<p>I forgot about our drink coasters with unusual beer names. They’re usually free when you are sitting at a bar.</p>
<p>To the person who recommended a Moleskine notebook and glue stick - THANK YOU! I am doing it for my next trip!!</p>
<p>I love to keep receipts, maps, postcards, and little stubs, tickets, etc., so I always end up with a bunch of things and no real place to put them! For my next trip, I am taking the notebook and glue stick and putting them in as I go. And after I come back, I will burn all the photos onto a small flash drive and keep that with the notebook as well. Such an amazing idea! Thanks again!</p>
<p>I brought back two things that have proven to be excellent souvenirs for me. We stayed in some places with kitchens and did grocery shopping, I bought the canvas bags from those stores/towns & use them here in my town. I also bought cute dishtowels, one kind I wish I could go back and buy a dozen, they are pretty & remind me of the great time I had. Useful and often providing good memories of a great trip.</p>
<p>H & I & our kids pack light. We are all able to put our stuff into a wheelaboard suitcase, whether we are traveling for 1 week or 3, whether it is to a cold climate (a bit bulkier) or warm. It is a little trickier when one packs a bunch of electronics and chargers, but we can still do it. My kids rarely ever check their bags. If they fly a very small plane, sometimes their bag is gate-checked because the overhead bins are too small.</p>
<p>Because I need to fly with a portable oxygen concentrator, that is another thing AND batteries to wrangle with, so H prefers to check his bag so he can help me with my stuff. Technically, we could both carry everything on and off the plane (& our stuff fits in most overhead bins), but it is sweet of him to help me!</p>
<p>When we were younger, we tried to always bring back “stuff.” One year we were in the UK and rushed around buying shortbread at rather high prices. When we gifted everyone and went to Costco, we learned that they sold the same shortbread MUCH cheaper (though it was delicious).</p>
<p>We tend now to buy Trader Joe’s stuff (consumable) for the neighbor who watched our home and the kind persons who drive us to and from the airport. 
Hawaii currently has no Trader Joe’s, but if they end up with one, we will stop buying this as well. </p>
<p>Even for holidays and special events, we tend to give consumables and practical gifts, as most of the folks we know have too much “stuff” and are working at decluttering.</p>
<p>Some mom- I also buy reusable grocery bags and dish towels. </p>
<p>Quant, I went to France last year with a rolling suitcase and big carry on tote bag. Learned my lesson. Going to Italy for three weeks in September. Rolling carry on and tote/purse. 2 dresses (1 is reversible!), 3 skirts, 2 pants, 1 legging, 6 sleeveless tops, 4 long sleeve shirts or sweaters, 1 blazer, 1 swimsuit, 2 scarves, 2 belts, 1 hat, underwear, socks and 4 pr. shoes. And it all fits! </p>
<p>We also do ornaments. Our Christmas tree really is like a big scrapbook of our adventures. I’ve learned to date ornaments to help remember what year we went where. </p>
<p>With my preferred airline, I can check 3 bags up to 70 lb apiece, but still overwhelmingly prefer carryon. And I do get secretly frustrated w coworkers who check a bag for a 2, 3 or 4 day trip. That means we have to wait for you, and we can’t jump on earlier flights / go standby. No thanks. </p>
<p>I like to travel with my garment bag as my only bag most of the time and I do not check it (shoes and other stuff fit in there nicely). If it is a 2-day trip, everything I need fits into the large Tumi laptop tote. I think ladies have it easier with many more clothing options. For guys, it is slacks and shirts for business and usually no synthetics, but ladies can get away with polyester/polyester blend pants, tops and dresses that do not take up much space and can be worn without ironing.</p>
<p>I think when you travel a lot you learn what you really need and it becomes easy to strip out the rest. Recently I went on a trip with a friend. She started preparing for the trip 3 days in advance and stayed in the night before our trip to pack. I packed a half hour before we left. I already had a mental list of what I needed and my toiletries bag was still packed from a recent trip. </p>
<p>My H packs even lighter than I do. He’s not wearing three-piece suits or anything but his khakis and jeans aren’t tiny. On our trip he had a little gym bag sized thing. Of course, he’s a minimalist when it comes to clothes, so I’m sure that helps.</p>
<p>So many awesome stories and items you guys take back! I don’t frequent souvenir stores. When I was in my trip we’d stop if we saw anything cool. We’d head to market early morning and see what people were selling or while walking around town stop into a small trinket store. If I wanted something that had the countries name or cities name, then I’d go into a souvenir shop. </p>
<p>The unfortunate thing is where I’m going they don’t have cute stores. You’re more likely to find a convenience store with the generic foods and freshly made pastries and meats! Next time I’ll spend more time looking in those stores, though. I could’ve found little candies of some sort. </p>
<p>I also do 2 weeks w carryon only. I hate checking a bag–it slows you down, especially when u reenter the country. The trick w carryon-only is to pack a lot of black clothes. Everything matches, and u can’t see how grubby it is.</p>
<p>Then I also pack an empty XL size Ziploc Big Bag. If it turns out I have extra stuff to bring back at the end of the trip, I put the prized addition in my carryon, then stuff my low-value dirty laundry in the Ziploc, and check it.</p>
<p>I pack my outfits rolled in ziploc bags - 1 outfit per bag, including accessories, everything rolled – and then I bring a pillowcase that serves as a holder for dirty laundry.</p>
<p>Just checked the bag I’m bringing for 2 weeks – I have 8 different outfits without repeating an outfit (though of course I’m repeating pants). 2 different hot pink tops that go with white pants, 3 different blue and gray tops that go with gray pants, a casual dress, 2 white tops that go with black pants, plus the outfit I’m wearing on the plane. Plus workout clothing / sneakers and bathing suit. Add toiletries/makeup, 2 tour books covering my destination, and that’s it. And yes, this is a normal size carryon. I have a large bag that serves as my “briefcase” of sorts that holds computer, accessories and other work-related stuff, and then a passport holder that I sling across my chest that holds passport, phone, ID and money. </p>
<p>I was actually going to bring a bigger bag and check it, but I have one connection that is particularly tight with 2 airlines that don’t interline with one another so for that leg I’d have to retrieve my bags and re-check. </p>
<p>For those who do carry on only, do you buy things like shampoo, conditioner and contact solution at your destination? That’s the thing that prevents me from doing only carry on- that darn max 3 oz liquid thing that all has to fit in a 1 qt. ziplock!</p>
<p>I buy Christmas ornaments and occasionally refrigerator magnets. When my daughter did her People to People trip to Europe though, she bought some cool stuff as gifts for others- a rosary from the Vatican for me, a Swiss Army knife from Lucerne for her brother, a Murano glass vase for her grandma and grandpa from the actual factory (they gave her a lot of money to spend on souvenirs) and lots of Swiss chocolate- yum. </p>
<p>Lots of times we just bring home memories, but try to make it something we will look at fondly.</p>
<p>Paris - a water color purchased from an artist in Montmarte
Cozumel - coral jewelry
Jamaica - a wedgewood dish in shape of a shell
Arizona - turquoise necklace
Florida - shells which we collected , identified, and display in a shadow box
Disneyland - Mickey Mouse stuffed toy of course
Door County - beautiful photos we had framed (from an afternoon we spent gallery hopping)
Washington DC - a pendant purchased from the National Cathedral that says “peace.” I wear it at least once weekly.
Annual Wisconsin fishing vacation - rocks which we polished and use as part of a candle centerpiece
New York - “I Heart New York” t-shirts. Daughters and I only wore them once, on the flight home. But the picture of us standing in front of a cab on a New York street is a favorite and on display in all our homes.</p>
<p>I have 2 pockets on each side of my carry on where I put the 3oz. sized toiletries for short trips. And you can use more than one ziploc, as long as all the 3-oz stuff fits in enough of them. I wouldn’t be using those pockets for anything else, so it doesn’t take away from my clothing space. For this last trip, the first thing we did was go to Walmart and buy store bradn lotions, sunscreen, etc. and D and my favorite shampoo/conditioner. Leaving it all behind was still much cheaper than all of us checking bags. The actual make up didn’t take up much room at all.</p>
<p>like sseamom, I use more than one ziploc. I’ve also used a quart ziploc a number of times and have never been questioned about it. I put my “good” shampoo and conditioner in hotel sized bottles, well marked. Then just pitch the empties. Dry makeup; small lotions, hairspray, toothpaste, contact solution. I try to pack toiletries for the duration, but can always find a drugstore if needed.</p>
<p>A friend of mine who has traveled extensively (seven continents, 125+ countries), collects different musical instruments. She’s had to ship some of the larger ones home, but it’s a very interesting collection!</p>
<p>I am sincerely in awe of the light packers! When my spouse sees me headed out the door on trips, he often asks how long I am planning to be on the expedition in the Antarctic! </p>
<p>I am not a big makeup wearer, so the only liquids from my makeup that go into the ziplock are mascara and tinted moisturizer. The rest is non-liquid and stays in the cosmetics case. I use the most concentrated shampoo and conditioner in tiny bottles, buy travel sized toothpaste (3 oz is a lot of toothpaste!), and pack a tube of antibiotic ointment and Aspercreme. Most of the time, the ziplock is not even full! Shampoo - I leave it out if I know that the hotel has good ones. I am the master of ziplock Tetris! :)</p>
<p>I’ve done two month trips with one carry-on (several times) but husband sends the free suitcase, to which I’m entitled, through checked luggage (empty) to carry home his souvenirs.</p>