Comments on: Europe Trip Packing List

By: light packer

light packer — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:48:00 +0000

I’m very much into multi-purpose toiletries, maybe because my hair is pretty resilient. I’ve used the same body wash for hair or even soap that I’ve used on the body and hair, thus cutting down on the number of products that I had to bring. Good luck!

By: Another EE girl

Another EE girl — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:11:00 +0000

Hi LJT – Sorry about the Lush products. I just decided to eat the expense and order several items at once so that the per item shipping cost was lower. There is the JR Ligget soap too. If you dye your hair then you might want to consider that, as the Lush seems to strip some hair dyes.

I’ve been a fan of solids ever since the woolite leaked on an international flight to Greece. I ended up having to wash quite a few things on landing! Just chuck up the cost of shipping solids to convenience – sometimes it is worth the extra money to pay for some specialty items.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Go with multi-purpose products to cut down on toiletries. Shampoo+conditioner, a body wash you’re willing to use on your face, a lotion w/ spf you’re willing to to use on your face (I recommend Neutrogena for both), etc. Share a camera, lotion, etc., with your man. (P.S. Try the study book from LSAC. After practice tests, look at your wrong answers and their right ones and ask yourself what you were thinking, and what they were thinking. That way you learn to give the answers they want. Helped me rock a 178 years ago.)

Gotta go, studying for the bar!
-Kim

By: L.J.T.

L.J.T. — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:38:00 +0000

Antoher EE girl: great suggestions. I already tried living out of my suitcase for a week. I was a tad casual at work, but it was so worth it. I determined just how many outfits I could make out of a few pieces and which pieces only really work as one outfit. I’m definitely considering leaving behind 1 dress, wearing the pair of shoes and packing the sandels. The suggestion for losing the hoodie and terry pants (of course pajamas) is a good one, I’ve found a modal nightgown/sleep shirt that I could take for both instead and it dries way faster. Your suggestion for solid toiletries is a good one, but I’m a loss for where to find them. Blush makes solid shampoos and conditioners, but charges almost as much as the item to ship. Any thoughts?

By: Another EE girl

Another EE girl — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:50:00 +0000

Hi Ostranenie - I hope you investigated the Onebag website at onebag.com. In your quest to drop those 5 pounds you might want to think about two areas where the weight shows up - clothes and toiletries.
* Drop down to 4 pairs of undies and wash them at night - ExOfficio briefs/bikinis are the best. Use the space to bring the bathing suit.
* Consider dumping one dress. Or better yet, get a 2 piece dress. You can wear the skirt with other tops and the top with other skirts/pants. Then get rid of one of the other skirts.
* jeans are bulky, heavy, and take forever to dry. Consider getting rid of them.
* Terry pants are also bulky, heavy, and take a while to dry. Are you using them for pajamas? Consider using a t-shirt dress that can double as a swim cover up.
* consider solids with the toiletries - tooth powder, shampoo bar, powder detergent (for washing clothes). Nivea makes a cute tiny tin of moisturizer just the right size for the trip. When I went over to solids I lost 1-1/2 pounds from my kit! And a lot less leaks...

I didn't see a light jacket on your list but you're probably wearing that, right? And just for grins - why don't you try living out of your suitcase for a week to see what needs to be tuned?

By: L.J.T.

L.J.T. — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:51:00 +0000

strange bird: Thanks for the advice on Heathrow. I checked it out and looks like they recently restored the personal item. However, in the news this week it looks like some people are having trouble when traveling through terminal 5, being asked to ditch an item. I'll plan to be able to put my personal item in my other bag if necessary.

Brad: Thanks for the link, it's strange for my little blog to suddenly get hundreds of hits, but very flattering. I'm a big fan of your blog. I read through all of your archives before buying my Aeronaut.

justcorbly: The shoes that I showed being packed are actually going to be on my feet. I was actually testing just how much would fit in the bag when I put those in there. Good point about Mephistos though. I found some really cute ones. Alas, then I would be bringing two pairs of shoes and I was hoping to get away with one and a pair of flips flops to wear to the bathroom on the train. I'm telling myself that if I "need" more I can pay the arm and a leg in Europe and get some cute ones.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:15:00 +0000

I agree with Strange Bird. Ideally, you could fit your personal item into your Aeronaut, so you wouldn’t have any problems.

Also make sure to check the weight requirements for your flights. Some European airlines have crazy limits, like 13 pounds!

By: justcorbly

justcorbly — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:18:00 +0000

Hey, followed a link from OBOW and got here. Packing way early makes sense. Too many people wait until the morning of the trip, only to discover everything doesn't fit.

I alternate between an Air Boss and a Rick Steves wheelie, depending on how many flight changes I've gotta make. i have a low tolerance for lugging my bag around.

If you're changing terminals at Heathrow, and you probably are, just make sure you've got plenty of time to make the sswitch. Figure on at least an hour or so, and more to stay happy. I've never had any problems there, but Heathrow is a humongous labyrinthine place. Lines are especially long for departing flights.

Packing tip: Don't pack shoes unless you're going to some swanky affair. I splurged on a pair of Mephistos that are great walking shoes as well as appropriate almost everywhere. They're as comfortable as running shoes.

Have a great trip.

By: Bellman

Bellman — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:22:00 +0000

This is Brad from One Bag, One World. Just wanted to let you know I linked to your posts. Thought my luggage geeks might want to know what a “geek chick electrial engineer” thought about us. How about a report on your bag and packing list when you return?

By: Strange Bird

Strange Bird — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:37:00 +0000

Be careful about the personal item in Heathrow! I flew through there when I went to Europe last summer, and while I was allowed one bag and one carry-on from the States, when I flew back, I was only allowed one carry-on—no exceptions for purses or backpacks or anything else. Double check before you depend on it.