Is it possible to have too many suitcases? Reader B asks…
I am trying to simplify my life by getting rid of things I don’t need. I’ve gone through my closet, shed, and cabinets, and have taken plenty of bags and boxes to charity. After almost twenty years of frequent business travel I have a lot of suitcases—probably far too many! How many do you recommend I keep? How many do you have?
Great question! When we found out we were expecting twins we also went through a major clean-out. I realized my husband and I together had seven suitcases. Four of those were exactly the same size! We had to decide which ones were the most important, then got rid of the rest.
A lot of our decision was based on what kind of traveling we do. For my business travel I use two different suitcases. One is my beloved Victorinox Werks 4.0 20, the perfect rollaboard. For short trips I use a suitcase that converts to half-sized, the Eagle Creek Adventure Pop Top (pictured). For personal trips that are longer or need more stuff, I have a 28” suitcase by Tommy Hilfiger. These days we use that one primarily when traveling by car to hold all of the kid stuff (diapers, travel high chair, etc.).
Once we figured out which ones we use the most, my husband picked out one more bag for him. The rest went to Goodwill. I can’t imagine that we will go on a trip that needs more suitcases than this (at least until the twins are way older) but if necessary we can borrow one from family.
One thing I realized during this process—my older rollaboards were much heavier than my new ones. The technology is constantly improving, giving us lighter, sturdier, more durable bags. There isn’t really a need to keep an older suitcase “just in case” because you’ll never want to use it.
Readers, how many suitcases do you have?
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Travel one or two times a year to Europe on J or F. I take 4 (one a carry on size with clothes) suitcases to load up on shopping, that’s 210 pounds. So yeah, suitcases are needed and insurance to fight disability claims from airport workers. I love the red ‘heavy bag’ tags they put on. Maximize your checked bag allotment!
I travel domestically a few times a year for work, but personally go on 1-2 long int’l trips a year and 3-4 domestic getaways.
I have three suitcases and use them in these configurations:
US (or 8 days int’l (or black tie event): old 29″ American Tourister checked suitcase & OG tote