I spent this past weekend in Lake Tahoe with my parents (and my dog) to celebrate my birthday. I promise to have some Tahoe recaps (and photos) coming up this week, but first, I wanted to share some of my travel tips. Particularly when it comes to packing.
I don’t think that I’m an expert packer, but I’ve picked up some helpful ideas over the years. And when some of my friends traveling with me have seen these in action, they always comment on how they should use them too.
First of all, I try to keep all of my travel stuff in one location in my house. In my storage area behind my kitchen, I have my suitcases and all my travel toiletries stored. This way I can just grab them together. I keep my toiletries packed (one bag for liquids and one for non-liquids due to TSA rules), so I only have to grab those bags and not have to pull everything together.
I also make a note if any of my toiletries run out on a trip so I can get a new one and put it in my bag as soon as I’m home. This way I can prevent last-minute CVS runs for a travel size toothpaste or contact lens solution.
For almost all of the trips I take, I only bring a carry-on bag (this will change for the Hawaii trip). So I have to be pretty mindful how I pack.
I always wear my bulkiest shoes on the plane, so they don’t take up room in my suitcase. And I try to only pack one other pair of shoes in my suitcase. I broke that rule on this trip because I just got some new barefoot-style sneakers (they look normal sneakers and not like barefoot shoes with toes). So I packed those up too so I could start wearing them in.
The best way I’ve found to pack shoes is to put them in shower caps. This way the dirty bottoms are covered and won’t get your clothes messy (thank you Pinterest!)
Aren’t my new barefoot sneakers cute! They are by Merrell and I got them $30 off at Off Broadway Shoes!
I know that some people believe in packing each outfit in its own bag, rolling clothes to save room, or laying all their clothes on top of each other and then folding it as one piece. I’ve tried those all, and they don’t really work for me.
My favorite way to pack clothes is what I like to call puzzle packing. I put one layer of folded clothes in my suitcase. Then I start on the next layer, trying to fill in all gaps and maximizing the spaces (fitting things together like puzzle pieces).
Once I got all my clothes in, my suitcase looked like this:
Inside are 2 pairs of shoes, socks and underwear, a dress, a sweater, a tank top, yoga pants, a workout top, a t-shirt, a bathing suit, pajamas, and a hat. And there is plenty of room in there for my toiletries and other items I might add at the last-minute.
The final step to my packing is making my day-of list. This is my list of things that I have to do before leaving for the airport.
After taking this photo, I realized I left about 4 items off this list. But mostly what it is are items that can’t be packed until the last minute (I need to wear my glasses at night so I can’t pack them until the morning, I want to be able to brush my teeth and put on makeup in the morning).
I know this is a little crazy, but it does help my anxiety about flying a bit. Also, I have yet to forget a major thing for a trip. Hopefully you will find some useful tips for your next trip. And if not, you just got a peak inside my crazy mind!
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