked readers for ideas on how to pack to reduce their baggage — you know, since airlines are charging for additional luggage now. Here are pointers in seven different categories:

Fashion tips: Choose one or two basic wardrobe colors and add some bright accents such as colorful shirts, scarves, or necklaces; make sure everything you bring goes with everything else so you can mix and match tops, skirts and pants.

Shoe sense: Choose one pair of shoes that can go with all outfits. Shoes take up more space than most packed items. Take one pair for business and one for exercise/comfort.

Laundry on the road: Pack several rolls of quarters so you can easily use a local or hotel laundromat. Pack a cord to make your own in-room laundry drying line and wash your clothes there too. Also, Ex-Officio sells underwear that dries in no time flat. At $16, they aren’t cheap. Buy two pairs, wash one each night; it’s all you need for even a long trip.

Squeezing in every bit of space: Rolling shirts and pants always seems to reduce baggage. Plus, using large Ziploc bags. The air can be squeezed out to make a flat package. The clothes wrinkle less and if anything spills in your suitcase, your clothes aren’t affected.

Ship it: Send your luggage via UPS or FedEx ground to your destination hotel 10 days before you arrive.

Be ruthless: Set out what you think you need and then go through what is there and start eliminating the duplicates or things that are conveniences which you can do without for a day or two. Remember, most of us overpack and don’t use all of what we do pack.

Luggage: A normal-sized backpack counts as a personal item, yet it holds a lot of stuff compared to a purse or tote. If you want to have a purse at your destination, slip it inside the backpack, or stuff it with socks in your carry-on so you have it with you at the destination.