When you are climbing up a mountain or trekking, or even taking a trip into town, the less you carry the lighter you feel.
Saucepans
The lightest saucepans are in camping shops, little square aluminium things. You can also buy tiny frying pans on special offer in department stores. But the companying shop ones are lighter.
The lightest items, are either delicate or deigned for wear. For example, aluminium pans from a cheap shop which might get dented when carried. if you want them for a one off use, or to leave behind at your destination to save weight coming home, or as a tip to a host or guide, might be adequate. But those in a camping shop are likely to be sturdier and their information on websites is more likely to give you weight and dimensions rather than selling the sizzle.
Angela in silk caftan.
Silk Clothes
I try to pack silk clothes in an overnight bag. Taking a trip to a conference on a train, making several changed, along corridors, up steps, around stations to change platforms, haven a small enough case to have with me for security, not left unguarded by the train or bus entrance, is important to me.
However I found that some pretty silk clothes will snag, leaving runs (a pair of nail scissors is useful, but my tailoring and seamstress grannies taught me that you get a needle and draw a loose thread or a loop to the back of the fabric rather than risking it getting pulled or leaving a small spike.
Silk Underwear and Tank Tops
Silk underwear is also very light to pack. You can also wear two layers of silk underwear. A silk tank top can be worn as a single garment, an overgarment of contrasting or co-ordinating colour, then washed out and used as a warming vest, or simply a vest on the way home, protected from dirty and damage under other clothes, or keeping you warm when travelling from a beach area back to a cold climate.
Sometimes if the garment is just for a change, I am prepared to risk it getting torn., or tear apart at the seems, will give you lots of changes. The alternative is to check when buying or packing, that your clothes are not flimsy.
Over-Sewing Seams and Buttons
It's sometimes quicker to reinforce seams and buttons at home, rather than risk losing the use of the garment, losing a button, or wasting time on repairs at the destination. I find it easier to match up cottons at home from a box than hope to find the right thread in a sewing kit.
Sewing Kit Threads To Match Your Travel Clothes
You could look at all your clothes and check the colours. This is even easier if you stick to a simple scheme for packing. If you are trekking, or a conservative colours, inconspicuous, coordinating with mountains, maybe such as all brown (just three shades). If you have blue eyes or are near the sea or spring bluebells or summer blue flowers, all blues, (navy blue, mid and palest blue). For no washing, matching your black hair, no decisions, all black, or all black and white. That is very easy for packing, dressing, and buying at your destination. Or pick all pink, red, mauve, orange. Even one of each for variety on a four day trip, or eight days wearing all in rotation twice, is just four bright colours. Then find a matching cotton on your reels. Cut off an arm-length piece and wind it around the notched thin card in a sewing kit. he presto, a DIY sewing kit with exactly the colour you need.
Sturdy Hiking Shoes
A useful guide I read about hiking shoes suggested that you should look for shoes or sandals with the uppers sewn on, rather than glued on, so that they don't come apart when you step into puddles or are forced to wade through water. I was looking at hiking sandals. The blog post emphasised what I and you already know, but introduced it as something to be at the forefront of your mind before choosing, rather than something you realised after you have tried on the shoes, or taken them on holiday. The sturdier ones are often heavier. So take the sturdiest for your longer trips, climbing up hills and mountains. Go lightweight when anticipating a long day walking around on the flat.
http://www.hikingdude.com/hiking-boots.php
Light Luggage
The same applies to luggage. You can either pack like people with porters in Victorian times, in a huge well-organised case like a chest of drawers with loads of compartments, so strong it will last years, but needs two people to shift it.
Or take a tiny suitcase on four wheels, cheap to buy, but vulnerable to theft and damage and stains. Mine has lasted about six months, now has a damaged wheel and my selfie stick tore through the inside picket.
Recycling Silk sleeping bag liners
If your trip is a one off and you are left with a silk sleeping bag liner, you can recycle or upcycle. In WWII leftover parachute silk in white was made into wedding dresses and evening dresses. White, from a parachute or wedding dress can be dyed into other pale, dark or tie dye mottled colours.
An oblong bag can be turned into pillows, cushion covers, tote bags, or a shift dress, tic top or long or short skirt.
I pack a week before I go away. If I am away for five days, the week before my travel trip I try on my first day's outfit, complete with shoes, raincoat or sunhat, matching umbrella, matching shoes, gloves, socks or stocking or knee-highs, co-ordinating tights or leggings, underwear which matches if it is seem around armholes or the steps come out of sleeves and necklines (add a safety pin), plus any needed belts or brooches, or neck warmers, or modesty triangles for a low neck blouse.
At the end of the week I am packed and ready to go, and no finding my luggage is too heave just as the taxi arrives to take me to the airport. At least, that's the theory.
I now have two days to spare to give my holiday address to the family, instruct them how to water the plants, check I have the address of the destination, pack up the food which nobody else will eat if I leave it behind, for a snack in case of delays on my journey.
Unpacking At Destination
And what of the other end? I always pack a hanger. Nothing worse than a destination with no hangers. A couple of clothes pegs or loops might extend the use of the hanger. If I can pack each garment on a hanger, at the other end I hang up the garment ready for the evening meal or tex day at a conference so it is crease-free. No time wasted unpacking. Ready to rush down to reception or dinner.
Unpacking At Home
When I get home, if I have packed clothes of the same type, no need to sort clothes I did not wear from those I did wear - if I packed carefully. You could also pack all clothes which are white, all coloured, or all delicate wash, or all cottons for hot wash, so the whole lot can be washed without sorting on return. (And no risk of coming back jet-lagged and making a mistake.)
Sorting Washing
Another system is to have two laundry bags in your suitcase, one for white, one for coloureds. Take a white plastic or paper or cotton bag and / or mark a white bag with a label. Have a dark plastic or paper or cotton bag for dark laundry. When you get home your washing is ready to throw into the washer.
Alternatives are to wash all whites by hand or machine whilst away, to be sure stains don't set in. Bring home all the coloured which might drip colour on the hotel bathroom or your host's shower, bath, bathmat, tiles, towels, carpet, walls, furniture. (I once washed out a red caftan and hung it on a line above a white bath cum shower in the Singapore flat of a friend I was staying with. Somebody else had a bath or shower and moved my hanger to the end over the tiled area at the foot of the bath. tex morning red stains were on the grouting between the tiles. I spent about two hours cleaning it off. When I told the host, he shrugged, "I'm only renting," he said. "It'll probably come off eventually in the steam. Don't worry." But I do worry. I bring coloured clothes home and hang them over a red plastic bowl, get up early and move my drip-dray clothes out of everybody else's way.
Another option is to pack all clothes which drip-dray overnight.
If you do the dry run of wearing your holiday clothes. Of course, your clothes won't have that completely unworn look. Some people prefer to wash everything anyway. They wonder whether the hands of the sewers were clean, the factory was dusty, the packers were clean, the garment was worn once and returned, tried on in the shop, still had chemicals to prevent creasing which might cause a rash in sensitive skin.
Sets Of Four
I bought a set of four matching items sold as a set of four on Ebay. You could do the same by buying two different matching outfits from the same designer, or even buying matching colours form a shop or department store.
One reversible dress is two outfits. Two reversible dresses is four outfits. (One reversible dress strappy dress worn as a slip under a cap sleeved dress is two day outfits and two evening outfits without packing any clothes for a weekend.
Weekenders Outfits
Years ago I bought a multi-way skirt from Weekenders. It had two four long thin belt steps from the waist, two on the right and two on the left. You could wear it with the kick slit in the hame at the back or the side, tie the belts at the back, from, sides, or leave them loose. If you have a thin fabric, you can use a donut shape circle to pull through your fabric to shorten a skirt or top on one side or both if you have two donuts. You need to be sure the donut has smooth edges so as not to damage the fabric. Also the fabric might keep pulling out, so I found it safer and less annoying to have a safety pin at the back.
Sewing A New Look
You could even sew the skirt up at one point in the hem, such as the front or sides. Ten or twenty minutes work, even an hour if you are hanging around in a hotel bored, or waiting for the morning coach out, and you have a new look.
Buy two dresses from the same shop or designer in similar fabrics but contrasting colours. Cut off a strip with pinking sheers. You have either a contrasting belt, scarf or headband, or a pin on brooch decoration.
One twin set, or three outfits?
An old fashioned twin set of a sleeveless top and matching cardigan is one co-ordinated outfit. You could make it three outfits if you wear the sleeveless top alone, the cardigan buttoned up alone, or both with the cardigan unbuttoned to show the matching outfit.
The same applies to a modern set of a sleeveless top and jacket for a woman, a tee-shirt and jacket for a man.
If you are moving from one temperature to another, you really have three options in terms of weight. But you may feel you do not have three new looks for style.
However, as far as photographs are concerned, you can be photographed in each of three ways. This gives you two or three different looks, casual, co-ordinated, or more formal and literally buttoned up.
Four or Six - how many outfits?
If you have two skirts or trousers and two tops, let's say black and white, you have four outfits. All black. All white. Black top and white bottoms. White top and black bottoms. Add a reversible scarf, for a man two ties, cravats, beanie hats, and you have two more looks.
Six Items - How Many Outfits?
Let's say you have three shirts in all red, all white, all blue, three skirts or trousers, all red, all white, or all blue. You have nine. A mathematician would do a calculation. Do you believe the results? T's easy to check. These variations are your choices. All red. All white. All blue. Three. Red top with the blue or white skirts/trousers. Add two. That's five. White top with the red or blue skirts or trousers. Add two. Seven. Blue top with the red or white. Add two. Nine.
All blue travelling. Four garments to pack. Seven different outfits for a week.
Bored by the same old colours? Buy three scarves at the destination. Buy three ties. Buy one top with a pattern in red white and blue.
Skirts And Trousers (US pants)
You could even wear co-ordinating leggings under a tunic, like a punjabi outfit, for travel day or evening (Friday night departure for the weekend). At your destination you have a short dress, trousers, or both.
(NB in the US they sell pants and underpants. In the UK they sell trousers and pants. Ask for pants in a shop in New York or the USA and you'll be sent to a department selling jeans and suits. Ask for pants in the Uk and you'll be directed to the underwear department.)
Wearing In Shoes
The hiker's blog also reminded me about wearing in new shoes at home in the house, just to accustom your feet to the shoes, and stretch the shoes to fit your feet. If something rubs, it will remind you to take thicker socks, and pack plasters. Or take a second pair of shoes, as a replacement, or to alternate to give your foot's rubbed areas a rest.
Keeping Packing List
(If you go to a campsite or annual conference every year, you should know that you need a travelling outfit, a a day outfit, a pretty outfit for the last night dinner, another outfit for the coach trip on the mid-week afternoon off. Last year's packing list, on your computer is very handy. If you don't have one, now is the time to make this year's packing list. Print it off and file it with the destination guide and in the lid of your suitcase and on the back of the door of your wardrobe (USA closet).
Useful Websites
https://www.diyaonline.com/outlet/women.html?product_list_order=low_to_high&p=3
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.
Author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In.
Angela in red Thai silk top and jacket.
