When planning your next big adventure, your packing list could be a huge stressor – how are you meant to pack all your makeup for a start?! Most people take holidays to de-stress, so don’t allow your packing woes to stop you from enjoying your time. Added stress could even cause illness, which no one wants when going to lay out on a beach for a week. If you do notice a few sniffles pre-flight, Authority Health can offer tips and tricks to get healthy before take off, click here for more information. But, in order to avoid the doctor at all, follow these few steps to take the stress out of packing.
Stick To The Basics
This seems obvious, but it is by far the most underused packing tip. Before your trip, check the weather to see exactly what types of clothing you will need. Then, go day by day through your itinerary. Many of us like to add in a few “just-in-case” outfits, but in reality, they usually come back home never being worn. To avoid this, find clothes that can be re-worn or mixed and matched together. Instead of packing one outfit for each day, pack items that can be reused. If you would wear a pair of jeans two days in a row in your normal life, you should do the same on a vacation. If you’ll be gone for 5 days, think about only packing three pairs of bottoms. Bring dresses that can work well with trainers during the day for touring and then be dressed up with sandals and a necklace for the evening. Keeping your clothes to a minimum will allow you to keep your bag lighter and save some room for souvenirs! Plus, it can make the flight itself cheaper if you can get everything into handluggae and not have to pay for checked bag… more money for duty free.
Colour Coordinate
We all know that clothing isn’t the only problem when packing for a holiday. Most of us have plenty of hair products and makeup that they want to bring to keep their daily routine anywhere in the world (for me it’s taking too many lipsticks). Make this easier by colour coordinating your entire packing list. Starting with your clothes, if you have a similar colour scheme it makes it easier to stick to the basics and pick fewer pieces. If you pack a pair of jeans, a pair of black pants, and a pair of black leggings, you can pick one or two colours for tops and stick to that. This allows you to need fewer shoes to match the outfits as well. When it comes to underwear think of bras that can go with several outfits, so if you have a few slinky or backless tops then a beige or skin coloured stick on bra can go with them all – and not take up too much room in your suitcase.
Also, if your clothing sticks to a smaller colour scheme, so can your makeup. By only wearing one or two colours for a week, you can avoid bringing tons of eyeshadow palettes, eyeliners, or lip colours. Instead, if you keep a teal colour scheme in your clothing, you can stick to neutral or blue/green toned eyes. There is no reason to then pack purples, pinks, or any other colour from your makeup collection. With fewer clothes and less makeup needed, you are well on your way to keeping your luggage light on your next adventure.
Wear Your Heavy Clothes
If you happen to live somewhere warmer and will need a jacket for your destination, like spending Christmas in Europe, you may need to pack a larger jacket. Instead of packing it, wear it on the flight. We’re not saying you need to keep it on for the entire time, but when you go up to the security desk, have the jacket laid over your arm or shoulders so it doesn’t take up weight in your luggage. While on the flight, you can stow the jacket in the overhead bin or use the jacket as an easy blanket to keep you warm in a cold aeroplane.
This also goes for shoes. If your destination includes lots of hiking, wear your hiking boots to the airport, but keep a pair of flip-flops in your bag. Since the hiking boots are quite heavy, you avoid the weight. Since you have to take your shoes off to go through security anyway, take off the boots, put them through the scanner, and once through the security check, tie them onto your bag and take out your flip-flops for the rest of the journey. Both of these ideas help to save space and weight in your luggage without affecting your overall comfort.
Packing can be a stressful pre-holiday task. By cutting down to your true basics, you can figure out what clothes really need to come with you and which clothes you can reunite with upon your return. By following these few tips, your next vacation will be a breeze.
What are your top packing tips?
