Loose Ends
Tough love with the suitcase
Susan Nienow

I have talked to all of the travelers I know, but none have ever stayed in a place where they couldn't buy a replacement toothpaste in an emergency. So I'm taking inventory of the minimum number of products it takes for me to get through the day. When I showed my other half how successful I've been at cutting back, he just pointed out the suitcase I get - one carry-on bag.

We have to weigh everything. Except me. I refuse. We start with the suitcases. Who knew that 5 percent of our total weight allowance would go for the suitcase itself? Then came the brutal shock. It's not the weight that is the problem - it's the volume. Unless we're carrying books or bricks in our luggage, we'll run out of space much quicker than we'll go over the weight limit.

What will happen to me if I skip my vitamin for a couple of weeks? How many inches of toothpaste can be squeezed out of a tube? We have a weight limit that includes carry-on luggage and my purse. No cheating unless I want to wear a jacket with interior pockets and try to sneak an extra pair of shoes through the check-in station.

The list of what I might need for a twoweek trip to Africa includes a bathing suit. I can scratch that. I am not going anywhere I have to have a bathing suit. That will give me a few extra ounces. Scratch shorts - not appropriate. That leaves two dinner dresses. How many decades ago was this list written? I don't do dinner dresses.

Then there is the list from our No. 1 daughter starting with three pounds of coffee. I think she's Amazon's best customer because we have been getting several deliveries a week. Then there are a few practical things like cortisone cream for bug bites. What kind of bug? How many? Are we talking swarms of flying things or the crawly ones?

Last night, I made a trial run at packing. Roughly one-third of my things fit in my suitcase. So I need some tough love here. As in, I love clean clothes but may have to wear things more times than I want to. Out go the three extra pairs of pants I thought I could squeeze in. And the bulky sweater and extra jacket. And the extra shoes.

I tried again and got excited when everything fit until I spotted the other stack of clothes I had moved off the bed. Maybe I can't take dressy shoes, sandals, walking shoes and the two pairs I bought just for this trip. Something has to give.

My other half insists he only needs two pairs of shoes. Brown and black. Not funny. I'll give up the dressy ones - they're my "no more than one block" shoes anyway. I wonder how much it would cost me to put a pair of shoes in my other half's bag?