My DH, believing he was helping me to be more efficient and removing the hassle of a fold-up luggage cart, bought me a large roller bag from Land's End. That bag is large enough for a full-grown German shepherd dog to use as a bed! I knew it was too big and would be too heavy.
You see, he was also tired of having to corral my multiple bags and hoped that I would get everything in the one large bag.
Yep, I did. Got to the check-in counter and sure enough, it was WAAAAAAY over the weight limit. Big bucks on the outbound. Of course we had the same charge for the bag on the return trip.
Same story on a subsequent trip. I would have gone back to the previous luggage arrangement, but you how husbands get when they think they've done a great thing to help...and you're not appropriately appreciative. Ahem.
After paying big bucks on the second trip, he was having second thoughts about efficiency vs cost.
So, he bought me the next size smaller bag...
Same story as with the first. Now, I was beginning to get irked, too.
We made 3 trips from CA to Illinois and Wisconsin between Feb. '09 and Jan. '10 for funerals -- my mother, MIL, and sister. Obviously, I needed a variety of outfits and shoes. We made another trip for my BIL's funeral in Illinois in May, '10, and stayed for 9 days. Same suitcase, same charges.
FINALLY, the light bulb went on. I weighed the empty suitcase, the smaller of the two. You know what I discovered? The smaller of the 2 suitcases weighs 14 pounds, EMPTY! With a 50 pound limit, I can pack 36 pounds of stuff in that suitcase. Do you know how fast clothes and shoes can add up to 36 pounds?!
My husband has had second thoughts about efficiency. "Maybe you should go back to the big soft-sided suitcase." He really didn't like using the luggage cart for that bag...
We're flying to Wisconsin for my nephew's wedding on Labor Day week-end. I can't wait for my husband to ask me which bag I'm going to use. "FexEx ground".
Oh...and he just bought himself a bag like my smaller one.