© Alysia Korelc 2006 All Rights Reserved
My passion is for traveling and I never get enough! I can remember trying to pack for the first year-long trip I was to make alone on an overseas studies program that would take me to universities in Europe and North Africa. My father talked me into buying a huge suitcase that weighed more than the total sum of my clothes and I eventually sent it back home, loaded with gifts for the family. I spent a few dollars on an expandable canvas bag and a satchel that carried me through the next several year-long treks all the way through Grad School. I still have that canvas bag, to this day!
Later in life, everything I learned from those years of packing light was put into use when my darling groom and I started traveling together. We spent a month in Scotland with a carry-on and tote each (no laptops, then), while others in our group thought they were packing for a world tour on the QEII. When my husband had to be treated for a pulled shoulder from having to carry his laptop and other work requirements, we worked out an even more efficient packing strategy for him. We've been able to breeze in and out of airports, even with heightened security checks since Sept. 11, 2001 and while toting our laptops.
Two of our children have also adopted our methodology and I delight in seeing them pack, then take out half the clothes because they realize they don't really need them. One still stubbornly believes he has to cart half his weight in books with him.
So, when iVillage had a Travel channel, I wrote a few packing tips that the Producer asked to be turned into full-fledged articles. While we no longer have that channel, I still get requests for these articles. I hope you enjoy them.