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Do you often tell yourself to pack light for travel, only to haul a suitcase so heavy you might actually need to ditch a few toiletries just to get under the luggage weight limit?

If you are lowering your eyeballs in shame right about now, then this post is for you!

You may not believe this when you hear it, but I was once the ultimate overpacker.

Growing up, my family and I took several trips to Disneyland. Disneyland. You know, the land of sitting on the ground, dripping ketchup on your shirt, and being bombarded with more activities than you could possibly hope to experience in five days. What am I getting at here? Well, I actually needed to pack much less stuff than 10-year-old me believed I needed.

My parents attempt at “packing light” came in the form of one large, hard-hard sided suitcase which our family of four shared. Each person was allocated a quarter of the space. Though I’m pretty sure my shenanigans occupied much more than my share. Disneyland isn’t a fashion show, yet I needed my fanciest zebra coat. Disneyland isn’t a waiting room with nothing to do, yet I needed books and toys. And Disneyland is located in California, where it almost never rains. But I swear I packed my raincoat and boots one year.

As an adult who is now in charge of lugging her own belongings, I’ve become obsessed with packing as light as possible while still being prepared for anything. It’s a tall order sometimes, (especially when you’re traveling for a special event, like I am later this summer,) but so far I have not ever been on a trip thinking, “Gee, I wish I had packed more.” I admit, I am still sometimes guilty of packing 15 underwears and 16 pairs of socks for a seven day trip. What kind of tragedy I expect is going to happen to my socks and underwear, I do not know. Socks and underwear aside, these are the eight guides that I use when I’m packing light for travel.

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