Picture this: You finally took that week-long holiday from work and, as you’re about to load your bags in the cab, you realize just how heavy your luggage is. Then you remember, your last vacation and how you barely used most of the stuff you packed.

If this sounds like your last holiday, then you’re definitely packing wrong. Whether you’re traveling by plane, boat, or car; packing light is important skill that you should have. It doesn’t matter if you’re going someplace warm and sunny, or icy cold. With a little know-how; packing light will be a easy as pie.


Check the Weather Where You’re Traveling

sunset

Just because you’re going to a tropical place, doesn’t mean that it won’t be cold on some nights. In the same way, just because you’re going to places that are typically cold, doesn’t mean it’ll never have warm days during your stay. Before you even begin to pick out the stuff that you need, you should first check for the weather, temperature, and humidity. This way you know if you’re going to need to bring more layers and specific fabrics of clothing for comfort, if you’d need to bring more hydrating or higher SPF skin care products, mosquito repellent, and all other little things that could make a big difference in making your holiday amazing or just deplorable.


Create Checklists Based On Your Itinerary

checklist

Are you going surfing or snowboarding? Will you be going on a special tour? What will you be needing during those activities? Having your itinerary with you while creating your checklist helps you figure out exactly that. Going swimming? You’ll probably need waterproof casings for your gadgets and money. Speaking of gadgets, how long will you be using them? If you’re bringing, let’s say, your camera for a 3-day tour of sight-seeing, bush walks, and other events; then you’d probably need a spare battery pack, maybe a couple of memory cards. Going to a meeting mid-week? Will you be needing a laptop or can you just save your presentation on your smartphone?  List down everything you need for each activity and you’ll be prepared for anything and, more importantly, you’ll avoid packing in things you don’t need.


Planned, Versatile Fashion
Bring pieces that you can mix and match and plan what you’ll be wearing ahead of time, this way you don’t need to bring too many pieces of clothing. Remember: neutral colours like black, brown, beige and others in the same family match with almost everything. You can also bring items that can double up as something else. Say you’re going to the beach. Sarongs are one of the most underrated beach necessities ever. You can style them in different ways for easy dresses and cover ups. They can also double up as beach totes to carry your things, or simply serve as a towel to dry yourself after swimming. If you’re going to somewhere colder, your clothes don’t necessarily need to all be bulky. It’s all a matter of wearing multiple layers with the right fabric to keep your body warm and comfortable. According to the National Ski Patrol, several layers of lightweigh attire will trap air and conserve your body heat. Remember, the bulkier your things are, the more space they need in your suitcase or carry-on Need Inspiration? Check out these travel wardrobe tips:

For Women

For Men


Pack Detergent

Remember, the idea is to bring a little clothes as possible. If you’ve already watched the videos above, then you know that you can carry on 10 articles of clothing and make them work for two weeks. All it takes is a little creativity. But, of course, you’re going to need to wash items that you’ll be re-wearing. Because, who really wants to wear a smelly, sweaty jumper? Spend around 5 to 10 mins at night to wash clothes that you’ll be wearing the the next day. All you need is to pack some detergent in a travel bottle. It’ll save you space in your bag for shopping and souvenirs, and it’ll save you money on baggage fees and laundry services in hotels.


Everything Organized and Fun-Sized
Gentlemen: You don’t need to bring big tubes of wax, shaving cream, and other products.

Ladies: You don’t need to bring giant bottles of body wash, lotion, or your entire kit of makeup.

No, you don’t need to buy travel-sized versions of your products. That’s going to end up costing you a lot. What you can do is to re-purpose old bottles and other containers for your body care products like shower gel or lotion, or get some travel-sized bottles  for cheap in your dollar store. Clean out an old contact lens container and squeeze out just the right amount of foundation and concealer than you need for your trip. Count out how much medication you need and place them in a pill organizer, so you don’t end up bringing several bottles of medicine. Use old medicine tubes to store cotton buds. When you’ve fun-sized all of your cosmetics and other products, give them all a proper home. Place all hygiene products in a see-through toiletry bag (especially if you need to board a plane). Put all of your makeup in a travel-sized kit, so you can retouch anywhere. After organizing all of your things in proper containers, you realize just how much space you have left in your luggage for shopping, souvenirs and other knick knacks.

Travelling practically anywhere is easier with a rental car, especially if you’re planning to visit multiple destinations in a day.