Travel’s magical disappearing act begins before we leave home. Rule number one: pack light. Don’t do so because it’s virtuous or ecologically sound but because you’ll enjoy yourself more. Pack light and you feel light.

Packing light has nothing to do with overhead bins and everything to do with psychology. Less stuff means fewer choices. Choice is good, up to a point, but too many choices confuse us, and rob us of happiness, as research shows. Travel is about corralling those choices, subduing them. A pared-down life is a better, happier life. S