We recently went to my nephew’s beautiful wedding in Rhode Island for two nights.

Let me start with the fact that I know I’m not a light packer. I try and then more gets piled into my bags until the zippers can barely shut. With four people in a Honda Accord, I needed to be compact. Six bags later . . . Let me clarify—bag for clothes, bag for books/journals, two bags of food for the after party, my backpack purse, and my heavy, overstuffed toiletries bag. I didn’t have time to go through the three different sized toiletries bags, so I dumped out two and stuffed what I thought I’d need into the biggest one and hoped for the best.

I decided a travel bag decluttering was in order. I dumped out three travel bags, pulled out travel-sized products from the bathroom and separated the items into Eye Care, Dental Care, Body Care, Hair Care, and Face Care.

I had multiples of toothpaste, deodorants, shampoos, sunscreen, you name it. I discarded old, expired products and stored everything in separate clear Ziplock bags. This will make it easier for me to find products the next time I travel, will lighten my bag by a few pounds, and will save money, because I don’t have to buy anything for a while!

Even though there’s not a story here, I think packing lighter will save my back and my marriage!

Instead of saying, “Honey, can you help me carry this?”

I’ll say, “Honey, do you need help with that? I have a free hand!”

As I still need simpler technique for my clothes, I’d love to hear about your efficient packing routines!