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How To Pack A Suitcase For Vacation - Save Space For Souvenirs!

June 5, 2020

We’ve all been there. We pack everything we can think of, lug our heavy baggage around our whole trip, and then not wear half of it! I’m going to show you how to stop overpacking and bring only what you need to pack in your suitcase for vacation.

I know, I KNOW, we ladies want OPTIONS. We want to have multiple outfits for the same day. But, I have a newsflash, you aren’t going to have time to show off twelve per day!

Over the years, I’ve learned how to pack lighter and now I have it down to a carry on, sometimes even a backpack depending on the length of the trip and the weather. (Let’s just say I live in the cold so I like to live in a swimsuit while on vacation.)

I start to pack for vacation about a week in advance. This way, I have time to really think about what I’m bringing. Last minute packing always ends up with me throwing anything and everything that catches my eye in the closet into my suitcase.

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Use this packing routine when you are headed on vacation and it will definitely help you pack everything you need and still leave room for souvenirs!

This day is usually the most fun for me. About a week before your vacation, start making a pile of things you want to bring.

Go all in! Have fun with it! It’s vacation!

Pull out anything that catches your eye, go ahead and put it aside. Did you buy a new outfit for the trip, put it in the pile. Have an oldie but a goodie? Put it in the pile. Want to bring 6 swimsuits? Put them in the pile.

This may sound crazy, like Emily why are we over packing? Just trust me on this. We will get to the actual packing later.

While you are going about your day, make a list of things you use. I usually keep my notes in my phone so that as I think of things I can easily add it to the list. I’m talking every day things like toothpaste, tooth brush, lipstick, hairbrush, contact solution, etc.

Think about what you are going to be doing for your trip and make sure you have what you need. I’ll use an all inclusive resort vacation as an example.

Roughly break down your day.

For example, you planned a trip to a resort mainly to go to the pool and get a tan. Your plan is to wake up, go for food, go to the pool and stay there most of the day, grab lunch, take a nap, head for dinner and the activity of the night.

So what do you need?

Let’s go back to your list.

Poolside...

Nap Time...

Lunch/Dinner...

Activity...

Here’s some general activities that go on while at an all inclusive resort to help give you an idea. Each resort is different, so do some research beforehand. I like to use Tripadvisor to see what activities a resort has going on currently.

Daytime Activities

Pool/ Beach – You need a cover up to get to and from the pool or beach from your room.
Watersports – Do you need water shoes? Suntan Lotion?
Sports – like volleyball, badmitten, billiards, ping pong, etc – Need shorts or a shirt?
Exercise – Will need shorts and a top to wear or not if you do poolside exercises.
Excursions – Wear appropriate clothing that won’t fly off, including your kind of swimsuit.
Shopping – Do you have something to keep you warm in the shuttle air conditioning?
Breakfast/Lunch – You can’t just walk in in your bikini, do you have something as a cover up?
Naps – Do you have something to wear after your shower when your skin’s kind of burnt?
Hanging out and checking your phone where there’s wifi – Do you have something to wear in the common areas to lounge around?

Nighttime Activities

Dinner – Restaurants have different dress codes.
Dancing – Do you have something to wear to the “disco?”
Parties – White Party, Karaoke, Dance Lessons, Nightly Entertainment, etc – It probably gets a bit chilly at night, so make sure you have something to keep you warm.

dancing in mexico how to pack travelandledger — Dancing Outfit...

eating dinner in mexico how to not over pack travelandledger — Restaurant Dress Code...

shopping in mexico how to pack travelandledger — Shopping Attire...

This is the moment of truth.

Lay out all of your outfits, accessories and all.

Well, how about that? You are going on vacation for 4 days but you have 10 days of outfits!

Now, let’s think logically. Do the math. If you’re only there for 4 days, how are you going to wear 10 outfits? If there’s only one night that’s a white party, why do you need three white outfits? Guess what, you don’t.

Start to put some away that you realize was just an impulse pull, doesn’t work for this trip, or you didn’t realize you packed two of.

Today’s the day that’s going to blow your mind. Now that you’ve had three days to sleep on it, you start to think why do I need so many outfits?

That’s the first step, you’re starting to realize what you are actually going to use while on vacation and what you won’t. Let’s continue…

Here’s a list to help you remember what to bring when you’re flying.

Start With Multiples.

Do you have 5 pairs of jeans and 5 pairs of shorts? Come on, do you really think you will wear jeans in the heat? Remember, it’s going to be 80+ degrees there. If anything you just need jeans for the plane ride and that’s it.

Do you need a pair of shoes for each day? Will you even wear shoes when flip flops feel so good? Do you need so many pairs? Can you cut it down to just one or two that cover all your outfits?

Look At Your Pictures

This outfit looks familiar… it’s because you wear it every vacation! Do Not wear that outfit again! Wear something new. Buy a new outfit.Just don’t wear the same outfits you have hundreds of pictures in already!

On the other hand, maybe you thought you looked fire in your dress, but when you have a tan it just doesn’t look the same. Scratch it. Save it for a different vacation.

Try On Your Outfits

Do you still look good in your outfit? Maybe you changed your hair or put on some weight (which is perfectly fine btw!) If it doesn’t look how you want it to look, don’t bring it. Because guess what, you will bring it, put it on and still not like how it looks, and be mad at yourself for not trying it on before you brought it.

What Can You Double Up With?

Excursion – You need something that won’t fly off like a shirt and shorts. You can wear your bikini underneath because you probably will get sweaty or wet. This way you are prepared for the sun whenever you want to take your shirt off etc. You won’t have to worry about finding somewhere to change.

You’re doing great! Look at all the stuff you put back already. Good job girl!

Now, what can you reuse?

Swimsuit – Wash these with soap or shampoo in the sink in your hotel room and reuse it.

Shorts – Use as a cover up and also for shopping

Cover up – Use the same one every day. You really only use it to walk to and from the room in.

Shoes – Sandals can be used all the time at a resort. No need for heels here unless you want to wear them. You only really need two pairs of sandals. One will get all sandy/wet at the beach and the other will be to walk around in. Plus, your feel swell in the heat so make sure your feet are comfortable!

Outfits – Wear outfits and accessories that you can mix and match so they look different every time. Pick outfits that are comfortable. Girl, this is not the time to wear lace. It will make your tanned skin too itchy and your sweat will make you itch even more.

Do your sandals go with all of your outfits?

Does your cover up match with most of your swimsuits? Does it matter since it covers it up anyways?

Does your light sweater for the night chill match most of your outfits?

This is the time to make the harder cuts. Maybe you like an outfit but nothing else you have goes with it. Do you want to take up the space in your suitcase and bring the whole coordinated outfit just to wear it once?

Just put it on the side for now and sleep on it. If you look at it with those same eyes in the morning, cool, pick a different pair of sandals and cut a different outfit.

Take pictures of all these outfits and keep them in your phone. (You can even make a collage and keep them all as one picture if you want to conserve space on your phone.) Today’s the day you are going to be going over everything in your head while you are going about your day. You’ll be thinking about things you may have forgotten. It’s easy to just look at your phone and know if you remembered it or not.

If there is anything you are missing, make a list in your notes.

You have done an awesome job! Cheers! (Soon to be cheers on the beach to you I hope!)

What is going to fit and what isn’t!

There are numerous videos and articles on how to make EVERYTHING fit (like Marie Kondo) so I won’t get into details in this article. Just start packing and try to make all the BIG stuff fit.

Keep the little things on the side. We will put these in our backpack/personal item.

Throw an expandable bag in there just in case you go crazy with souvenirs and run out of room. You can always check your carry on also and bring the other bag as your personal item or carry on bag. It would most likely have most of your souvenirs in it which I like to keep close to make sure they don’t break anyways.

Everything else is easy to replace. Say you forgot a toothbrush or something, you can always buy it at the resort. If you don’t like what you ended up packing for some reason, you can always buy a new outfit while you’re on vacation.

When I went to Hawaii, I knew because of the length of the flight that I would not be back for a long time, so I barely packed anything and I bought all kinds of souvenirs. I bought a ton of different shirts that I wore throughout the trip. By the end of it, I was dressing like a local. It was so fun and I’m so happy I left room in my suitcase!

Keep an idea of what you do want to get as a souvenir. Do you want new sandals? Maybe bring an old pair of sandals/flip flops you can throw away after you find your new pair. Want to buy something there for the white party? Don’t bring a backup. Just find an outfit while you’re there. Want a new cover up? Use one of your other outfits as a cover up until you find one.

The main thing is that you are going on vacation! How exciting!

Everything else is easy to replace. Say you forgot a toothbrush or something, you can always buy it at the resort. If you don’t like what you ended up packing for some reason, you can always buy a new outfit while you’re on vacation.

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When I went to Hawaii, I knew because of the length of the flight that I would not be back for a long time, so I barely packed anything and I bought all kinds of souvenirs. I bought a ton of different shirts that I wore throughout the trip. By the end of it, I was dressing like a local. It was so fun and I’m so happy I left room in my suitcase!

I hope this article showed you how to pack better and leave room for the good stuff.

Where are you going on vacation?????

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