Hostel manager in Lisbon called my 40L backpack selfish, and my back thanks her now
I was packing for a 3 week trip to Portugal and bragging about fitting everything in a 40L bag, but the hostel manager in Lisbon watched me struggle up 4 flights of stairs and said my pack was too heavy for my own good. She told me to lay everything out and cut the "just in case" stuff, which was honestly half the bag. I pulled out 6 shirts I never touched, a second pair of shoes, and a full toiletry bag I could shrink to a bar of soap and a toothbrush. My pack went from 22 pounds down to 14, and I did not miss a single thing I left behind. Now I do the lay-everything-out test before every trip, and it has saved my shoulders on 5 trips since. What is the one item you always pack and never use?