Packing light, and actually sticking to it

Everybody knows they overpack. Almost nobody stops, because the reasoning that produces an overweight bag is individually sensible every single time: it might be cold, it might be smart, it weighs nothing, I have space.

The fix is not willpower. It is a system that makes the decision once instead of forty times.

Start from the bag, not from the pile

If you pack into a large bag, you will fill it. Buy or borrow a smaller one and the problem solves itself, because the constraint does the arguing for you.

For most trips of any length, a 35–40 litre carry-on is enough. Not "enough for a week" - enough. The difference between packing for five days and packing for three weeks is a laundry visit, not a second suitcase. Wheeled luggage was only patented in 1970 and the upright rolling case arrived in 1987, which is a useful reminder that people crossed continents for a very long time carrying rather less than we do.

The three-climate wardrobe

Layers are not a slogan, they are a packing strategy. Three thin layers cover a wider temperature range than one thick one, weigh less in total, and dry faster.

• Base: 3–4 t-shirts or thin long sleeves in merino or a synthetic blend. Merino costs more and can be worn several days without smelling, which is the entire point.
• Mid: one light fleece or a thin down jacket that compresses to the size of a water bottle.
• Shell: one genuinely waterproof jacket with a hood. Water-resistant is not waterproof and you will find out at the worst moment.
• Bottoms: two, one of which is smart enough for a restaurant. Never three.
• Socks and underwear: four days' worth. Wash in a sink, hang overnight.

Pick a colour palette so everything goes with everything. Two neutrals and one accent means every combination works and you never carry an item that only pairs with one other item.

Shoes: the biggest single win

Shoes are heavy, bulky and the item people most consistently over-provision. Two pairs, maximum: the ones on your feet, and one alternative. If you are walking a lot, that means comfortable walking shoes plus something flat and light for evenings. Hiking boots only come if you are genuinely hiking, and then they travel on your feet, never in the bag.

What to leave at home, every time

• The "just in case" outfit. If you cannot name the specific event, it is not coming.
• A full-size toiletry kit. Shampoo exists everywhere on Earth. Buy it there and leave it behind.
• Books you have not started. One paperback you are already reading, or an e-reader.
• More than one bulky jacket. Layers, not thickness.
• Anything for a hypothetical version of yourself who runs at dawn, journals daily, and dresses for dinner. Pack for the person who actually goes.

What earns its place

• A power bank and a multi-port charger, so one plug charges everything.
• A universal adapter, ideally with USB built in.
• A refillable bottle, with a filter if you are going somewhere the tap water is a question.
• A packable day bag that folds into its own pocket. Your main bag stays in the room.
• A small first-aid kit: plasters, blister patches, painkillers, rehydration salts, any prescription medicine in its original packaging with a copy of the prescription.
• Earplugs and an eye mask. The cheapest sleep insurance there is.
• A paper copy of your key documents, kept separately from the originals.
• Laundry soap sheets, which weigh nothing and remove the need for three extra shirts.

Packing cubes: useful, but not for the reason people say

Cubes do not create space - compression makes things smaller in one dimension and denser in another. What they do is make the bag navigable: you can find one item without unpacking six, and repacking after a night stop takes two minutes instead of fifteen. On a trip with several moves, that is worth the small weight penalty. On a single-destination trip, it is not.

The weigh-and-remove ritual

Pack the bag two days before you go. Then pick it up, walk around the house with it for five minutes, and put it on a scale. Anything above about 8 kilograms for carry-on means you will be fighting it at every set of stairs, and you will meet a great many stairs.

Then remove three things. Not because you have identified the right three, but because the exercise forces a comparison you otherwise avoid. Do this every trip and after four or five trips you will stop needing to.

Carry-on only: the argument and the caveats

Going without checked luggage means no waiting at the carousel, no lost bag, faster connections, and the ability to walk out of an airport onto a train immediately. Over a two-week trip that is several hours reclaimed and one entire category of anxiety removed.

The caveats are real: liquid limits mean decanting or buying on arrival, some budget airlines charge more for cabin bags than hold bags, and any knife or multi-tool has to go. Check the specific airline's cabin dimensions before you buy a bag, because they differ by several centimetres and the gate is not the place to discover it.

The part that changes your habits permanently

Almost everyone who has had their luggage go missing for three days reports the same thing afterwards: they were fine. Slightly bored of the same shirt, but fine. Three days without a bag is the most effective packing course available, and it teaches the lesson nothing else does - that the list of things you genuinely need is much shorter than the list of things you brought.

Own only what you can carry with you, wrote Solzhenitsyn, and know languages, know countries, know people. He was not writing about hand luggage, but it applies.