Photo © Joeball
When it comes to packing for your holiday, it’s very tempting to try to cram as many clothes as you can into your suitcase; after all, the baggage allowance from the airline is always overly generous, so why not make the most of it? You have to be prepared for all eventualities and that means packing at least one pair of shoes for each day, plus jumpers in case it gets cold in the evening, a minimum of three bikinis, cover ups for the beach, shorts and t-shirts, smarter clothes for the evening, hairdryer, pair of straighteners, and a massive bag of toiletries. You may as well take the kitchen sink with you whilst you’re at it!
You need to learn how to pack enough to not have to wear the same clothes every day, whilst being able to easily carry your suitcase; it’s no easy task, but luckily, I’ve come up with some handy tips on how to avoid packing too much for your holiday.
1) Take a capsule wardrobe: the idea of this is to be as minimalistic as you can be; think one staple pair of shorts, one bikini, a handful of t-shirts, one staple evening dress, one pair of flip flops and one pair of smarter shoes. The trick is to take along a couple of accessories to achieve different looks with the same clothes.
2) Wear your jumper on the plane: the chances are, it’s probably going to be bad weather when you set off from the UK, so wear bulkier items on the plane, keeping you warm and saving precious room in your suitcase at the same time.
3) Buy some vacuum bags: you can find vacuum bags in supermarkets; simply pop your clothes inside and remove all of the air with a vacuum. You’ll be left with a much smaller pack of clothing that’ll easily fit into your suitcase with plenty of room left for any shoes you want to take.
4) Buy a selection of small travel size bottles: pour your toiletries into small travel size bottles to save yourself some space in your suitcase. If you buy ready-made travel bottles of shampoo and shower gel, it’ll set you back a fair bit of money; as with most things, it works out much cheaper to buy all of your toiletries in bulk, and then buy separate empty travel bottles; pouring a small amount of shower gel, shampoo, and face cream into a travel bottle will save you space in your suitcase, and cost you less money.
5) Don’t scrimp on sun cream; with all that extra space in your suitcase, you’ll have enough room for an industrial size bottle of sun cream. This is an important item for any holiday; after all, you really don’t want to get sunburnt. Don’t forget to take a bottle of soothing after sun lotion too; to apply in the evenings should your skin feel a bit tender.
There you have it; if you follow these simple tips, you’ll easily be able to carry your suitcase through the airport, and there’ll be more room to bring back presents; it’s a win-win situation.
This guest blog was contributed by Janice Saunders a travel writer who often covers family topics such as how to choose caravan parks for the perfect family getaway.
