With all our travelling to Italy and France to view our portfolio of villas and apartments, the team at Bookings For You reckon we have become pros at the packing process…. whether it’s packing in a way to use up the least amount of space and avoid using on carry on luggage or whether it was more of a light bulb moment to make travelling that little bit easier!
We thought it was time to share these top tips with our readers! We’ve also included a few tips just for our female readers.
Do let us know if you have any more to add to the list!
First of all, get yourself organised!
- Have a packing list so you can literally tick off the items once packed. This way you’ll make sure that you don’t forget anything!
- Put all your electronics and cables (and anything that needs to come out at security) into a ziplock bag which you can easily access.
- Put any items you’ll need on your return (car keys, parking tickets etc) into another ziplock bag.
- Use packing cubes so that you can find your items much more easily and to save you emptying out the whole case to find a single item.
- Pack an envelope in your case. This can be used to keep any tickets safe but is also a great way to keep all your travel receipts, brochures and postcards in one place to bring home safely.
- If you are going on a long flight, make sure you have a small carry-on bag containing lip balm, eye drops, moisturiser and aspirin. The air conditioning and altitude can dry out your skin so having these items close at hand enables you to put the moisture back!
- It’s also worth taking ear plugs on a flight (or even better, bring noise cancelling headphones).
- Think about what items you are going to need first when you reach your destination. Make sure that these are easily accessible in your case.
- Make the most of the fantastic travel apps available. Many of these will save you having to print off reams of documents to carry with you on your journey. We love Tripit.
- Pack at least a couple of days in advance. That way you will have a chance to think about any items you have forgotten before it’s time to leave for the airport!
Make the most of the space you have!
Nowadays many of us prefer to travel with just a carry on case. This avoids the hassle of having to check a case in to the hold and will usually allow you to save money on your airfare. However, this means you need to park smartly, making the most of every available space in your case.
- Pack heavy items near the bottom of your case. Think about how your bag will be carried and if it is wheeled along, then place the heaviest items near the wheels to ensure that the weight is evenly distributed.
- Roll, don’t fold and your clothes will crease less
- Use vacuum compression bags to squeeze the air out of your clothes. This will leave you with lots more space in your case!
- Fill dead space – put underwear, socks and other small items into your shoes to fill every possible space.
- Use a kindle, e-book or tablet rather than books.
- Stack bras on top of each other. Bras are delicate items of clothing. This will help maintain their shape but will also allow you to use the cups as space to store underwear
- Less is more. You don’t need to pack a top for every change of skirt or trousers. The latter can be re-worn. Instead, pack 2 different tops for every pair of trousers or skirt. Bottoms can be re-worn many more times than tops. Ideally, each piece of clothing should mix and match with the rest, thereby maximising the outfit choices you will have when on holiday.
- Be conservative with shoes. Shoes are bulky. Think about what you really need to take with you.
- If you want to bring your favourite perfume, buy a refillable fragrance atomiser so you don’t have to bring a large bulky bottle with you.
- Save empty travel size toiletries bottles to re-fill with your shampoos, creams and lotions. These can be re-filled and re-used over and over again.
- Use contact lens cases to store small amounts of creams or make up.
- And remember, leave space in your suitcase…. this way you have room to bring back any souvenirs or holiday purchases.
Look after your belongings in transit!
Travelling light means you can’t afford for an item to get dirty or damaged en route so take heed of our top tips to ensure everything reaches your destination in the same state as it was when it was put into your suitcase.
- Use disposable shower caps or plastic bags to cover the soles of your shoes and to avoid getting marks on your clothes.
- Pack light coloured clothes inside out so that they don’t get marked when in your case. This will also reduce wrinkles.
- If travelling with children, try and pack darker coloured clothes for them. Dark clothes show less stains and so will have a longer life on your little one!
- Put some fabric conditioner sheets or scented drawer liners into your case to keep your clothes smelling fresh.
- To prevent your eye shadow from cracking, place a flat cotton wool pad in between the pressed powder and the lid.
- To prevent spillages, take the lid off liquid bottles and add a layer of clingfilm to the neck of the bottle before replacing the lid. Then use clear tape to seal the gap where the lid joins the container.
- Keep fragile items in socks.
- Always pack an empty bag for all your laundry to ensure that clean and dirty clothes are always kept separate from one another. This also avoids you having to wash clothes unnecessarily when you return home.
- Keep jewellery in a sunglasses case so they won’t get ruined or tangled when on the move. Earrings can be kept together using a button and delicate necklaces be threaded through a straw to stop them getting tangled up. Another option for delicate necklaces is to put them between 2 sheets of clingfilm. Press the sheets together and then roll them up.
Here are some more practical tips that might help during your stay.
- If you don’t have washing facilities at your accommodation, then use toothpaste. Toothpaste removes stains from clothes. Just apply it to the stain, let it dry and then wash it.
- Bring a small box or bottle of handwash and a travel clothesline if you’re planning to stay in a hotel. These can normally be attached in the bathroom and allows you to dry your clothes if you do decide to do some handwashing.
- For the ladies amongst you, pack pantyliners. They will double the life of your underwear.
- Have a universal travel adapter rather than lots of single adapters by country.
- Buy a multi socket so you can charge multiple electronics at once.
- Make sure your bag is easy to spot when it comes off the baggage carousel. Add ribbons or a brightly coloured luggage tag to distinguish it from similar bags.