pldouglas

after nearly 5 years of having our holiday home in Yalikavak we still find we are taking our full quota of luggage allowance. We thought after all this time, with clothes etc already out there, that we would be down to just hand luggage. But no, after the cheddar, minimum 10 paperbacks and a hundred other things (including battery operated lights this time) you see in UK shops and think they would be useful to take to Turkey, we are still staggering to Gatwick under the weight of packed suitcases 4/5 times a year! Are we the only ones to do this?

CATHNJOHN

Hi we take so much every time we had to invest in some digital scales just for the luggage,every time we go we are over the limit, Hubby spends most of the night before hopping on and off the scales with cases trying to get right on the limit rearranging the packing and swapping from different bags and cases,we must be mad!

kaplumba

We've had our place for 3 years and have long had the bags down to 10-15kg or less. I think I could go with just hand luggage next week. I made a decision not to fill the place with clutter (I am a cluttery kind of person), but out there I have only the things I really need and just a few aesthetically pleasing odds and ends bought there. I love that clutter free feeling and am still trying unsuccessfully to acheive it in UK. If you leave clothes etc there you should be able to travel with just passport, tickets and money. Surely you can manage for a few weeks without Cheddar etc. At the start I did take out some of the unwanted stuff lying around at home to save me buying more but most things can be bought there including the battery operated lights! I got some in Migros last year.

Guz1

I had left clothes out there but cleared them out last year. We are always heavily laden with stuff. This year I'm carrying more sheets because the Turkish cotton sheets shrank down to cot size. Bringing a vacuum cleaner too but haven't yet figured out the logistics of that. I'll be lucky if I can fit in one change of clothes.

Janeavsallar

HI
We alway find loads of things to take even though I tell myself next time I wont, there is always a set of sheets I didnt have time to wash and took home and now need to take back, same with pool towels, frozen bacon and sausages for holiday breakfasts, bits and pieces I find at home that might be useful, a teenage daughter who couldnt possibly wear any clothes she might have left last year as she wouldnt be seen dead in them this year, favourite cake from marks and sparks, dvd player , cds I could go on and on. I think if I am on holiday I want all my best and favourite things with me and not have to make do, anyone else feel the same.
Jane

kaplumba

Oh Guz1 you do make me laugh whatever do you need the vacuum cleaner for? I agree about the sheets and on one of our earlier trips we had poly cotton ones in our bags but despite the shrinkage I prefer the cotton ones during very hot weather. As for the clothes anyone who takes any notice of me out there (and I don't think they do) must wonder why I always have the same things on year after year but they don't get worn much and so feel new to me everytime! I do have a couple of new things to take out for this year so that my rich and very stylish Turkish neighbours don't start to feel sorry for me. My husband who wasn't keen on the place from the start now leaves all sporting kit out there - wet suits, snorkel stuff etc along with clothes. So I think he has settled in now. The only thing he has to carry next week is an inflatable car roof rack (don't ask)!

Jane we find that if we leave any sheets or towels that we didn't have time to wash just hanging over the airer they don't go mouldy or anything and I just give them a nice hot wash when we return. Mind you they don't get left for a year it's usually a couple of months at the most. DVD player, CD player etc are cheap enough to leave one there.

jcrian

My sister emailed to say what clothes I have in Turkey....

1 checked shirt
1 grey sweat shirt
1 pair faded red and yellow swimming shorts(wondered where they went)
1 pair of leather flip flops
1 pair sandals

So what more do I need. My wife that's another story!!!

kaplumba

Just like my hubbie and boys jcrian and they are happy and relaxed with just a few things. I can understand what it's like for Jane if she has daughters. We don't go without anything we just leave it all there and eat whatever is available there.

Janeavsallar

I guess I am too soft, mind you as long as I'm not carrying the cases I not too bothered, my job is to hold the passports and tickets he cant be trusted with those or they would be lost before we reached the airport.

Jane