Bright Ideas for Packing Lighter
Packing for a vacation presents challenges to many of us. The airlines charge a lot of money to handle our baggage these days. Should one of your bags be overweight, the cost skyrockets. To avoid the higher baggage fees, one must packer lighter and smarter. Here are some bright ideas to help pack strategically for your next journey.
It’s tempting to pack one extra sweater or jacket because it’s the perfect accent to the outfit, but are you going to wear it more than once? Does it go with other pants, shirts, or skirts you’ve packed? Inevitably you will wind up packing other things to go with that one extra piece of clothing — and that my friend is how over-packing starts!
Consider packing lightweight scarves and a few small jewelry pieces to interchange and dress up a basic black dress. The key is pack items that can be worn multiple times in various ways to alleviate the need to overfill the suitcase.
Download a virtual closet app on a tablet or phone. (You might wish to try an app like StyleBook or Smart Closet.) Snap pictures of each piece of clothing in your wardrobe. Once complete, mix and mingle the photos to assemble outfits using your pics.
While looking through Google Playstore or the App Store, you may notice some apps feature the ability to place a picture of the outfit on a calendar, which I find extremely helpful when visualizing how every item has multiple purposes for wear.
While this can be an admittedly uncomfortable option if you are traveling between two very different climates — it still is a valuable consideration rather than overpacking. Wear the bulky trench coat onto the airplane and ask the flight attendant to hang it in the garment compartment or perhaps stow it in the overhead bin. Don the boots and save the space in your suitcase for other important clothing pieces.
Are you planning a longer journey? Instead of packing more clothing, plan to wash a load of laundry while away. If you plan to go on a longer cruise voyage, many ships offer a “do-it-yourself” laundromat or concierge cleaning/pressing service for garments. Many luxury escorted tour companies offer a complimentary laundry service at the midpoint of your vacation.
The key to packing lighter is planning in advance. Need some additional tips for packing? Feel free to reach out to me. I'm happy to help!