OK, I finally got round to unpacking my bags from my trip to the US last week, and I was so damned impressed with myself that I thought I’d share my packing list. I’ve always been a light packer, but it seems like every trip I take I manage to go just a wee bit lighter. This is a list for a week-long working trip where I needed to look fairly decent all the time:

Clothes:
– 3 tops – black, red, and blue/green (wore 1 on plane, packed others)
– 2 trousers – black and grey (wore 1 on plane, packed other)
– black cardigan (wore on plane)
– 3 pairs socks (wore 1 on plane, packed others)
– 3 pairs underwear (wore 1 on plane, packed others)
– 2 bras (wore 1 on plane, packed others)
– coat
– black boots (wore on plane)

Toiletries:
– small makeup bag with scaled-down versions of all the usual stuff
– slightly larger zippered case with shampoo, toothbrush, essential medicines, etc.

Plus work stuff – laptop with accessories, documents, and a few floppies/CDs. All this fit into my little briefcase-style carry-on computer bag and weighed about 7 kilos.

I was planning on taking a slightly larger bag, but when I found I could squeeze everything into the computer bag, I thought what the hell, I’ll just take that. I did buy some jeans and a pair of shoes while I was in the US, but these fit into my husband’s bag – had he not been travelling with me, I would have bought a little duffle bag at the airport, put my dirty clothes and toiletries in that to use as checked luggage, and put my purchases in my carry-on.

I realized while I was there that if I didn’t have my work stuff with me (laptop etc.), I could have packed a few more outfits, another pair of shoes, and some additional stuff (silk sleep sheet and so on) and travelled pretty much indefinitely with a bag MUCH smaller than the top limit for carry-ons.

What’s the lightest packing you’ve got away with? Were you happy with it? If not, what would you change?