I have some experience as a business traveler, but it had been a while since my last work trip and I forgot some basics. Not in the sense that I left things I needed at home. On the contrary, I brought way too much stuff.
My first clue that I was bringing too much was the fact that I used the same suitcase for this three-night excursion as I did for my ten days in Poland last summer. The problem is that I have a giant suitcase, and several smaller travel bags, but no mid-size unit (which is what 90% of the travelers I saw were using). But just because I brought the giant suitcase doesn't mean I had to fill it up!
Among the things I brought that I didn't need were:
My Bible. Guess what? Virtually every hotel room in the world has a Bible, placed there by the Gideons. I knew that!
My hair dryer. Almost every hotel in the world now provides hair dryers.
My curling iron. I rarely use it at home...why did I think I needed it on the road?
Three business books. I'm not sure why I thought I would have either the time or the inclination for continuing education.
A thick file of work. Work that could have been brought "electronically" as files on my laptop, but I never got around to anyway.
One entire extra outfit. Three days, three outfits...pretty simple right? Nope. I also brought a long coat which I didn't use because (duh) I was in Texas!
I had so much stuff that the airline put an orange tag on my suitcase warning the baggage people it was "heavy". Well, if you have to warn guys who transport baggage for a living that something is heavy, it must really be heavy!
If you suspect you are packing too much for a trip, you are probably right.
Remember, you're the one who will have to haul everything around.
