Almost nobody comes home from a trip wishing they had packed more. The regret runs the other way: the heaved suitcase, the outfits never worn, the second pair of shoes that made the trip heavier and the days more annoying. Packing light is not really about space, it is about making decisions at home instead of dragging the indecision with you.
The first rule is to pack for the trip you are actually taking, not a fantasy version of it. The what-if outfit for the fancy dinner you probably will not have, the just-in-case jacket for weather you have already checked is not coming, these are the things that fill a bag. Pack for the plan, and carry a little faith that you can adapt.
Build around a single colour palette so everything mixes. When every top works with every bottom, four of each covers a fortnight and nothing is dead weight. This one habit does more to shrink a bag than any clever folding technique or compression cube ever will.
Wear the bulk and launder on the road. The heaviest items go on your body for the flight or drive, and a sink and a bar of travel soap mean you pack for a week even on a longer trip. Fresh clothes are a laundromat away almost everywhere worth going.
Leave a little room, literally and mentally. A half-empty bag on the way out is space for the things you will actually want on the way back, and the quiet confidence of travelling light, of lifting your own bag easily and never queuing at a carousel, is worth more than any item you left behind.
