How To Efficiently Pack Your Suitcase
Summer is approaching and it’s time for weekend trips, outdoor excursions and sleepaway camps for the kids. If you usually have to throw yourself on top of your suitcase to smash it closed, check out the tips below to make life a bit easier.
Check your itinerary: Before packing, I list off how many days I will be away, what activities I have planned and I check to see what the weather will be like. With this info I lay out outfits that I need for each day, trying to pack an extra outfit or two for any spontaneous activities (yes, you read that right, only one or two extra outfits – this is about efficiently packing, people!). Channel your inner stylist by packing versatile clothing that can help minimize your wardrobe by re-wearing and restyling.
Travel size: Rather than bogging down your bags with the heavy weight of toiletries, invest in travel size bottles. I love these reusable travel bottles from Bed Bath and Beyond; I refill them with my at-home shampoos/conditioner before each trip. This helps save the cost of purchasing brand name travel size bottles of shampoo, etc from CVS.
Roll your clothing: this is the king of the packing hacks; roll your soft clothing to help save space. Think T-shirts, PJ’s, undergarments, all of which you don’t have to worry about wrinkling when they’re rolled. Heavier clothing such as jeans, dress pants and sweaters can be folded normally. Once your items are rolled, tuck those on the bottom at the base of the suitcase and then put the heavier items on top.
Categorize: One of my favorite things to use while traveling are my packing cubes. They help me divide up my categories of clothing items and accessories which makes it super easy for me to find whatever I’m looking for. Sometimes using too many of them can get in the way of packing efficiently, don’t overuse them for every single item in your suitcase, only when you really need to divide up certain items, otherwise you’ll end up adding more bulk to your bag.
Heavy Lifting: If you’re flying, try wearing your heaviest items in order to alleviate your suitcase from getting an overweight charge and taking up more room than necessary in your suitcase. Consider items like heavy shoes, jeans and jackets.
Extras: Plan on purchasing some souvenirs? Make sure that you leave a reasonable amount of extra space for any prized possessions you’ll be hauling back. If you happen to being traveling somewhere to intentionally bring quite a bit back with you, this bag is fantastic- it’s incredibly compact and lightweight but can hold a ton and still act as a carry-on.
Re-pack: Anxious about how to re-pack once your trip is over? Don’t worry, we’ve got that covered in 4 ways.
This travel laundry bag is ultra lightweight and packs into it’s own tiny bag that’s about 3 inches long when not in use. Along with this
If you happen to have a giant Ziploc bag hanging around the house, that’s a great way to seal up any odors and dirt. Make sure to squeeze all the air out of the bag so that it doesn’t take up more space than necessary.
If you have very little dirty clothes to bring back, you can pack them into the inner pockets of the suitcase to keep them separate from your clean clothes.
Another tactic is to start with your clothes right side out and as you wear them, turn them inside out so you can identify them easily from your clean clothes.
Let packing be the easy breezy part of your trip by following the tips above.
