The Traveller’s Eternal Dilemma: How To Avoid Carrying Excessive Luggage:
“When you get back from a trip, make a note of what you didn’t wear. That way, you won’t pack it 
unnecessarily next time”. This advice by the British actor Robert Powell has been aimed
especially at the countless people who’ve spent a large proportion of their holiday struggling with over-full, heavy suitcases and realise on their return that they took far too much with them in the first place. The problem with this, declares the “Trips With Tykes” contributor Leslie Harvey, ís that although there are “a million blogs” teaching you how to pack for going away, there’s far less guidance on learning the lessons from the journey you’ve just completed.
The Huffington Post columnist, Caroline Bologna, has concluded that whereas some people unpack immediately, there are many others who let their bags sit for days or even weeks full of clothes before they give them any attention. Unpacking becomes just
another chore and unless another tríp is imminent, there’s no deadline to do it.
However, anyone determined clear out their suitcases without delay should never, Martin Seeley, the CEO of the bedding company MattressNextDay, told the Mirror newspaper, do it in the bedroom. It should instead be in another location, preferably without a carpet and with just hard flooring. You should then inspect your suitcase carefully with a torch to check whether there are any bedbugs or other insects in there originating from the hotel where you stayed.
The Mirror’s news reporter, Abigail O’Leary, has cited the case of the scorpion that jumped out of a woman’s suitcase while she was unpacking. For Brian Milligan, an Animal Collection Officer (ACO) for the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), this was not unusual as they are often asked for help with lizards, snakes,frogs,spiders and scorpions who have stowed away in unsuspecting holidaymakers’ luggage.
Leslie Harvey suggests that the key to unpacking “quickly and painlessly” after a vacation is firstly not to
bring lots of “tourist junk” home with you but above all to take with you on your trip only the items you really can’t manage without: “Unpacking becomes even harder if you’ve then also accumulated a great deal more during your travels ”.
The English actress, June Whitfield, acknowledges that she can never
decide whether to include two or four pairs of trousers, so usually takes all of them, just in case she needs them (she never does). The British author of romantic comedies, Alexandra Potter, has depicted “Just in case” as “the curse of packing” and the recommendation by the American brand management specialist, Susan Heller, is “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money on your bed. Then take half the clothes and twice the money”.
A survey conducted by “OnePoll” on behalf of the Lenor Crease Releaser
company, highlighted by the Sun journalist, Karim Camara, on 1st September, has found that one in three travellers concede that they have no idea how to pack a suitcase efficiently: 26% have 
resorted to sitting on it to close it, 56% have consequently suffered a “packing disaster” such as broken zips (21%) and leaking toiletries (20%) and 11% have faced baggage weight penalties. In order to prevent their clothes from getting creased or crumpled, 52% roll rather than fold them,
Furthermore, 31% consider packing to be more stressful than remembering to turn off the heating or lock up the house, 56% always seem to overpack, with 36% likely to wear only up to 69% of what they’ve brought with them, 45% always pack their bags very
neatly on their way to their vacation but 26% are rather more relaxed about it on the return journey. A remaining 9% describe their packing personality as a “panic thrower”, someone who leaves it all until the very last minute.
According to research by next.co.uk, almost 50% of women overpack when they go away (using a mere 68% of the items) compared to just a quarter of men. The most prolific age group (say Next), irrespective of gender, are the 25-34 year-olds, 53% of whom admit they always take too much with them. Slightly bizarrely, one in 20 travellers questioned by Next confirmed they’ve sometimes included an oven tray, toaster or kettle in their luggage just in case they’re not provided at their booked accommodation, This also applies (notes the \Priority Pass organisation) to those who are worried
their favourite brand of tea (such as English Breakfast), porridge or table sauce won’t be available at their destination.
Next statistics indicate that, among UK cities, Cardiff residents overpack the most (over half), followed by Sheffield (51%), Bristol (50%), For London, the figure is just 36%, with the lowest being Brighton & Manchester (35%) and Plymouth (26%). The majority begin their packing process 4-5 days in advance, but for one in ten this increases to two weeks, while 11% wait until the day they’re due to leave.