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Travelling light for business would seem like a good common sense thing to do, however it is easy to get a little carried away and carry around far more than you need. For business travellers the success of their business trip is of paramount importance, travelling light may be low on the list of priorities, however a little thought and organisation can mean that you do not have to carry around unnecessarily cumbersome suitcases.
Carrying around too much luggage means pushing heavy suitcases for no good reason and in the current strict climate of luggage allowances, it can hit you in the pocket with some airlines imposing substantial fines for overweight luggage. So rather than falling foul of the rules and regulations here are a few tips to ensure you travel light for business:
Ensure you use the right luggage, some bags are actually heavy without anything inside them! Ensure your luggage is light yet strong (you do not want it falling apart), bags with good lockable outside pockets are particularly useful as you can store things you may need to take out to show and get checked. The pockets being lockable ensures your items are stored away and less chance of anyone taking things out of your bag or putting anything in to your bag.
Wear a travel suit that is designed to avoid winkles and can be ironed and pressed quickly. You can wear this on the plane meaning you do not have to worry about bringing too many suits/outfits and can get it looking crisp and sharp with a quick press. It is wise to avoid suits that wrinkle and are time consuming to iron, this is time consuming and unnecessary that is best avoided.
Try and use flexible outfits by this we mean bring a suit that can be worn with a number of different shirts/blouses and shirt/blouse colours. Using neutral colours to base your ensemble around means you instantly have a few different outfits from the same suit and saves you having to bring multiple suits that are heavy and space consuming to carry. Accessories such as ties and scarves can be used to change the outfit and give it a different look whilst still maintaining high professional business dress standards. Bringing a suit that only goes with one shirt/blouse unduly limits your options are flexible space saving outfits.
Roll clothing in to neat bundles, this allows to pack smarter, only will you benefit from the increased storage space created but it will help your clothing to avoid wrinkles that in turn saves you time in having to press the items again. There is the option to use small clothing such as socks to put in to your shoes that will hopefully stop your shoes from becoming squashed and de-shaped.
Use travel sized items for your trip, the small travel sized items of toiletries tend to be noticeably smaller than the regular size meaning more space. Unless your business trip is going to be significantly longer than usual, the travel sized packs are likely to suffice. If you do need more you can always get more travel sized items, helping to keep weight to a minimum and using less luggage space.
Ensure you have your items to be checked ready for inspection. With the ever increasing security at airports you will be asked to produce your travel documents and have your bags checked and x-rayed at the designated check points and possibly be subject to random searches from the security authorities. It is easy to misplace something, lose important documents, wallets and other personal items if you get are not concentrating or get flustered.
It is thus wise to keep your travel documents and other items such as watches, keys, tweezers that will need to be shown when the checking is done. This prior planning will hopefully mean you enjoy a smooth passage through the checks and do not misplace anything.
Carry with you your important documents, any medications, toiletries and one change of clothes just in case your luggage gets lost. Avoid carrying any documents, credit cards and personal items you do not need, if you loose them you will have the additional burden of taking to deal with all these issues. Having your business related information, monies, credit cards are what you actually need.
Travelling can be simpler and go smoother if you create an effective system and follow it consistently.
Packing smarter saves you valuable time and avoids unnecessary hassles and delays leaving you to concentrate on the small matter of ensuring your business trip are a success. With so much Business Travel undertaken each traveller can over time become more seasoned and get a good idea of what they actually need and have needed as opposed to what they thought they needed to begin with. Some devise simple and effective systems such as checklists to ensure they follow the tried and tested procedures they follow. Using your experience and others to ensure can ensure you travel light meaning you are refreshed and ready for business.
Disclaimer: The information given in on this website is given in good faith and to the best of our knowledge. If there are any discrepancies in no way do we intend to mislead. Important travel details and arrangements should be confirmed and verified with the relevant authorities.
