Share Your Packing Tips!

Photo of Anita Ekberg packing to come to America, LIFE Magazine 1951

I didn't intend on making this a travel-themed week, but you guys had a couple great packing tips to share after my Hunter Boots post yesterday and now I'm wondering what other packing secrets you're harboring.

I'm the kind of person who either packs perfectly or does a nightmarish job of it, usually depending on how much time I took to do it and how much I know about the trip. My mom, for as long as I've known her, has literally made a strict wardrobe guide for each day of a trip, which is fine but doesn't leave room for changing one's mind on a whim.

Here are the only tips I have:

Pack a bag for laundry
Pack an extra tote or empty duffel for souvenirs, either to carry on the plane back or just to carry your stuff back to the car easier.
Don't stress too much about packing toiletries...you can almost always get what you need at your destination if necessary.
Try to pack basic colors, with colorful accents. Don't pack too many items that don't match anything else. (I'm still working on learning that lesson!)
Pack band-aids or a blister guard in your purse if you expect to do a lot of walking. I have spent SO many trips dipping in and out of Duane Reades and Rite-Aids to buy band-aids for my blisters.
If you can, wear flats in the airport. It makes security checks SO much easier.

My friend Sarah cleverly suggested packing items inside of my wellies if I put them in my suitcase...sounds like the perfect spot for tights, socks and — on the way home — laundry bags.

Now what tips do you guys have? I'm especially interested in lessons you learned when you traveled internationally for the first time!