Let’s be honest … packing is one of the most painful parts of taking a trip for most people. Packing takes up so much time and energy! So, I am going to take one of the most dreadful events and turn it into one of the easiest pre-travel events! You can use these packing tips for road trips, plane trips, for a three-day trip, or even a two-week trip!
Start with a packing list. The first and one of the most important steps is to make a list. I do not pack a single thing until I have made a complete list of every single item I am going to need for a trip. I am not kidding … even something as small as “Chapstick” goes on my pre-packing list. This is the only way to ensure that you pack everything you are going to think you need. Also, I start my packing list two weeks ahead of time. I do this because then I can keep adding to it to throughout a few weeks to make sure I have thought of everything. I put a symbol (*) next to the items I will be wearing on the plane or in the car on a road trip to make sure that I have them ready, but don’t accidently pack them in my bag
Lay out the items to pack before hand. When I have made sure that all of the necessary items are on my list, I start preparing to pack. I make sure that the night or day I want to pack, I start my laundry that morning. I do this because then I do not have to hang all of my clothes up just to take them off of the hangers when I need to pack them … it’s killing two birds with one stone. I dump all of the clean clothes from the dryer to my bed and separate the ones I need from the ones that will need to be put away. I then lay out every single thing that is on my list either on my floor or my bed. I do not check the items off my list when I lay them out … I check items off of my list when they go into my suitcase or backpack. (Another tip is to take that list with you to use it to ensure you bring each item home with you as well.)
Use luggage cubes! These will save your life! Okay … maybe they won’t save your life, but they will make it possible to stay organized and add more items to your suitcase. You can buy inexpensive storage cubes on Amazon. The ones I bought came with 6 different cubes and bags, but sometimes you can find deals on larger quantities of cubes and bags.
Roll your clothes. I cannot stress this tip enough. Not only does rolling your clothes allow you to pack a lot more clothing items, but it also ensures that you clothes will not be wrinkly when you take them out of your suitcase. If you have a few items that are prone to wrinkle no matter what, I suggest taking travel size Downy Wrinkle Releaser in your carry on. You don’t want to have to spend your vacation ironing wrinkly clothes!
Try to do laundry at your destination. If you plan to stay in an Airbnb, a lot of the times you have access to a washer and dryer. I know, you’re probably thinking “Samantha … no one wants to do laundry while on vacation”. Trust me, I know and I don’t want to either, but it can save you from having to bring another suitcase. If you’re flying, taking another suitcase full of clothes can be quite pricy! I would rather save the money and take only one suitcase, and spend that money on something to do while on vacation!
Secure your liquid items. This is a very important step in the pre-packing process. Nothing is worse that getting to your destination and opening your luggage to find that your liquids leaked over all of your clothes and items. Here is how you prevent this from happening: unscrew the lids to your liquid bottles, take either plastic wrap from the kitchen or a sandwich bag and place it over the open part of the bottle, and screw the lid back on. This will prevent your liquids from leaking out of their bottles!
Leave your medications in the proper bottles. Do not take all of your pills out of the bottles they came in if you are traveling by plane. It is best to leave them in their bottles incase TSA has any questions. I know it is a pain while on vacation to keep track of all of your medications. What I do is take a pill case with me. When I arrive at my destination, I separate my pills into the SMTWTFS case and put the bottles away. This way I can still keep track of all of my daily vitamins and medications without having to keep track of the bottles everyday.
Use up empty space. You can fill empty space in your suitcase with little things to maximize your space. For example, stuff your socks into your shoes. Shoes take up a lot of space in your luggage, so if you can fill them with little things (pill bottles, socks, toiletry items, etc.) , you will have more room in the end!
Wear your bulky and heavy items on the plane. If you are running out of room in your suitcase, try taking the items that are taking up the most room to see if it is something you can wear on the plane. If I am going somewhere that I will need a rain jacket or winter coat, I always plan to wear it on the plane to free up space in my suitcase because you can always take these items off once you are on the plane to store under the seat in front of you.
Hopefully these tips help you and make your next packing experience easier! If you have any other packing tips or tricks, please leave them in the comment section!
Talk to you later!
Samantha
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