You’ve booked the flight, reserved your room and dreamt of this day, your time to get away from reality and unwind… now what?!
Naturally, the time has come for you to pack and prepare to voyage into vacation land, but you’ve had a crazy week and didn't have time to pack yet, or do laundry (eeek!). It's the night before leaving and you're running around all over the place like a crazy person! Sound familiar?? I’ve been there often and it’s not fun, or pretty.
I’m going to let you in on my secrets to packing for a trip, stress free…yep, it’s possible!
Step 1: LAUNDRY
Start washing your laundry 7 days prior to departure. If you're like me, you’ll have a big enough pile to occupy your washer and dryer for two days. These laundry hampers help me to quickly sort my laundry and then collect and sort the clean dry laundry. They fold up easily so we hang them from a hook inside our laundry closet when they're not in use. Bonus: this saves floor space!
Step 2: CLEAR CONTAINER
Put a clear storage container in your room or closet. As your laundry comes out of the dryer, you're going to fold and place items into this container. I like the Target brand containers, they are strong and sturdy, but super cost effective.
Travel Packing Cubes
$9.99
66qt Storage Container
$9.00
Laundry Hamper
$6.00
Step 3: ORGANIZE OUTFITS
Simplicity is KEY here.
This is the part where most people start getting stressed and begin asking themselves, “what do I pack?”, “how many things do I need?”.
My method, in a nutshell, is to pack enough outfits for each day, plus a couple extra. This is what I specifically do:
pick enough cotton basics to last half the trip (10 day trip = 5 cotton t-shirts or tank tops) plus 5 coordinating bottoms (think shorts, cargo pants, your favorite denim flares). I LOVE this crop tank from Madewell!
select outfits for the other half of the trip (5 days). You will pack outfits that correspond with your location. For example, if you're headed to a tropical destination like Cabo or Hawaii, you might pack 3 maxi dresses and 2 mini dresses (there are some good options here). If you're headed to Europe for sightseeing and cultural tours, you might pack a mix of trousers and sweaters and athleisure or activewear.
Now you have 10 outfits total. If you’ll be at a beach or pool, toss in a couple cover ups, flowy dresses or rompers, that you can easily toss on (this shouldn't take much extra space). If you need a suggestion, I love this lightweight linen romper! OH, don’t forget your jammies!
Step 4: UNDERGARMENTS, SHOES & ACCESSORIES
By now, you should have a container filled with various outfits and hopefully you still have a few days before departure, so you can gather any additional items you think of. Your next step…
pick out your tote bag or backpack that is coming with you (assuming it’s not a carry-on) and fill that with your undergarments, socks and swimwear. If you have packing cubes, use those instead! I have a set from Monos, they were a splurge, but so worth it! I’ve linked a super affordable option from Amazon here. Once the cubes are filled, toss them into your clear container.
grab 4 shoes max! I suggest a flat sandal, sneaker, wedge and one other shoe of your choice. Depending on where you're going, you might want to add another pair of flat sandals, or maybe a cute pair of boots. You should wear your sneakers on the plane to help save room in your luggage and to keep your toes warm during flight (why do airplanes turn into an ice box once you get to the cruising altitude??).
if you're a hat person like me, plan on wearing your hat on the plane, unless you have a carry on hat box! I wear Gigi Pip and they make great accessories for traveling with hats!
Step 5: LAYOUT TOILETRIES
The day before departure, layout all of your toiletries, cosmetics, hair tools and misc bathroom supplies. This is where my bag starts creeping into the “maximum weight” territory. So here is what I suggest…
pack a travel size shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and styling products (if possible)
pack your regular size skincare products, unless of course yours come in travel size! I use Beautycounter skincare and they have an awesome travel set for their Countertime line. I simply refill the little bottles whenever I’m traveling.
Packing some travel size products will help to keep the weight down and save room for other goodies. I like to pack my liquids into a clear zippered tote to keep them contained, in the event that my shampoo decides to explode. This 3-pack toiletry bag is a good option.
30in Large Check-In
$355.00
3pk Toiletry Bags
$13.99
Travel Size Skincare Set
$148.00
Now that you have everything laid out and organized, give yourself 30 minutes to place all the items inside your luggage,
Utilize larger packing cubes for any larger delicate items or pajamas. Every suitcase capacity is different, but I like to use the roll technique often. This technique helps to maximize what I’m able to squeeze into my luggage.
The Monos “Check-In Large” is what I travel with. I prefer to check my bag as this alleviates the stress of liquid requirements and gives me more packing space! Usually a carry-on size suitcase just doesn’t cut it!
Lastly, before you go to bed, make sure you lay out the outfit that you want to travel in (my go-to are Vuoris jogger!), along with your toothbrush and toothpaste (you can pack those in your carry-on, as long as the toothpaste is under the size limit). Then, give yourself a big high five and hug, because YOU DID IT!! Whoop whoop, you're ready for vaca!! Don’t forget to stay hydrated!
What do you think ?? Is it possible to have a stress free packing experience ?
Comment below if you would add anything to these 5 steps, or ways that have helped you stay calm during a vacation prep!
Happy Traveling,
Summer