Packing, with sanity and mobility in mind

To be a smart packer, you need a reliable system that doesn’t make the rush to get away madder than necessary and keeps you light on your feet wherever you roam.

Think of how turtles carry with them everything but no more than they need. Achieving this level of self-sufficiency takes analysis, organization and discipline. Here are some approaches:

• Three bags are all you need: one for big trips, a versatile medium-sized bag and another for traveling fast and loose, like a backpacker.

The big-trip bag should be capacious and used when you splurge, travel on an expense account, join a tour with luggage transfers or are renting a car. On such occasions, you can take almost whatever you fancy, and may want to cut a good figure by investing in stylish bags made by such companies as Tumi (www.tumi.com) and Mandarina Duck. If you favor bags on wheels, spend a little more and get a sturdy one to avoid wobble and handle breakdowns.

The medium-sized bag must be durable and utilitarian, equally reliable for short excursions and longer trips requiring freedom of movement. Stuffable, soft-sided bags, able to hold enough supplies for at least a week on the road, are a good choice. When packed for weekend trips, they should be small enough to carry on planes.

Backpacks, which leave your arms free, are ideal for the outdoors and trips requiring a lot of mobility. But keeping the contents organized is a challenge, because a backpack is basically a deep hole.

• Know your luggage. Regardless of doodads, new bags, like new shoes, are potential trouble for travelers. The more you use a piece of luggage, the more it becomes not only a bag but also an organizational system. After a while, you know which pouch is for shoes, which pocket is for your raincoat. If one of them is empty, you’ve probably forgotten something.

• Accumulate items for packing over time. Instead of throwing gear into a suitcase just before leaving, set aside the things you want to take as you think of them. Keep them with a list of items you need to buy — and don’t wait too long to go shopping, because by some perverse law of nature, you can never find what you need at the last minute. When it comes time to pack, lay out everything you’ve accumulated, reassess the items on their usefulness, and then winnow down.

• Learn from your mistakes. Unpacking things you never used at the end of a trip is annoying. Pay attention and never pack the boots or blow dryer again. It makes the difficult task of deciding what to take easier.

• Mix and match. Pack articles of clothing that go with one another and are versatile enough to be worn several ways. A black skirt and trousers can be dressed up or down with such accessories as a scarf, shawl or blazer.

Leave at home the pink polka-dot number that doesn’t go with anything else; everything you pack should work with at least two outfits. The same goes for the cotton blouse that has to be ironed. All your mix-and-match clothing should be wrinkle-proof. Apparel made of wrinkle-resistant fabrics is available from such travel gear companies as Magellan’s (www .magellans.com), TravelSmith (www.travelsmith.com) and Christine Columbus (www .christinecolumbus.com).

• Bags within bags. Much of what fills up luggage is air. It can be expelled if you use squeezable, tight-closing plastic bags for clothes that can be wadded up or rolled. Compressor bags designed for packing are sold by travel gear retailers, though zip-lock plastic bags also work just as well.

• Do your laundry. Veteran travelers pack only enough for a week, even if they plan to be away much longer. When all their clothes are dirty, they go to a self-serve laundry.

• The extra bag. Take a fabric bag in your suitcase for things you buy. Make sure it closes, so you can check it as a second piece of luggage on the return flight, when you don’t have to be as self-contained as you were when you left home.