Everything you need for a weekend.

Remember when traveling light was something reserved for men who wore the same shoes every day and women who didn’t wear much makeup?  Now limiting your luggage load is about more than a minimalist lifestyle, it’s about saving money – and lots of money in some cases.  As a frugal traveler, I’ve been forced to give up my monstrous suitcase for a carry-on that juuuuuust barely fits into the overhead compartment and one really efficient “personal item” bag.

The good news is, I’ve learned to become a more efficient packer and I don’t waste any time at baggage claim once I’ve landed.  Here’s how I get a week’s worth of clothes, accessories, beauty supplies and work gear onto the plane without checking a single bag.

5 Tips For Packing Light

Living out of a carry-on bag

1. Use refillable travel bottles. Sure, you could go to the store and buy travel-sized versions of all of your soaps and serums, except that you’ll end up paying way too much per ounce and not everything is available in miniature.  Instead, I bought a reusable travel bottle kit that included tiny spray bottles, squeeze bottles and an itty bitty jar for my moisturizer.  You can pick one up at Target.

2. Wear your bulkiest shoes. I have learned to drastically reduce the number of pairs of shoes I bring with me on trips, but I still usually have more than one.  If I’m planning to take boots or other space-hogging shoes, I wear them to the airport and plan to wear them home as well.  Along that same line of thinking, I also dress in layers to the airport: tights under a dress with the scarf and the belt and the versatile cardigan I wear with everything.

My airport layering look - that scarf doubles as a blanket!

3. Pack a color scheme. You’ve no doubt read about packing versatile pieces – pants you can wear again with a different top, a dress you can easily switch from day to night with small accessories, layer pieces, etc.  But I always found this was easier to read about than to actually do, until I started picking a “color scheme” for my trips.  If most of what you’re wearing is in the same color family, it’s a lot easier to mix and match pieces, stick with one (or two) pairs of shoes and generally get more use out of what you bring.  To be honest, the “color scheme” I go with most often when I travel is black, but I tend to do that in my non-traveling life as well.

4. Don’t pack for emergencies. Unless you’re traveling to the middle of nowhere – and Iowa or a really small town doesn’t count – chances are that you do not need to carry ever pill, patch, or coat that you own just in case. The great thing about the destruction of Main Street America is that you can find a Walgreen’s or Wal-Mart pretty much anywhere.  Stop packing all the things you never use.

5. Downsize your gadgets.  I purchased a used Dell mini for $100 and I now carry my computer in my purse when I travel.  I rarely pack my Kindle because I have the free Kindle app on my iPhone, which means I also don’t need the Kindle power supply.  I recently purchased an 18-250mm lens (also used) so that I only need one camera and one lens for almost all of my photography needs when I travel.  If I’m not traveling for work, I don’t even bring an extra camera because I have a camera phone.  I upgraded to the iPhone 4 instead of purchasing a separate digital video camera because the quality of the video on my phone is sufficient.  Now, these gadgets all required an upfront investment, but I travel often enough that it was worth it.  If you travel less frequently, you may simply need to take a closer look at all the gadgets you currently own and figure out which ones can do double duty while you’re on the road.

You may notice that many of these tips are most useful for women.  That’s mainly because I’m a girl. Also, I’ve found that women tend to have the hardest time with over packing – for the same reason, I suppose, that we are legally entitled to a larger share of the closet.

What do you do to reduce your luggage load?

All photos by Britt Reints. Obviously.