While you might hardly be able to contain your excitement when packing for a trip, your suitcase or bag has to be able to contain all your essentials, be able to close, AND fit within any size/weight requirements if you’re flying. Before you pull your hair out or stress your brain to bits, here are a few packing tips to hopefully lighten your load.
Make a List
Before you start pulling clothes off hangers and gathering all your toiletries, sit down and think about what your daily routine is like and also start limiting yourself on what clothes you need to bring — emphasis on need. When you’re short on space, you really don’t need to be bringing three spare outfits for that “what if” moment. This list should be customized to each trip, too; for example, a weekend trip list should look different from a month-long trip. Of course, a large bulk of it might remain the same, but while you can bring that cute silk dress for a weekend trip, it might not be a good idea to bring it for that month-long trip where you’ll have to pay to send it off to a dry cleaner, meaning you can only wear it a handful of times.
Christine Sarkis from Smarter Travel has a post about the ultimate packing list, though I highly recommend you cut down even from that list to your bare essentials. When packing for clothes, pay attention to the weather where you’ll be going (is it rainy? Will you be dealing with tropical humidity?). Make Time to See the World has their own version of their ultimate packing list in this blog post, and has tips on how to choose the right luggage. Check out Erin Miller’s post on Upgraded Points for a downloadable packing list. As someone who takes plenty of weekend travels, I also have my basic packing list saved in my phone, so it’s easily accessible whenever I’m about to head out on another trip.
Be Mindful of Weight and Weight Distribution
One thing I highly suggest you invest in is a travel scale, which can cost between $6 to $18 for the more high-end scales. Jessica MacDonald from tripsavvy has a list of the nine luggage scales from 2019 that she recommends. If anything, it’ll give you peace of mind for when you go to check-in your luggage whether or not you’ll have to pay overweight fees. The other weight-related tip to keep in mind is simple physics. Balance out your suitcase so it’s bottom-back heavy; heavier items such as boots should go by the back wheel of your suitcase so you won’t be the traveler wrangling with a suitcase that has a tendency to lean forward and eventually topple.
Roll Your Clothing
A common tip is to roll your clothing, and for good reason. While stacking is fine for storing your clothing at home, you’re trying to maximize space when you’re packing for a trip. Rolling allows you to compact your clothing and also makes it easier to stuff that last t-shirt in a sliver of space. The other biggest reason to roll your clothing is that it’ll decrease creases and wrinkles; this isn’t to say it’ll be wrinkle free, but you’re less likely to have those deep lines through the middle of your shirt. This post by Jessie Beck on Packsmith talks about what happened when she tested out folding vs. rolling and also includes other tips on how to pack your clothing in a compact way.
Pack a Spare Set of Clothing in Your Carry-on
I hope you never have to deal with the frustration and inconvenience of a lost checked-in suitcase, but for those who this has happened to, you’ll know the relief of having at least one spare outfit in your carry-on. Check out this article on Mental Floss for 10 things to pack in your carry-on (including that spare underwear) for other helpful tips.
Bag Your Liquids
After a long flight, the last thing you want is to clean up a bottle of shampoo that exploded in your checked-in luggage. While we certainly don’t control the pressure in the baggage hold in an airplane, we can preemptively address this problem by putting all liquids in bags. Even if it spills, it’s only a matter of taking it out of the bag and rinsing it off, rather than having to clean off clothes or your toothbrush.
If you’re still stressing out about packing, check out this collection of 60 travel trips on Travel Fashion Girl, and this list of 16 tips from Christina Guan on Happy to Wander. Above all else, remember to have fun while packing, whether it’s enjoying the process itself, or imagining all the fantastic memories to come from your upcoming trip!