With traveling, packing is inevitable; however, the uncertainty that comes with it is dreadful. Not knowing whether you’ve overpacked or under-packed can possibly ruin your whole travel. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to know what to pack and what not to and also how to pack it.
There are a lot of factors to consider when packing, from the luggage size and duration of your trip to the weather of your destination. Either way, knowing how to pack without compromising anything and not leaving behind the essentials is a necessary skill. Read on to familiarize yourself with how to pack faster and smarter and avoid dreading this inevitable task.
Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail
Planning is essential before embarking on anything. You have to have a checklist of what you need and what you don’t need for your trip. While planning what to pack, there are things to consider like the destination, if it’s a place with hot weather conditions you need to carry light clothes. Also, the duration of your travel; for instance, long flights require you to pack a neck pillow for your neck in case you need to sleep during the trip.
Time to Roll
Folding your clothes may seem the right way to go when packing clothes. But, in a real sense, the most effective yet simple method of packing your clothes is rolling them. Rolling your clothes provides good organization in your carry-on and gives space for other items to be packed. Besides, if you can’t help overpacking, rolling your clothes comes in handy as there is extra space left for more items.
Know What to Leave Behind
Packing light revolves around reducing the number of items in your luggage. However, reducing without compromising other important stuff is never that easy. Therefore, it’s crucial to be shrewd in deciding what to leave behind; things like toiletries should be left behind, for chances are your hotel will provide you some upon arrival.
In terms of packing light, picking the appropriate shoes for your trip is essential in your packing. For instance, there’s no need to carry boots when your preferred destination’s prevailing weather conditions are warm. Also, pack clothes that are enough for the stipulated time of your trip and don’t pack a week’s worth clothes for a three-day trip.
Prioritize Packing Cubes
Packing cubes are a fad that’ll be around for quite a while, as they’ve revolutionized the whole packing process. The convenience that packing cubes bring makes them an alternative to the plain old conventional packing. These perfect little cubed gems help keep your items compact and wrinkle-free. Their organization capability makes it convenient to find the location of any belonging without having to roughly search around your carry-on bag and probably end up messing your bag.
Utilize your Shoes
Your shoes can be used to aid in your packing perfectly. Stuffing other items in your shoes provides more space for other items. Things like socks can be rolled into balls and stuffed in the shoes. Also, don’t carry with you shoes that are irksomely huge, and that might end up taking even more space regardless of being stuffed with extra items. If you’re prone to overpacking, this hack will work well for you.
Plastic Wraps
If you have to carry fluids, including, for instance, contact lens fluids, placing them in plastic wraps is a very vital hack; this prevents them from spilling on your clothes. Also, while packing liquids, make sure you put the air pressure from the flight into consideration. High altitudes may increase pressure on the fluids, leading to expansion and spilling, you know the science behind all that. So, don’t fill containers with liquids if you have to carry fluids with you.
Plastic wraps can also be used to pack other items like your toiletries and noxious things like ant killers. These wraps help in holding small, unfoldable contents together in one place, so you don’t have to worry about contents scattering around your bag.
Don on your Bulky Clothes
Bulky clothes increase your luggage weight. If you’re traveling to cold areas, you need them, and they are also necessary for flights due to high altitude. So, the chances of having to pack bulky clothes are very high, and this translates to a decrease in space in your bag. To curb this, just put on your bulky garments to create more space and make your luggage lighter and bearable to carry.
Dryer Sheets and Small Laundry Bags
Your clothes should still be smelling nice on arrival. However, this is barely possible unless you carry a bottle of fabric freshener, which is a more unnecessary space taking item. Fortunately, dryer sheets are they to simplify your work, for they keep your clothes fresh for the whole trip. Dirty clothes are also unavoidable and can still stink your clean clothes, so you also need a small laundry bag to isolate them from clean clothes selectively.
Have a Carry-on Bag
In-flight essentials, like your ear pods, phone, and other gadgets should not be packed far from reach. You don’t want the hassle of disorganizing your belongings to get a neck pillow packed at the bottom of your suitcase. Conversely, having a carry-on bag will reduce this hassle by having all in-flight essentials in one easily reachable place.
Another merit that comes with carry-on bags is they aid in balancing your belongings and prevents you from having to carry everything in a huge suitcase.
Unique Suitcase
Losing your luggage is a norm in airports; that’s why having a unique suitcase is very vital. It may not entirely stop the possibility of you losing your luggage, but it sure aids in easy tracking of your bag in case it’s lost. A unique suitcase does not mean it has to be expensive. Rather, you can still personalize your regular bag and make it stand out from the rest.
Now, you are in the know on how to simplify your packing in a smarter and faster way. Perhaps, it’s time to stop dreading packing and enjoy your trip from the start.
Resources: Smarter Travel, Travel and Leisure