Introduction to Smarter Packing
With the majority of airlines charging extra for luggage – sometimes more than your plane ticket(!) – smarter packing has never been so important.
Whether you’re planning a family holiday, a short weekend away or back packing for an extended period, these smart travel packing tips can help you reduce your luggage and make life simpler.
🌟 Includes Amazon shopping links for our favourite luggage & packing accessories!
Contents
- Introduction to Smarter Packing
- Essential Packing Tips
- 1. Have a Plan and Create a Packing Checklist
- 3. Roll or Learn the Best Way to Fold
- 4. Wear Chunky Items
- 5. Buy the Right Travel Bag
- 6. Use Packing Cubes / Vacuum Packs – Travel Bag Packing Tips
- 7. Decant Liquids
- 8. Make Use of your Children’s Luggage Allowance
- 9. Buy Toiletries at the Airport
- 10. Stay Calm and Don’t Panic (unless you forget your passport and tickets)
Benefits of Smart Packing
Smart packing reduces your load, helps you be organised, gives you less to worry about and ultimately saves you money.
Common Packing Mistakes to Avoid
Over packing
People over pack for a variety of reasons. Over packing causes unnecessary clutter, washing and luggage weight. Packing things ’just in case’ and coming home with unworn items are classic symptoms of over packing.
Sharing cases without proper organisation
Sharing cases is a great way to avoid luggage costs. However, doing it without proper organisation causes unnecessary problems that can easily be avoided. Having to carry cases from room to room and not finding things easily are the result of poor organisation.
Forgetting essentials
Forgetting items like travel plugs and medication is easily avoided if you have a checklist. Being organised can save you a whole lot of hassle.
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Essential Packing Tips
1. Have a Plan and Create a Packing Checklist
🌟 Know your trip itinerary
- Having a rough idea of your trip itinerary means you are less likely to pack things unnecessarily.
- Think about the trips and places you wish to visit and the weather. Will you have access to a washing machine?
- What will you need with you for your itinerary?
🔗 Blog to read: How to plan a perfect itinerary
- Make a packing checklist
- Share the list with your group. If your family pack for themselves, give them an itinerary and packing list too.
- Remember to add travel packing essentials to your list: passports, documents, bank cards, toiletries, medication, travel plugs, phones and chargers.
👉 Download Your Travel Packing Checklist Here!!
2. Reduce – Less is More
Capsule wardrobe
Think ‘capsule wardrobe’. Make the same outfit work with slightly different accessories. Take shoes that are ‘all rounders’. If you are going somewhere hot, take light weight clothing.
Towels
Buy microfiber beach towels. Not only are they lighter and take up less space; they also dry quicker.
👉 Check out microfiber quick dry beach towels on Amazon
Washing machine magic
If you are staying somewhere with a washing machine, you can literally halve your packing.
3. Roll or Learn the Best Way to Fold
This is the one of the best travel packing tips. Fold your clothes Marie Kondo style. Marie folds things into 3 sections and makes them like tiny parcels.
Not only does this reduce space but it also means you can find things easily. See YouTube video below:
🌟Tip: Rolling takes up less space than traditional folding and you get less creases.
4. Wear Chunky Items
Wear heavy items on the journey. Hefty shoes, large coats, jumpers, sunhats, ski helmets, anything that takes too much room in your suitcase. You can always take layers off.
5. Buy the Right Travel Bag
⚠️ Check out your airline’s luggage size and weight allowance. You don’t want to incur charges for the wrong size or weight at the gate!
Choose luggage that is lightweight but sturdy.
🔗 Blog to read: See our recommended luggage bags and Amazon links here!
Weighing your hold luggage
⚖️ Weigh your luggage before you leave. If your scales or bag are a bit tricky: weigh yourself, then weigh yourself holding your bag, then deduct your weight.
6. Use Packing Cubes / Vacuum Packs – Travel Bag Packing Tips
Packing cubes
One of the best travel packing hacks is to use packing cubes. Packing cubes are useful for all sorts of reasons. If you are moving about a lot on your trip, you can separate clothes into different days.
If you are sharing a suitcase with a few people, you can separate each person’s items. Packing cubes come in all sorts of sizes and have handles so can easily be carried. They really help with organisation.
We love these for when people are sharing the same case because they are the perfect size to fit into a section of a cabin bag.
👉Check out set of 4 Packing cubes on Amazon
Vacuum packs
Vacuum packs. Vacuum packs are fantastic travel packing hack for reducing the bulk. Especially good for ski or winter weather trips, or young children’s items.
7. Decant Liquids
👉 Check out travel bottles and containers on Amazon £9.99
For shorter stays: Buy small containers for your liquids instead of buying expensive miniature items. You can decant your usual lotions and potions into the containers and they can be used again and again.
8. Make Use of your Children’s Luggage Allowance
Now I know I said reduce your luggage but if you are struggling with space or want to take items like snorkelling equipment or pool inflatables – make use of your children’s luggage allowance.
🌟 Tip: Babies often get extra baggage allowance too.
Travel packing tips for infants and babies
Travelling with young children makes it harder to reduce your load. Things to remember:
- You can usually buy chunky items like nappies.
- Renting a place with a washing machine is a godsend.
- Take a pillowcase for familiar smells.
- Choose one favourite toy, not all of them.
- Check what is available at your accommodation so you don’t double up.
- For older children you can buy inflatable car seats.
- Lastly, vacuum pack.
👉Check out Bubblebum inflatable car seat
9. Buy Toiletries at the Airport
This is especially a good tip if you are not putting luggage in the hold. Buy toiletries at the airport or when you get there.
🌟 Tip: Buying a few toiletries at airport means you have an extra carrier bag to sneak a few items through too.
10. Stay Calm and Don’t Panic (unless you forget your passport and tickets)
Unless you are travelling to a place in the middle of nowhere and there is no civilisation for miles around, the likelihood is that there are shops where you are travelling to.
I am one of those people who check 20 times that I have my passport on me.
- Keep any essential medications, cash cards and documents in your hand luggage. Anything else can be replaced.
- Check your packing list once more before you set off, relax and enjoy your trip.
Do you have any great packing or hacks? Please share in the comments.
👉 Download Your Travel Packing Checklist Here!!
Make planning a trip yourself simple and stress-free with our ‘how to’ guides in the DIY Travel Planning Hub for tips on flights, accommodation, transport, itineraries and more – all in one place.
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