Some lessons learned from the Eurotrip

The trip to Europe was a great way to test drive some techniques for traveling light that I plan on using on my upcoming trip to China. The traveling conditions may not be the same, but nonetheless, I learned some things that I think will be useful.

• Traveling with only carry-on luggage worked beautifully for me and my GF, who didn't think she could make do initially. I ended up hand washing my clothes in the hotel 3 times during the trip, but I wasn't always able to hang everything well on the hangers in the hotel room to dry. I now have a small clothesline in my pack.
• I had no problems with my roller luggage, but it was less than ideal in some situations trying to quickly pick it up to take stairs. Fortunately, that only really happened when arriving to or departing from a city, but I anticipate that it will be more common in China, so I've picked up an Osprey Stratos 36L pack for the trip. That should make me a bit more mobile.
• A day pack is essential. We only brought a camera bag that didn't have room for much, so I had to cram as much stuff as possible in my pants pockets while still foregoing a lot of nice-to-haves. That was a pain. At the very least, I'm going to be walking around in China with sunblock, a hat, my camera, a small memo book, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and an umbrella, so I'll be buying a small bag to carry around during the day.
• I really need to question the necessity of every item I take with me. I made the mistake of taking dress shoes just in case we went to any upscale restaurants or clubs. They took up a lot of space in my luggage, were heavy, and didn't get used a single time during the trip. I also need to stick with light clothing that dries quickly. I only used the jeans I packed on 2 of the 15 days because of how long it took for them to air dry.
• A small power strip would have been pretty helpful. We were always playing "musical chairs" with our electronics and the sole power adapter in each country. It also would come in handy at airports, where power plugs are in high demand.