How to Pack: Experts Share Their Secrets (Fodor's) [Paperback]

Laurel Cardone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 1997

How to PackTired of Schlepping?  Get Organized!

Aiming to trade your jumbo suitcase for one that's merely medium-size?  Trying to fit everything into a carry-on?  Do you always pack too much, too little, or the wrong thing -- and obsess about it?  This volume is a must-have.


Strategies that even an army general would envy

Foolproof pretrip to-do lists
The packer's #1 time-saver -- travel kits
How to arrive wrinkle-free -- it's easier than you think!
Tips for packing tricky items
Help for moms and dads
Carry-on packing -- all the secrets
How to pack for the way back
What to take no matter where you're going

How to avoid the overpacking trap
Clothing checklists for men, women, and kids
Packing checklists for every kind of trip
How to buy luggage

Essential advice on major decisions
Quality check -- how to tell the good from the bad and the merely ugly

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

How to PackTired of Schlepping?  Get Organized!

Aiming to trade your jumbo suitcase for one that's merely medium-size?  Trying to fit everything into a carry-on?  Do you always pack too much, too little, or the wrong thing -- and obsess about it?  This volume is a must-have.


Strategies that even an army general would envy

Foolproof pretrip to-do lists
The packer's #1 time-saver -- travel kits
How to arrive wrinkle-free -- it's easier than you think!
Tips for packing tricky items
Help for moms and dads
Carry-on packing -- all the secrets
How to pack for the way back
What to take no matter where you're going

How to avoid the overpacking trap
Clothing checklists for men, women, and kids
Packing checklists for every kind of trip
How to buy luggage

Essential advice on major decisions
Quality check -- how to tell the good from the bad and the merely ugly

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

How to PackINTRODUCTION

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step," said Lao-tzu, the 6th-century BC philosopher.  It's a lovely sentiment.  But for most travelers, the first step is packing.  And packing is more like a giant leap across a yawning chasm.  An hour before leaving for the airport, they pull out a suitcase bought 10 years ago, blow into it, turn it over, shake it, and pronounce it garment ready.  Then they pull out a bureau drawer and upend the contents into the suitcase.  On top goes an iron, to eliminate wrinkles upon arrival.  Sitting on the suitcase to force it shut, wrestling with the fasteners, many of these same people swear there's got to be a better way, and there is.

This book will help you start a luggage wardrobe if you haven't already.  It will help you expand your luggage wardrobe if you need to.  It will also help you with the critical planning that makes packing a breeze.

My advice takes into account the practical realities of travel and of human nature.  While some pretrip packing strategies can be downright compulsive, I'm here to tell you about a few that can be real lifesavers, even for the shortest, most last-minute journey.  Frequent travelers (and there are more and more of us these days) have plenty of tried-and-true tricks that pay off every time you travel.  Some of these techniques save time, others save money, and still others save suitcase space and weight.  Other tips pay off at your destination, when you find that you've got everything you need (and nothing more) -- your clothes look great, everything matches, and your shoes don't hurt.

As a travel journalist who's often on the road, I've honed my methods gradually.  I've learned a lot from fellow travelers, whose pearls of wisdom I'll pass on to you.  I've also learned a lot, I have to admit, from my own mistakes -- as you'll see in the chapters that follow.  Reading this book should spare you similar blunders. One rule is uppermost: to make your packing a simpler first step.  So that, bags packed, you can move on to the fun part.  Here's to a lifetime of rewarding journeys!

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Fodor's; 1st edition (November 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679035176
• ISBN-13: 978-0679035176
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,618,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprise Find, August 10, 2000

By 

Mary Cay Bulbak (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Pack: Experts Share Their Secrets (Fodor's) (Paperback)

What a wonderful little book. Not only does it give helpful hints and point out things I would never have thought of, it is written in such a way that it is a joy to read. This is not your average, dry how-to book. Lessons are given with a dash of humor in such a way that after you laugh there is a "A-HA" when the message sinks in. - It's the only how-to book I couldn't put down. I recommend reading it even if your next trip is not imminent.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific, helpful, never-travel-without resource., April 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Pack: Experts Share Their Secrets (Fodor's) (Paperback)

What a find. Not only can I now fit more clothes into less luggage, but my wardrobe all looks as good when I get where I'm going as it did when I left where I was. With so many helpful tips and lists I'll never forget anything again!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Simplistic, May 24, 2002

By 

Joshua Drake (Angola, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Pack: Experts Share Their Secrets (Fodor's) (Paperback)

I bought the book. From that fact we can glean some information: I felt unskilled in packing, and I thought that this book could teach me. Judging from the content of the book I already knew nearly everything I could possibly know about packing. My recommendation, if you are unskilled in packing, or think you are, is that you read articles on the subject from any available source instead. The only part of the book that I found useful was the Appendix of luggage and gear outfitters. However most of the information therein can be found on the Internet, so if you don't have Internet access, buy this book, oh wait...