Packing up for a month or a weekend getaway used to be a careful. These days, it’s a necessary that it becomes a skill. One not only has to work the magic and impress other travelers on how to pack light but has to do it to survive the now increasing travel fees airlines. Since travelling has become increasing complex, some prefers to travel light to avoid unnecessary delays, lugging heavy bags, or plainly like the convenience of having a manageable travel bag.

GET A SMALL BAG
The bag should be easy to carry, either a backpack or a shoulder bag, and is lightweight. A backpack or shoulder bag has it’s pros and cons. In whatever the circumstance of your travel bear in mind that your bag should not hinder you or make travelling difficult for you. Getting a smaller bag capacity will discourage over-packing — which, sometimes, is subconsciously done.

CHECK CLIMATE CONDITION.
Check the weather report before your scheduled travel. If you have friends in the area or any contacts within your social networks sites — ask them what the weather is like. This will help you decide on the clothing you can bring or might need.

PLAN YOUR WARDROBE.
Your wardrobe should be planned before you set out foot of your house and it SHOULD be MULTI-FUNCTIONAL that can be worn more than once. It should match with everything else. Stick with a get-up concept. It doesn’t have to be monochromatic. Bring the “basics” of a wardrobe. A skirt, pair of pants/trousers, shirts/blouses to match, jackets/blazers, and the likes. Mix and match them before packing them up. It will save you time on your travel when you need a outfit change — since every wardrobe piece matches everything else.

BRING THE APPROPRIATE CLOTHES
Keep in mind the itinerary for your trip. Always pack a decently covered clothing for religious sites, swimwear for beaches, lake, or likes destinations, or a formal dress for an evening out in fine dining.

EXPECT TO DO LAUNDRY
To get through the first 2-3 days without doing laundry — you should bring enough clean clothes. After that, you have to do laundry. If you’re planning to do laundry on your trip, bring enough laundry detergent carefully wrapped in zip lock bags. This is also applicable for clothing — so it’s best to bring for lightweight clothing that is easy to wash and dries up quickly in the absence of a washing machine and drier.

PACKING A MINI TOILETRIES
If you’re a constant traveler or slowly becoming like one. You should have or get one of those handy toiletry bags. Make sure it has with extra compartments for you to separate the liquid/gel items for the dry ones. If you’re flying, your liquid/gel toiletries must fit into a 1 quart/liter zip lock bags and not one of them must be over 3 ounces.

PACK SMART
If you must carry valuables, place them in a bag closest to your body. Never place valuables in the bags that are handled and tossed around. Your tech stuffs are better off on your pack bags and not on your wheeled bags that are checked in on the plane.

  • Find out from your airline for any luggage weight limits for carry on or checked luggage.
  • Make a packing list for every travel.
  • Do not bring the whole house. Some travels are purely to get you out of your routine comfort zones. So don’t pack the “want” items and mentally psyche yourself to just carry the “need” items only.
  • Keep in mind that “Most people use only half of the clothes that they packed”, bring only the essentials!
  • Wear your heaviest clothing like jeans, jackets, running shoes, or sweaters to save space.
  • Pack your undergarments on a small separate bag. That way when your bags are checked your undies don’t go flying out.
  • Also pack up on extra zip lock bags for just the “in case” circumstances.
  • Invest on water and shock proof bags for your laptops, cameras, and other gadgets. But if you can get along without a these gadgets for the whole travel, then don’t bring them.