You have your plane ticket at the ready, your itinerary all set up and you’re leaving in a few days – time to pack, right? Yes! Not all packing methods are created equal, and I have found the best one that works for me. I never forget anything by using this method, I manage to squeeze everything I want into my suitcase without too much wrinkling happening. That’s a win in my book.
LIST.
Before you do anything, make a list of everything you want to take with you. From your undergarments, makeup, dresses and hair clips, to jackets, extra ziplock bags and a razor. If you don’t prepare a list, you are sure to forget something. I break down the list in two ways. The first part of the list is my outfits by days and the second part of the list is for miscellaneous items and extra clothes. If I plan my clothing by day, I am more likely to bring pieces I am actually going to wear and not overdo it with my entire closet shoved into my suitcase.
ROLL.
When you have finally gotten your list down and everything is on it (even your hair iron, extra hair ties, socks, and toothpaste), now it’s time to put everything into your suitcase. This is when I sit down on the floor and start rolling every item of clothing and put it into my piece of luggage. By rolling your clothes you are not only enabling more things to fit into your suitcase, but you are also ensuring that wrinkling is down to a minimum.
ZIPLOCK BAGS.
I can’t stress this enough. Bring ziplock bags with you everywhere you travel. First of all, you need to put your creams, shampoos and other such liquid items in them in the first place, but you should always bring extra in case you buy something at your destination. I use these bags to organize things as well. I put my hair ties and clips in them, I use one for some of my jewelry – anything I want to keep in one spot.
When you’re at home and are in between traveling, I would recommend putting your passport and other important paperwork in your underwear drawer. Laugh now, but when you’re stressing as to where everything is, you will be happy to remember that you see it every day when you go grab a pair of undies after your shower. It’s a little trick of the trade that I have found to be super useful.
