Frequent Travelers Can Avoid Overpacking With This Smart Clothing Strategy

When it comes to packing, some travelers are extreme: They can't imagine a long weekend without multiple suitcases, and they'll willingly fork over hundreds of dollars in baggage fees at the airport. They need their own skis for a winter trip in Switzerland; they stuff whole walk-in closets into their bags.

Then there's the opposite type: travelers so phobic of overpacking, they bring next to nothing. Formal outfit? Unnecessary. Spare undergarments? Buy some when you arrive! Deodorant? Please, you're not a Kardashian. This hyper-minimalist approach is often called "flying naked," and it's a cost-saving travel hack that may or may not be worth it.

But most of us are in the middle; we're willing to carry all the things we need, but don't want to feel bogged down. If we travel once in a while, we follow our instincts (and maybe Internet lists); as we travel more often, we see patterns in our behavior. What do we actually use, and what do we leave at home that we wish we'd brought? Outfits are our primary concern, because we have to wear something, and clothes are troublesome to replace, or get rid of, mid-journey. Taking several trips in a row will help you refine your process, pick the most essential vestments, and leave little-used items back in your dresser at home.

Here's how it works: You return from a trip — one of many you'll take in a short time — but instead of hurriedly throwing all your clothes in the laundry or rehanging them in the closet, you take a few minutes to assess what you wore. Did you return to the same pair of trousers again and again? Did you re-wash the same shirt, comforted by its lightweight and breathable fabric? Have you mastered the art of packing a particular dress so that it stays wrinkle=free during travel? Did you find that a certain blazer or suit just worked wonders for every occasion? Would it be crazy to own two sets of the same ensemble, perhaps in different colors? If you hit the jogging path or fitness center more often than you expected, would you benefit from additional sportswear?

Then there are the clothes you thought you'd wear, but didn't. Is this sweater nice looking but too itchy? Did you expect to do more hiking, but you never actually used the shorts with the zip-off pant legs? Did you avoid flaunting the satin blouse because you knew it would be such a pain to clean?

Different destinations may complicate matters. If you're traveling to the same place over and over, you may have to adjust for seasons. But if you're visiting diverse climates or trying out different activities, you may have to think more dynamically about what garments work. A museum tour in Paris in early spring will require different attire from a multi-day jungle hike in Guatemala. But you may observe certain personal habits, like reusing socks, or the usefulness of different types of hats.

Once you've started streamlining your travel wardrobe, you can use the same strategy for other items as well. Did your power bank come in handy, or did you find plenty of wall sockets? Did you take lots of photos with your heavy DSLR camera, or were you shooting mostly with your phone? Most travelers have to carry — or drag, or roll — everything they need, and we could all benefit from less weight while in-transit. For trips that are neither long nor demanding, you can use simple tips to make traveling with just one carry-on bag even easier.

This is also an ongoing process, and people who take several trips in a row will benefit most. Taking one short trip offers limited data, while taking one long trip, for weeks or months, makes it difficult to adjust, since you can't just unpack everything and swap items out of your home closet. But the more trips you take, the more you learn — and the lighter your load.