How to Pack for Vacation

I know not everyone is a fan of packing but, I must admit, it’s one of my favorite things to do! Especially when it’s for a vacation. It gets you excited and in the mood for the adventure you’re about to embark on. Planning what to wear, what cute little toiletries you want to bring along, setting up your camera for some epic photo taking – it’s all fun times! But, it can also seem a bit daunting. If you’re like me, you want to pack every single pair of shoes you own, 10 pairs of sunglasses, and all those dresses at the back of your closet that you forgot all about. In reality, you need a game plan!

As much as you want to bring every cute outfit with you, half of it will probably get stuffed at the bottom of your bag and out of your memory. At the same time, you want to avoid any baggage overage fees or have half of your toiletries taken away because you’ve exceeded the limit (I know that’s happened to me more than once!). I’ve learned from my mistakes and have come up with some strategies to maximize your luggage space and pack smart for your next, much deserved vacay!

How to Pack for Vacation

1. Check the Weather

Pretty straight forward right? Unfortunately, people often forgo this step altogether! You don’t want to find yourself overloaded with sweaters or sweatpants when the destination you’re going to will be 100 degrees the entire time you’re there – and vice versa. Ensure you’re prepared for the elements but at the same time be realistic. If your vacation will be calling for rain some days, you really only need one light jacket and one umbrella – not five!

2. Plan Your Outfits

I know it might be tough to figure out every outfit you’ll be wearing on your vacation, especially if you dress according to your mood but, this will save you so much time and, most importantly, luggage space! By packing OUTFITS instead of an abundance of clothing, shoes, and accessories, you’ll ensure that every item is actually used. You can also have fun mixing and matching the same items with one another to create new outfits! Lastly, think about how much time you’ll save on those early mornings when the last thing you want to do is decide what to wear.

3. Tuck and Roll

Now that you’ve coordinated all your best outfits, its time to pack them all up in your cute little suitcase. Having moved to another country myself, I’ve become way too familiar with how much stuff I have and even more familiar with the daunting reality of how it will all fit in my suitcase (Hello meltdown!). Enter the tuck and roll method. My partner introduced me to this genius strategy – it’s a HUGE space saver and helps you so much when organizing your belongings. This is the perfect method for your next vacation packing venture. When it comes to your clothing, you want to roll them into small little ‘packets’ – what’s important here is you want your clothing to resemble a packet and not a roll as the flatter shape of the packet will allow you to tuck your items neatly into your bag or packing cubes. Speaking of packing cubes – how amazing are these bad boys?! I love their versatility and the fact that I don’t have to worry about my clothing ‘packets’ getting all jumbled in my bag! Another great characteristic of the ‘packets’ is you can easily see the clothing you’ve packed as opposed to packing stuff on top of another, having to then shuffle through it all.

4. Invest in Packing Cubes

Stemming from my last point, packing cubes are EVERYTHING! These changed my packing game significantly. These typically come in multiples of 3 or 4 and in varying sizes which can be used altogether or a few at once. I like the smaller cube for undergarments or shoes, the mid-sized one for shirts, and the large one for pants, skirts, and dresses. The best part is how easily these fit within your suitcase, only to open them up with ease! Alas, there are always some items that will not always make it to the cubes. Take dress pants, dress shirts and suit jackets for example – probably too big to fit into a cube however, you can adopt a packing strategy on your own for these guys. For suit jackets, turn them inside out, keeping sleeves tucked in place, and fold into an even square. For dress pants and shirts, fold along the natural creases of these items into an even square. This will also help to avoid wrinkling!

5. Give your Toiletries Some Love

I’m always paranoid of opening my suitcase to a cocktail of shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion spread throughout my perfectly packed clothing – ugh! Avoid this disaster by taking special care of your little toiletry buddies beforehand. Firstly, I really appreciate the plastic-type toiletry bags that can be easily wiped down should a leak occur. On top of that, I take advantage of Zip-loc bags for the toiletries I know are most likely to spill and pack them together. For example, you would want to pack your bath and shower toiletries together in one Zip-loc bag only and not with your cotton balls, Q-tips, or other items that will likely get soiled or absorb your products if they leak. I even go so far as to tape around the lids or caps of items I know may leak to really prevent this from happening! Same goes for makeup, pack your liquid products together if you can. What is the best way to pack makeup brushes you ask? Why makeup brush guards of course! These are the BEST and so amazing at keeping the shape of your brushes intact.

Have you developed any packing strategies throughout the years? Have a packing story you want to share? Let me know in the comments section below!