Good morning!

This week’s post is a bit more pragmatic and organizational, rather than my usual travel guides and stories, but definitely helpful information! Today we’ll be talking about how to pack minimally and effectively for any kind of trip.

Some general suggestions:

• Look ahead at the weather for your trip! It’s good to be prepared and to know what kinds of clothes/accessories you might need while traveling. For example, if it’s going to rain on your trip, you’ll definitely want to know that in advance!
• Pack for the events and activities you’ll be doing while traveling. If you’re walking a lot, pack comfortable shoes. Packing by outfit is also a good idea, so you’re not bringing extra clothes, and so you don’t have to stress about what to wear while traveling.
• Bring a reusable water bottle with you, or buy one to keep for the week/weekend at the airport ahead of time. You don’t realize how helpful this will be until you don’t have water when you need it!
• Try to pack in the smallest possible bag or suitcase. This will be physically easier to travel with, and also probably cheaper to check/take with you.

For shorter trips:

• Again, it’s cheaper to pack lighter, so if you’re only traveling for a few days, try to make do with just a carryon bag (which are almost always free on flights), instead of paying to check a larger suitcase.
• Using a backpack to travel instead of a suitcase or duffle bag is a good idea if you’ll be on the go a lot. Being able to carry everything on your back and not worry about holding onto a bag makes travel much easier!
• For just a quick trip, it’s a good idea to rewear clothes if possible. Try to bring just one or two pairs of shoes, and one pair of jeans that you can wear multiple times. These things tend to be bulkier, so avoiding having to pack multiple will leave you lots of space.
• Check if where you are staying has laundry available – this way you really don’t have to worry about bringing extra changes of clothes!
• Wear layers or your bulkiest items while traveling so you don’t have to pack them. Wear your heaviest pair of shoes, or your largest jacket, to save room in your bag for smaller items.

For longer trips:

• Think about what you’re really going to need on your trip, and whether you can rewear these items or mix and match them in different ways. Chances are, you can get away with packing a lot less than you think, if you just plan ahead and put together some outfits beforehand.
• Take into account how often you’ll be able to do laundry (if you’ll have access to this). You probably don’t need to bring as many extra t-shirts or pairs of jeans, as long as you can wash the ones you bring regularly.
• Try not to pack heavy or bulky items, like big boots or thick sweaters, if possible to avoid. You’ll probably find that you don’t need them anyways.
• Make sure to leave some room in your suitcase if you’re planning on buying souvenirs while traveling!
• Pack tightly to maximize space – roll your clothes into smaller bundles, and pack smaller items inside larger ones (for example, you can fit a couple travel-size shampoo bottles into an empty reusable water bottle) to fit more!
• Pack in bags that you’ll be using during the trip, like a tote bag as your carryon and beach bag, or a backpack that you can take with you for day activities, so you don’t have to pack these separately.
• If you have packing cubes or vacuum bags, these are a great way to maximize your space when you really need to squeeze a lot!

Packing always seems to be a struggle, so these are just a few suggestions to ease the process and effectively fit everything you need into a smaller space. I’ve definitely gotten better at packing over the many trips I’ve taken, and I now realize that most of the things I thought were necessary in the past I really could have gone without.

Obviously everyone has tips and tricks that work best for them, but these are just my top recommendations that I’ve seen work for my friends, family, and I. I hope this helps, and please reach out with any questions or comments! Have a great week, and I’ll see you next Monday 🙂

xx,

Megan

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