#10 When you get to wherever you're going, you have to unpack all that stuff and find places to put all of it, which you'll forget by the next morning and be in a panic.
#7 You could strain your back trying to lift it all and ruin everything! You'll be doing a lot of walking and can't be hobbled by an injury.
#5 Sophisticated travelers pack light. You want to impress the baggage handlers, don't you? You couldn't care less. Move on.
#4 Remind yourself of George Carlin's riff on "stuff." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac. Do you really need ALL of it? If so, consider a staycation.
#2 They're charging for extra luggage these days! A lot! Isn't this trip costing enough?
If, god forfend, they lose your luggage and you never get it back (Gasp!), all your best clothes will be gone forever! You will never be reunited with with that perfect black dress you are so proud to have found (on sale!) that actually fits, requires no special undergarments, and packs easily. A upscale version of Kinsey Milhone's All Purpose Black Dress, if you're familiar with the Sue Grafton (A is for Alibi) series, its loss would be too horrible to contemplate.
I just saw reportage of a jet plane crash where by some miracle all the passengers escaped with their lives, but not (and I can't believe I am so superficial to even have thought about this). . . their luggage! Their clothes, their gadgets, their . . . stuff! All gone. Oh, the humanity.
Now, if I could only learn to take my own advice (fat chance), I just might take another trip. Maybe to a nudist colony.
I agree about the extra weight. Could also result in addition pieces of luggage. Yes lugging it does happen and sometimes in the rain. I lost a suitcase (never was found) coming back from South Korea once. Most upsetting were the lost gifts for the kids.
Another minor problem with bringing too much stuff is finding that one thing that somehow got buried in the depths of the huge suitcase.
I have had luggage lost, although I finally did get it back. I would have freaked if it had been gone forever. One time I took the wrong suitcase (They looked exactly the same!)and remember that horrible feeling when I opened it and knew it wasn't mine. The man who got mine must have had a similar reaction, unless, of course, he was into ladies lingerie, but that's another story. Or blog. Anyway, we straightened it out, but I've been super careful about getting the right one ever since. Sorry about the lost gifts.
I just returned from a vacation during which I wore about a third of everything I packed. What makes that particularly unfair is that my husband had to "lug" all that extra baggage for me.
About a third is, I would think, about average. And although it's unfair, it's nice that your husband does that for you. It's worse when you forget something important — like the kid in Home Alone. Or your husband!
Wow! Well said. Wish I had read this before I packed for my last vacation! I lugged a lot of stuff through Europe that I never ended up even using.
Oh Louise, if only I could follow my own advice. My last trip was a short stay at the Jersey Shore where everything is very informal. And yet. I managed to over pack. My excuse was that the weather was so uncertain.
But then, I always have an excuse.
Great post! Notorious over packer here who must travel light for my upcoming trip to Europe. This time, I'm using a budget airline for intra European travel; one millimeter or ounce over the baggage specs and Ryan Air becomes Cryin' Air for me. Their overage fees are nasty and not budget friendly at all! Your post reminds me why else I don't want to pack heavy this time.
Hmmmmm. A fine for over packing. That just might work for me too. Or not.
Go for the folding ones. They pack easier!