How to Manage Souvenirs

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So you’ve successfully packed everything you need for your trip into your carry-on and now you’re off galavanting around at your destination. As happens very often, you find yourself in a store, and your eyes glaze over as you start thinking about all the wonderful things you can buy and take home for your living room, or for your loved ones back home.

Halt!

Before you shell out any of your tourist dollars, think carefully about what you’re going to buy. Sure, the shopkeeper will gladly bag up that big ceramic vase for you, but how are you going to get it home?

Think small

If you can choose between a big item and a small one, get the smallest one you can get. Oftentimes, that means you can also get a much nicer item. For example, forgo the shoebox-sized music box and instead, get the tiny pocket version. And by going small, maybe you can afford the more expensive one that’s been handcrafted by the master craftsman instead of imported from a developing nation with questionable labor laws.

Think flat

When given a choice, get something flat. You will likely be able to slide it into a pocket in your carry-on, or tuck it in between your clothing when you are packing for home. Instead of buying people in your office each tacky tiki wood carvings, consider picking everyone up flat desk calendars for the coming year that showcases famous local sites.

Find a (small) theme

If the souvenir is for yourself, see if you can come up with a theme or particular item that you can start collecting. For example, my husband and I collect refrigerator magnets whenever we travel. We follow a strict set of rules (we both have to be there, the magnet has to say the location we visited, and the tackier the better). The magnets are typically very small and barely take up any room in our carry-ons, and we get to enjoy the memory of our trip when we put them up on our fridge at home, and we get to see a tangible reminder of our trips every time we go to the fridge. Most places also sell things like key chains or postcards; find one that works for you! Postcards have some tremendous added benefits: Photos are usually professionally done, so your snapshots will rarely surpass them in quality. You can mail them home so you don’t even have to pack them! But whether you mail them or not, use the space on the back to write something down. What did you do that day? Why is this postcard significant?

Don’t buy stuff—make stuff (or make special memories)

One way to avoid having to pack extra stuff is to simply not buy anything! Instead, spend your money creating memories, whether it be trying out new foods or bringing home recorded memories instead. Try eating food from a stand, or try a locally famous dish that you might normally never try at home. Watching a guy squeeze pomegranates and drinking it straight out of the paper cup he serves it in is so much more memorable than just grabbing a soft drink from a convenience store (tip: pure, unadulterated pomegranate juice is as tart as lemons; if they offer it, ask for a blend with another fruit, like orange).

If you travel with a video camera (easy to do these days with gadgets like the Flip camera), some of the best souvenirs are of just filming “you are there” moments. Unlike a still camera where people have to stand and pose, the video camera lets you be alive and animated. Talk while you’re filming. If you have someone in your group that likes to be on camera, follow them around and have them talk their thoughts out loud. These days you can even upload some of your more interesting videos to places like YouTube to share.

Even if you’re not into videos or cameras, consider setting up a blog for your trip and publish as you go along, or write a long trip report that you can post when you get home.

Ship the item home

If you absolutely cannot pass up something, and the item is too big to easily put in your carry-on, consider shipping it home. Many stores (especially those that deal with tourists) provide shipping services. Or if you’re staying in a nicer hotel, this may be something your concierge desk can help you with.

Just remember to ask yourself if the item is truly worth the extra hassle.

L.L.Bean Offers Free Shipping to Customers (and a huge bonus to its employees)

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Big news for L.L.Bean fans: Starting today, the clothing and luggage company is offering free shipping on everything. As their Web site says, “no minimum order, no end date, just free.”

This is a pretty big deal when the added cost of shipping on mail orders can often add up to an extra 10% or so on your order. If you’ve ever waited until you could order a few items together (to avoid the relatively high shipping cost of one small item) or you decided against getting a the heavy rolling upright (wait, you don’t do that, do you?) because of how much the shipping might come out to, you can now rejoice.

Here’s the company press release:

L.L.Bean to Launch Free Shipping Forever March 25

Customer orders ship for free to United States and Canadian addresses with no minimum purchase and no expiration date

Freeport, Maine, March 24, 2011 – L.L.Bean, a leading outdoor equipment and apparel merchant, implements free standard shipping to all United States and Canadian addresses effective March 25, 2011. The company founder and inventor of the original Maine Hunting Shoe, Mr. “L.L.” Bean, introduced the concept of free shipping in 1912 by adding “post paid” in catalog copy. As L.L.Bean nears its 100th anniversary, the tradition of free shipping returns. L.L.Bean’s free regular shipping includes fast delivery with customer packages arriving in 2-5 business days.

“We tested free shipping offers with no minimum purchase for several months and the customer response was overwhelming,” said Chris McCormick, President and CEO, L.L.Bean. “Our customers want and value free shipping. It’s our opportunity to offer free shipping for all US and Canadian customers with no minimum purchase, no end date, no conditions — guaranteed.”

L.L.Bean had recently offered free shipping with no minimum purchase as a limited-time promotion, and as an ongoing benefit to L.L.Bean-branded Visa Cardmembers. With the implementation of free shipping to all US and Canadian customers, L.L.Bean increased the benefits for its Visa Cardmembers by doubling rewards on everyday purchases made with L.L.Bean® Visa® Cards. L.L.Bean Visa Cardmembers will earn 1% everywhere Visa is accepted and 3% on L.L.Bean purchases, in addition to other member benefits such as free monogramming and free return shipping.

Besides their various travel-friendly clothing items, the one item they have that is particularly Travelite-friendly is their Quickload Travel Pack.

The L.L.Bean Quickload Travel Pack

The L.L.Bean Quickload Travel Pack

Priced at a relatively reasonable $109.00, it’s currently available in 4 colors. They’re sold out of black, but both the red and navy models are rather nice. I’m not personally fond of the orange piping on their olive model, although the best color has got to be their multi-plaid. It’s screamingly loud, awesome, and just waiting to be personalized with patches and buttons!

A big thank-you to L.L.Bean. And congratulations for doing so well! According to a message they posted earlier on Twitter, today was “Bonus Day,” where they gave out $19 million to 5,000 employees. Wow!

Rick Steves “March Bagness” Sale

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Rick Steves is offering 20 percent off his carry-on travel bags at his Web site, including a terrific $63.95 price tag on his Classic Back Door Bag (regularly $79.95).

Rick Steves' Classic Back Door BagRick Steves’ Classic Back Door Bag. Image courtesy RickSteves.com.

If the classic is a wee too small for you (although if you’re a true light traveler, it should suffice), he also has his Convertible Carry-On for $79.95 (regularly $99.95), which expands to hold more gear.

In addition to the two travelpacks, he is also offering two rolling uprights on sale, as well.

The sale runs through April 3, 2011, or while supplies last.

Endangered Species Alert: Tom Bihn Crimson Tri-Star

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If you’re a fan of Tom Bihn’s popular Tri-Star travelpack like I am and you’ve been thinking of getting yourself one of them in the red crimson version, you better order yours now.

Crimson Tri-Star from Tom Bihn in Seattle.

Crimson Tri-Star from Tom Bihn in Seattle.

Earlier today, the folks at Tom Bihn tweeted that they’d shipped their very last one in indigo, and that they just had a few left in crimson.

So if you wanted one in their really pretty indigo blue, you’re out of luck… but if you wanted their red one, the clock’s ticking!

Of course as with most things Tom Bihn, there’s a good side to all this; if you’re willing to sit back an see what might be happening, you’ll be excited to know that they’ll be introducing brand new Tri-Star colors “in the coming months.”

Given that they actually have a wide range of colors on their Cordura fabrics (like wasabi green, plum purple, and cocoa brown), who knows what they’ll come up with next? Any of them would make a great option, and for people who love their Cafe shoulder bags, you might even be able to find one to match colors!

Product Review: Inflatable Footrest

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Tall people often feel very cramped in coach seats on the airplane because they don’t have enough leg room. Short folks like me, on the other hand, have a different problem altogether: Our feet don’t really touch the floor, making long flights especially uncomfortable. It’s hard to recline comfortably when your feet are dangling, and you wind up feeling restless.

If you’ve ever flown business or first class, have you noticed that they almost always have footrests? The airlines know that in order for you to feel comfortable, you really need to be able to prop up your feet.

I recently ran across an inflatable footrest at a travel store, and thought I’d give it a try for the cross-country flight I took to Florida. I was familiar with a plastic folding footrest from Magellan’s, but it was way too bulky to add when just traveling with my carry-on,. The inflatable footrest on the other hand, when deflated, didn’t seem to take up much more than an inflatable neck pillow.

Inflatable footrest from Design Go

This footrest is very similar to those flocked travel pillows. Completely deflated, you can roll it up and stash it in your carry-on. What I wound up doing was rolling it up and laying it across the top, right inside my carry-on, so that it would be the first thing I saw when I unzipped the compartment. When I’d get to the boarding area, I normally put together a little tote bag of things I want to keep by my feet (so I don’t have to reach up for my main carry-on during the flight). In the tote bag, I’ll stuff my purse, 3-1-1 resealable baggie of toiletries, my make-up baggie, and any electronics (these days that would be my iPad). For this most recent trip, I also put the (uninflated) footrest in there as well.

As soon as I’d get to my seat and settle in, I immediately inflated the footrest and tucked it by my feet. Nobody seemed to bat an eyelash that I was blowing up a pillow; probably because it looks so much like a neck pillow if you don’t look carefully.

Once inflated, this footrest is sized perfectly for the width of the foot area of a coach seat, while still providing you with room to tuck in your small carry-on behind it. The nozzle mouthpiece is on the side, and presses in so it’s out of the way. On top of that, this footrest isn’t simply a rectangular box; it’s actually formed so that there’s a front and back. You press the tall side away from you, and your feet can rest at a slight angle like a regular footrest.

Let me say, I am completely sold on this product! Being able to rest your feet for a long cross-country flight made a world of difference for me. My feet didn’t feel bloated; I don’t think they got as swollen as they normally do, so my shoes didn’t feel too tight on the flight, either.

Plus, if you’re ever in an unfortunate position to have to sleep at an airport or train station, you can actually use it as a regular head pillow (although you might want to put a towel or jacket between the footrest and your head for sanitary reasons, unless you’ve cleaned the footrest since you used it last).

Who knew something this simple would make air travel so comfortable for a petite traveler. This gets a huge thumbs-up from me. It barely takes up any space in your carry-on, and it’s worth what little extra room it takes up.

The price on this seems to be around $20, but you can find it for as cheap as $8.99 at Amazon (link).

Cruising with my one bag

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Last week, my husband and I went on the maiden voyage of the Disney Dream cruise ship to the Bahamas. It was just a four-day cruise out of Florida, but we had a wonderful (albeit short) vacation that reminded me that I really do enjoy these cruises. I always think I’ll wind up being bored, but it’s never the case; it often feels like we run around even more than usual. We traveled with some friends of ours and their relatives, making up a very nice party of 6 (small enough to be dine together, but large enough that we could individually take off and do things without it feeling odd).

One of our travelmates has been on over 15 cruises trips—an astonishing number and one I don’t think I’ll ever reach. Being such a veteran did have its advantages, though. She has a huge network of friends and acquaintances on these cruises, giving us the opportunity to enjoy some special moments this time around, like getting to visit an informal reception in one of the big royal suites on the ship. The suite was sumptuous, although I don’t know that I could justify the cost of staying in one (I was told the price of the suite was $15,000 for the 4-day cruise).

And once again, my husband and I had no trouble packing with just our carry-on for this cruise. We continue to be amazed at the amount of stuff people take on these trips, and the number of suitcases people pack. I suppose it keeps the porters in business though, because if everyone traveled like I did, they would get laid off…

If your cruise includes semi-formal dinners, you can always wear your jacket on you instead of packing it. And by being selective, it’s very easy for women to pack very nice outfits that bundle into little balls that take up minimal room in your pack. Adding extra touches can be as easy as taking a string of fake pearls or a beautiful scarf, both of which can easily slip into a Ziploc baggie.

For many people, one challenge is how to pack shoes. Sure, you can shove your shoes in your bag (although make sure you use up the space in the shoes by packing socks in them), or compress them down with those neoprene Shoe Socks I’ve reviewed. But if you absolutely cannot fit your shoes, here’s a sneaky little tip: Tie your shoelaces to one of your bag’s handles and just let your shoes dangle. Just make sure you do that with your sneakers, and wear your nicer shoes when you travel. And when I say “nicer shoes,” at least for the guys, I’m talking about brands like Rockports, which make dressier walking shoes. As long as you don’t try to match your brown shoes with black slacks, nobody will notice that you aren’t wearing shiny dress shoes to dinner.

For this trip, the bag of choice for the both of us was the Tom Bihn Tri-Star travelpack. I often use the slightly smaller Western Flyer, but went with the larger carry-on based on the assumption that I might be doing some souvenir shopping from the cruise.

In addition to a Tom Bihn pack, I actually wound up using even more Tom Bihn stuff inside the pack. I used their convertible packing cube backpack (sized to fit the main segment of the Tri-Star but also equipped with plain backpack straps) as well as their packing cube shoulder bag. While the backpack wound up staying in my pack, I wound up using the shoulder bag as my purse… which was funny, since I took two purses with me. One was a deceptively large cotton purse from retailer H&K—a very handy bag because I can stash my toiletry kit, my make-up bag, my iPad, and whatever else I wanted by my feet on the plane. [Oh, I let it slip that I took an iPad, didn’t I. I did. Santa stopped by in December and got us an iPad. I’m now a big convert; if you have any inclination whatsoever to take a laptop with you, I’d suggest an iPad. But I’ll write another post about that specifically.]

Once we started the cruise, however, I just wound up using the Tom Bihn shoulder bag because it was light and easy to tote around.

About the only thing I wished I’d brought was a pair of running shoes. Without it, I didn’t make time to hit the gym. I’m sure I would’ve on a seven-day cruise, though.

In the end, even with some extra souvenirs, we were still able to fly home without checking anything in. It really is possible to go on a cruise without taking a ton of luggage. Really, it is. You just need to think ahead and figure out how to get the most out of what you do take. Don’t take a different evening gown for each dinner. Companies like Travelsmith sell mix-and-match outfits… you can wear a sleeveless dress one night, and the next, wear your matching shrug/jacket over the dress and now you have a totally different look. Wear your hair up one night, down the next. A scarf one night, a shoulder wrap another. It’s really not that hard.

Selecting Your Travel Wardrobe

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Packing for your trip starts way before your actual travel day. The process starts from the moment you start picking clothes to add to your wardrobe. Here are some tips to help you build a travel-friendly wardrobe:

Stick to a color scheme

One of the easiest ways to build a travel-friendly wardrobe is to pick one color scheme for your clothes. Do you live and work in a big city and want a metro-urban look? Consider picking black. It really goes with everything, and it’s very easy to add a splash of color (with accessories) for a personalized look. There are a couple of caveats for a black wardrobe: If you live somewhere where it’s very hot most of the time (since darker colors absorb more heat), or if you have pets that shed. Fur is very noticeable on black clothing, so unless you can be meticulous with a lint roller, you might want to choose another neutral color.

Do you live out in the country and prefer a more natural look? Consider going with a brown color scheme. You can really build around this, since any brown-based color should match. Tan, eggshell, burnt umber… they should all work nicely.

If you would rather go with lighter colors, consider just going with off-white or tan. Just make sure you wear a slip or camisole in case the clothes are a bit sheer.

Although it might be a little harder to find, navy is a wonderful travel color, as well. You can wear navy with any off-white item, as well as other blue-based pieces.

So as you go clothes shopping, keep your color scheme in mind. Before picking up a new blouse, ask yourself, “Would I be able to wear this as a travel outfit? Does this match my travel skirt?”

Pick wrinkle-resistant clothes

Try to avoid choosing fabrics that require ironing. Even if your hotel room has an iron, it’s extra time you don’t really want to waste. These days, it’s very easy to purchase wrinkle-resistant clothing. If you aren’t sure, check the manufacturer’s treatment label, and look for phrases like “do not iron,” or “iron on low.” For items that need just a bit of spiffing up, you can take a small spray bottle of Downy Wrinkle Releaser with you.

There are quite a few places that sell travel-friendly, wrinkle-resistant clothes. Some of my favorites, like Travelsmith, L.L. Bean, Lands End, and Magellan’s will have little icons indicating when something doesn’t need ironing.

Avoid dry cleaning

In addition to being wrinkle-resistant, some of these travel-friendly garments can also be tossed in the washing machine instead of sent to a dry cleaner. This makes traveling so much easier, since you can easily rinse off an item and hang it up to dry. Some items, like jackets, may require dry cleaning, but they also don’t need to be washed after every wear. Again, look for “washable” in the product’s description.

Layer

Not sure what kind of whether you’ll run into? Instead of taking a half dozen thick sweaters with you, layer instead! It’s very possible to wear several layers and be toasty warm, even on a wintry day. If you think you might encounter really cold weather but aren’t completely sure, take some silk thermal underwear with you. These are amazingly warm, and pack into little balls you can toss into your carry-on. One brand I like for women is Cuddl Duds, which come in all sorts of colors and thicknesses, so you can have them showing and not feel like you’re exposing your underwear.

In my example, I would start with regular underwear, then a layer of silk (thermal) underwear. Over that, I would wear pants, and a long-sleeve shirt. I might add a vest to this, over which I wear a fleece sweatshirt. Or instead of the fleece sweatshirt, I might wear a 3-in-1 jacket with an inner fleece lining that zips off and turns into its own fleece zippered top. Add to that, two pairs of thin wool socks (I am particularly keen on thin Smartwool socks, which keep my toes toasty warm), and a warm scarf. I could wear a hat on top, or just wrap the scarf around my head, and stay relatively warm.  As things warm up, I can go and remove various layers and adjust accordingly.

These are simple tricks, but they really work to make packing so much easier. Give these a try!

Lands’ End: 40% off highest priced item, >$75, Free shipping

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Kevin over at the Practical Hacks blog has posted a fantastic deal, but you have to jump on it right away. Lands’ End is offering targeted sales of 40 percent off an item in their online catalog, which means you can purchase their travelpack for an amazing price of less than $38. Kevin has posted a screenshot of the price breakdown:

Although the bag is priced at $62.99, the coupon price works because the bag was originally priced at $79.50.

The link Kevin provided is here. He wasn’t sure if the coupon code would be valid for anyone else but it’s definitely worth a try. Just be aware this expires on Monday, December 13, so you need to check it out right away.

I followed the link, and got notified that the coupon was going to be applied to my purchase, so hopefully it’s valid for anyone who uses the link. The coupon code is DEC13, with PIN code 1118.

If you’re looking for a soft-sided convertible travelpack at a great price, here’s your chance!

Travelite classic tips: Clothing for women

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[Travelite classic tips are updates to my published articles available at the archive pages.]

Clothing

Clothing is probably the toughest for anyone who wants to learn how to travelite. The two biggest tips to packing the right clothings, is to color coordinate, and to layer for a versatile look.

Coordinating Colors

Remember the old “Garanimals” children’s clothing where you matched tags to match your outfits? Make sure every single item you take matches with each other. This means you’ll probably have to stick with neutrals–tans, greys, blacks, with some white or accent colors thrown in.

Layering

You can change your look with just a tie, a scarf or vest. Chico’s, a chain of US women’s clothing stores, says you have a month’s wardrobe with nine items of clothing, which they do with the following combination:

  1. Blazer
  2. Vest
  3. Short-sleeve shirt
  4. Long-sleeve shirt
  5. Tank top
  6. Long pants
  7. Broomstick or full skirt
  8. Shorts
  9. Long-sleeve buttoned overshirt

They used to have a hand-out showing the 30 layering schemes, but I was recently contacted by a Chico’s rep, who told me that they no longer provide this.

It’s been 10 years since I published this list, and styles do slowly change. Here is my updated wardrobe suggestion for a typical transition-season packing list:

  • A 3-in-1 zip-out jacket with a removable fleece liner that can be worn separately. A hood on the external shell is helpful for bad weather.
  • Reversible vest
  • 2 short-sleeve nicer T-shirts
  • Long-sleeve buttoned shirt with sleeves you can roll up
  • A sleeveless or cap shirt, or a camisole
  • Long pants. Optionally, travel/camping pants that convert into shorts by zipping off the leggings
  • A below-the-knee A-line skirt
  • 3 pairs of very thin sock liners
  • 3 bras
  • 3 pairs of underwear
  • In cooler weather, consider taking a scarf or a larger pashmina (which you can snuggle with on the plane)

Update: If you take a pair of convertible pants with you, I don’t think you need to bring a pair of shorts. If you feel strongly, bring two pairs of these pants so you can hang one to dry while you wear the second pair. I also think you can do do away with an overshirt, since you will have more than enough variety between the three other shirts. Just make sure your long-sleeve shirt uses buttons so you can wear it open over your T-shirt.

I also no longer recommend tank tops, as these are considered too casual. Depending on where you travel, some cultures frown on women wearing tank tops, as well. Either go with a fitted camisole (there are many with built-in bra or shelf), or go with a sleeveless shirt. These are a bit more modest than a tank top.

You’ll also see that I recommend an A-line skirt instead of the outdated broomstick or full skirt. I recommend that you get the skirt to match one of the tops so you can coordinate an outfit for a nicer night out.

If you have a bit of a budget, go with convertible items. Companies like Columbia Sportswear and Lands End sell jackets with inner fleece jackets you can wear separately.

On travel day, for example, a bra, a pair of underwear, a pair of socks, your camisole, the long-sleeve shirt, your vest, long pants, and your jacket, leaving you with the 2 T-shirts, the second pair of pants, skirt, and the rest of your underwear, and that’s all you need to pack in your bag. Amazing!

Undergarments

Most people suggest that you pack four days’ worth of undergarments with you. I usually also try to include one jog bra in the bunch, although those planning on going to the beach may want to count a bikini bathing suit as one set of underwear. Socks tend to be tough to dry–again, visit your neighborhood athletic shoe store and purchase socks made of Coolmax. These are more expensive, but drip dry very quickly. Many of them are double-layered, to discourage blisters as well.

Underwire bras and airport security screenings

You hear horror stories of women travelers being pulled aside because the underwire in their bras cause the metal detectors to go off. While I’ve never had that problem, consider wearing an unwired bra on your travel day. There are many sports bras with good support and which don’t use any metal at all.

“Disposable” Clothing

Save your holey socks and dingy underwear for your trip, and throw them away as you go! You’ll have less washing to do. Same goes for old T-shirts, and even SHOES! If you are a regular jogger, save your older running shoes (which are still good for walking). You can throw them away at your trip and not have to carry them home (donate them at the city’s Goodwill or church if your conscience bothers you). Also, if you’re going on a shopping trip and you’re planning on stocking up your wardrobe, take only those old clothes you plan to throw away. As you buy new clothing, you can wear them and have less to pack.