One of my loves, is travel. And with the Christmas holidays coming up it gets me thinking about where I want to go on holidays.
I love to immerse myself in other cultures, different environments, tasty foods and new sights. But to be honest, one of the things I enjoy a lot about travelling is… packing. Yes, the bane of many peoples lives is actually a joy to me. I like to travel with as little and as light as I possibly can, while still being prepared for most, if not all, situations.
I’ve done a lot of research, both through trial and error of my own and reading the experiences of others. And here are my Top 3 Packing Hacks…
1. Packing Cubes
Packing cubes changed my life.
These little bags turned chaos and frustration, into easy to find fabulous.
By rolling my clothes I’m able to cram a lot of clothes into one, and when I arrive at my destination I can just pull the cube out without having clothes strewn all over the place.
2. Forget the toiletries
Unless you’re going to the back of beyond… you don’t need to bring toiletries for your entire trip.
Just bring enough to see you through for a couple of days and get supplies when you arrive at your destination. This will lighten your suitcase or backpack a lot. And every country has toiletries!
I will admit, there are two items that I bring a reasonable amount of (still less than 100mL though) and that’s Pantene conditioner (because I have thick, curly hair and Pantene seems to be the only thing that can tame it) and because I use it only once or twice a week, 100mL can last me a while. And my face moisturiser. I’ve been using this same brand for years and feel weird if I don’t use it. Think of it like my security blanket or something.
3. Go Carry On Only
Now that you’ve squished all your clothes into a packing cube, and got rid of the weight of too many toiletries, you have the space and weight to go for a carry on bag! With airlines charging extra for checked baggage, more and more people are opting to travel with a carry on bag only. No waiting for your bag to arrive at the other end, and you don’t have to worry about it getting chucked around by over zealous baggage handlers.
For me, I still prefer to check my bag. I don’t want to have to fit it into the overhead bins, and I’d rather not lug it around the airport.I don’t mind waiting for it to come out on the luggage carousel either. The reason I go carry on size, is simply because it’s HEAPS easier to carry around. I don’t have to worry about squeezing it into the boot of the taxi, or it getting in the way when I’m on public transport. Mine even converts to a backpack, so I can swing it onto my back if I find myself somewhere where it has to be carried.
Carrying less stuff just makes my life easier. And that, after all, is the idea of having hacks, right?
Hacks are all about making life easier, I try to adopt them into every area of my life.I want to find the best ways of doing something so that it’s either easier or more efficient.
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