Suitcase Secrets
In just a few hours, I’ll be boarding a plane and hopping the pond for a fun vacation! I don’t know why, but one of my favorite tedious life activities is packing for trips. Whether it’s my own suitcase or someone else’s, I feel like I’ve really made suitcase packing into a science! So here goes… These are my top 10 tips for packing before a trip!
1. Don’t go for a bargain on the suitcase. Suitcases are a nice chunk of change from the wallet as it is, but if you go for the cheapo suitcase, it will break. Sometimes it will break with the first use. I know this from experience…. and having your suitcase break while you’re on vacation is not fun!
2. When you’re picking out a suitcase, think about how you’d use each compartment. There are SO many options out there and everyones preferences are different. I like to have my socks and undergarments in separate compartments so they don’t get lost among my clothes so I pick something with a few smaller compartments and a nice deep main compartment with sturdy sides to hold the clothes in place.
3. Don’t take a suitcase that is too big! If you have extra room in your suitcase, your clothes are much more likely to get wrinkly. Better to have to sit on your suitcase to zip it than to have a bunch of clothes strewn about your suitcase in no particular order.
4. Make sure everything is washed, ironed (if necessary) and folded with care before you put it in the suitcase. If it has a bunch of wrinkles as you’re folding, it will have even more when you pull it out of your suitcase to wear it. I know some people roll their clothes because they think it will wrinkle them less, but I haven’t found that to be true. Plus, it takes up a lot more room than folding things flat.
5. Write down the days you’ll be gone, line by line. If you have any specific activities going on that you want to wear a particular outfit for, write that down. Then start putting together outfits for each day. (You don’t have to follow your list, but it helps to get everything you need and not overpack.) Example…
March 10 – travel – black leggings with black tee, plaid buttondown and black boots.
March 11 – dinner out – day outfit: jeans and white tee shirt with brown boots. dinner outfit: floral dress with black nylons and black heels.
March 12 – spa day – day outfit: jean shorts with yellow crop tank and flip flops, night outfit: maxi dress with wedge heels.
^ not actually my travel plans, but you see what I mean!
6. Start forming outfits by taking the pieces you know you want to bring and one by one, create an outfit with each. Write them down on your days as you go along!
7. Try to limit the amount of shoes and accessories you bring. Pick things that could go with almost everything.
8. With toiletries, don’t spend the money on individual small tubes of shampoo and conditioner every time you travel. Buy the $0.99 reusable plastic bottles and use your own shampoo and conditioner to fill them. Then don’t forget to put them in a baggie on the outside of your suitcase just in case they open up!
9. Try on your outfits as you go. If you don’t love it before you leave, you’re not going to love it when you get there. So don’t pack things you’re not sure you’ll like on yourself once you get there.
10. Take a backpack as your carry on but don’t jam pack it full of things. In your backpack have all necessary travel documents and medicines, entertainment for the plane (book or ipad) and a change of clothes. Why a change of clothes? Because if your luggage gets delayed, you will be REALLY glad you had it while you’re waiting for your suitcase to catch up to you. Also, save room so you can put your purse in there (if you have one) and your coat (if it’s cold out). This way, you don’t have to actually carry anything. It makes things go much faster, especially if you’re running to catch your plane.
What are your tips for packing suitcases? Leave me a comment below!
Safe travels, friends! <3
