Just this morning, I said bye to my Mom, Gram and a close family friend, who all came to San Francisco for a five-night visit. The length of their visit is very significant to my point of this blog, which is simply that they overpacked. Big time. Each arrived with a large suitcase (one weighed in at 61 pounds), a carry-on duffel and a purse. Between the three of them, I'm pretty sure we could have opened a beauty supply store that would put Sally's out of business. Among their items were various hair apparatuses, Febreeze, air freshener and an electrical make-up mirror with lights.
Yes, you read that right, an electrical make-up mirror with lights.
I once went on a 10-day trip to Toronto and New York City with only a carry-on bag, so it wouldn't even cross my mind to travel with an item such as an electrical make-up mirror with lights. The funny thing is, they didn't seem to think that they had overpacked. (In fact, I'll probably catch flak for calling them out on this one!)
To help travelers gauge when enough is enough, I pulled together a few hints that let you know when you've surpassed the reasonable packing limit.
You know you overpacked when....
- you have to sit on the suitcase to get it zipped.
- you can't lift the bag without help.
- you have a baggage malfunction.
- you have to buy a new bag at your destination because of aforementioned baggage malfunction.
- you have a different pair of shoes for every outfit.
- you don't have any room for souvenirs.
- you have to leave items behind just to get back home.
- you take your very own electrical make-up mirror with lights.
Please help me add to this list! Leave a comment with your best "you know you overpacked when..." hint for the packing challenged.
Comments
Sep 22, 2009
Unless you're off to the wilderness somewhere, I say it's far better to deliberately underpack. This way you'll be forced to buy a couple of things when you're out there, be it shoes or another coat or whatever. This way you know that you'll definitely be coming back with a couple of local souvenirs that you might find more useful than a mere ornament.
Sep 22, 2009
You also know you overpacked when...
you have to release the expandable zipper on your suitcase.
you cringe when you find out your hotel doesn't have an elevator.
you pack an outfit you don't see for the duration of your trip because it's lost inside your suitcase.
you can offer to let another traveler borrow your extra book.
Sep 22, 2009
You know you overpacked when...
you exceed the maximum weight allowence for checked bags
you have a curling iron
you wear clothing items only once (or not at all!)
Oct 01, 2009
You know you've overpacked when you spend two hours weighing and rearranging your two suitcases in London so you can fly to Paris. You were OK flying to and from Europe, but overweight intra-Europe. My opinion, take the train and stay out later enjoying the sites!