Pack Like a Pro

Does traveling increase around in the Fall and around the holidays for you? Yeah, me too! Between road-tripping to see family and old friend and jet-setting around the globe, I’ve picked my number one top Do’s and Dont’s of packing. Keep reading to begin mentally preparing for your next getaway.

My # 1 Top Do:

Limit yourself when packing.

Countless bag-checks and hours rifling through a mountain of luggage has taught me one valuable lesson: I pack too much. I’m a planner and I tend to be overprepared. Actually, if I can be totally honest here, I overthink 

E V E R Y T H I N G. 

So that generally means I end up with one bag per person coming with me on the trip plus extra bags for toiletries, shoes, makeup and accessories. Although it might not seem like such a bad thing to have the matching bag, shoes, and killer outfit… five times over, it actually is detrimental to the quality of your vacation. Instead of joining the group for catching up and laughs, you are stuck in the other room trying to find that fabulous little bootie under piles of other stuff.

Am I right or am I right?

The point of the trip is to be with your family and friends creating memories. No one is going to care as much as you do about what you’re wearing, if you’ve got a full face of makeup or smell like a moody botanical garden at midnight. Do yourself a favor and release your need for material things on your trip. Think like a minimalistic closet curator and pack light. Be savage in your efforts to pare back your list. This, of course, doesn’t mean leave the medications or skin-saving Jergens at home. It simply means give yourself the gift of time by choosing less to go in the suitcase.

My # 1 Top Don’t:

Don’t Forget the Checklist

I think there are things that unite us all across races, religions, and creeds and that is shared experiences. I don’t care who you are or where you’re from (cue The Backstreet Boys song) 

there are just certain experiences that are ubiquitous. You love making your sibling laugh, your phone is always running out of battery, you get cranky when you’re hungry. Or maybe even an experience like leaving behind something you needed somewhere else. I might have personal experience with all of these, but we are talking trips and packing here, so let’s keep on topic!

This might not be the most click-batey “Don’t,” but I don’t care. I am including this one because whether or not I take my own advice and create a checklist of literally every item I am planning to bring, makes a major impact on my peace of mind. If you’ve followed my number one top DO, you’ll have a small, edited group of goodies. I can keep track of all my things no matter how many places I’m resting my head. And I can run down the list before we make our final departure so I know for a fact I have everything packed that I came with. I won’t have to contact Aunt Sally to coordinate the shipping of my retainer. Not this time! I’ve got my Checklist!