Tips to Packing Light for Summertime Travel

You should pack things in your suitcase that are essentials. This should include clothes, a few pairs of shoes, underwear, socks, toothbrush, and towels. I would say to pack things like liquids, but liquids packed in carry-on luggage on an airplane is limited to less that 3.25 fluid ounces. Instead of lugging around a big tube of toothpaste, a travel size tube can be bought to make your suitcase lighter. This doesn't leave much room to carry things that most people need, like face wash, liquid soap, shampoo, shaving cream, and deodorant. Out of all these things, deodorant is probably the most needed.

Pack Light
The less things that you pack, the less luggage you have to pay for. To pack light for summer travel, pack light-weight shirts and blouses. In case it gets cold wherever you are, pack at least one jacket that you know will keep you warm in cold weather. Pack shorts instead of pants and jeans. Multiple pairs of jeans can get heavy in a suitcase and take up a lot of space. Two pairs of belts, a black one and brown one, should be able to match with the rest of your clothing. To decrease your clothing even more, bring one or two pairs of sleepwear and use it for the duration of your stay. After a few days, just hand wash it and wear the other pair. Repeat the cycle for as long as you stay. It might seem tedious, but packing sleepwear can take up as much as a quarter to half of some suitcases.

Ask Relatives/Friends for Help
If you really want shampoo and face wash, ask whoever you are going to stay with to purchase a small bottle of shampoo, and a small container of face wash. This will also save time, rather than buying these items after you arrive.

Shoes
I know it's the summertime and you want to show everyone your new shoes. But is it really practical to pack five or six pairs of shoes? For summertime travel, your best bet is to wear the heaviest pair of shoes that you are going to bring. This decreases the weight in your luggage. I would recommend one or two pairs of sandals, and a pair of sturdy sneakers. Now your total pairs of shoes is four, including the ones on your feet. A pair of black or white shoes should match with all of your outfits. Of course, you might have to change which pairs of shoes you are going to bring, depending on if you are going somewhere nice, like an up-scale restaurant.

Avoid Dark Colors
Dark clothing has more pigments, which make them heavier overall. Light colored clothing, on the other hand, has less overall weight. This is because there are pigments in light colored clothing. Try to avoid packing black, red, grey, brown, and purple colored clothing. If you really want to pack any of these colors, make sure that they are light versions of the original color. Wearing a dark colored shirt or blouse in the summer will make you hotter.

Bring a Light Suitcase
It might seem like common sense, but you would be surprised as to how much suitcases can weigh. There can be as much as a 6 pound difference between suitcases. This really can have an impact on how much you can pack, assuming that you are trying to pack much of your wardrobe in each suitcase. The lighter your suitcase, the less weight you carry around.

This may all seem like small or trivial things, like toothpaste or shoes, but every little bit helps. And the less weight you travel with, the less money you spend at the airport. Remember, each extra suitcase at the airport costs 15 to 35 dollars more.