Travel gives you that incredible anticipation and excitement as you consider the adventure it brings. Before that however, there’s the packing bit. Considering you may just add a few outfits to your suitcase while shopping at your travel destination, you don’t want to carry too much to start with. You start drawing your list of essentials to pack in the back of your head, and there’s the casual wear you need to carry, then the official, a swimsuit just in case you feel you need a swim, a little flashy wear if you decide to head to the club, and pajamas, particularly cute ones if you know you’ll be around company. We haven’t even dwelled into other necessities such as skin care or the shoes you need to bring along. By the end of your little thought process, you have so many heart wrenching decisions to make, that it may just throw your mind into a frenzy. Trying to include an outfit for every occasion throughout your trip can be horrendous on your luggage, and can be very time consuming especially if you’re a woman. If your bag pack’s intense weight doesn’t end up causing the plane it’s in to crash land, you may probably not even wear several of the outfits you carried along the way.So here are a few tips and tricks on how to pack smart and fast.
1. Pack the Necessary Items First
I’m not talking about the dress you’ve been dying to wear ever since you started planning on your trip. These include items such as money, passports, documents, and medication. Since the last thing you need is to be unnecessarily delayed or stranded. This way you’ll avoid scratching your head in frustration due to forgetting these necessities. The smaller details you focus on while you’re packing cause you to forget the more essential items that may be required later on.
2. Write a List
It’s more helpful than you’d imagine, and this has assisted me several times over. Write down what you’ll carry from technology to clothing, and state how many you’ll need throughout the trip. I say ‘need’ because carrying items you would like or want is too heavy a burden, literally. Consider the number of days you’ll be staying as well as the nature of the trip. For example, the number of tee-shirts you pack shouldn’t exceed the amount of days you’ll be away, if you know they’ll be cleaning facilities where you’re going, you can carry even fewer things.This also helps make the whole packing process a lot faster.
3. Pack Outfits with Neutral Colors
This is probably an eye sore for all the fashion lovers out there, but it needs to be said. Preferred colors are black, white, and browns in particular, this allows you to have ample choices regarding how to mix and match your outfits, especially if it’s a business trip. If you feel that you can’t let the fashionista inside you wither away while on your trip, you can carry one or two outfits with striking colors, and somehow work your way around them.
4. Fold and Fold Again
The more compact and tightly wound up your outfits are, the more room you have for other items on your list. Folded clothes are smaller than those that are bundled. Folding and rolling makes it smaller still. Your clothes shouldn’t take up more than half your bag otherwise it would be too much space wasted.
5. The Lightest Items Enter Last
Unless it’s an essential object, then it should go in last. These concern mostly skincare, hair care products, and toiletries. Once you have successfully managed to pack all the bulky articles of clothing, you can use whatever remaining space in your bag on these items that fit easily into tight areas.