Monday, October 1

Simple Tips: Packing Light

I used to always be the girl that took waaaay too much luggage on a trip. A weekend trip for me required a large duffel bag and a separate small bag full of hair and makeup stuff. But a few years ago I got tired of lugging (hah!) all the extra stuff around and never using it all. Lately I've managed to get all of my stuff in one backpack. Here are a couple of tips that really help me when I start packing.

Inertia was no help with packing light.

1. Plan your outfits
Decide on a few complete outfits ahead of time. What kind of weather will there be? Try to plan out the whole outfit, accessories and all, so you aren't bringing anything unnecessary. I know it can be hard to know what you'll be in the mood to wear a few days before hand, but if you style an outfit you love and feel good in, you'll want to wear it!

A part of this is having an idea of what you'll be doing. On vacation you don't necessarily need 3 changes of clothing for one day unless there are special circumstances. For example, if you're going to have a more 'formal' evening, just bring one formal outfit. If you're going to the beach one day, bring a swimming outfit to change into, but only plan one other outfit for that day.

Below are the three outfits I planned out for this weekend. A loose dress that would be comfortable in the car, a fun shirt and grey jeans, and a casual dress and boots.



2. Reuse items across outfits
Whenever possible, utilize a piece of clothing more than once. Especially with space hogs like pants, sweaters, and shoes! Just remember - you don't want to skimp on non-reusables like underwear or socks! (seriously, this summer I went on a trip and a friend to buy more underwear because she didn't bring enough)

Below you can see how I reused one pair of shoes with two outfits. I also didn't end up taking the grey sweater and instead wore the yellow one with the teal dress. I also reused some sunnies across two outfits, but they're so small that who notices when packing?


3. Only bring what you need for hair and makeup
I love makeup. I used to 'need' to bring half of my eyeshadows just in case. Now I plan that out with each outfit so I'm not bringing extra. Plus, if your luggage gets lost, you don't want to lose even more expensive makeup! The same goes with hair stuff. For example, if I plan out my hairstyles I may not need wax, straightening goo, or mousse. I also no longer bring my own blow dryer because I know almost any hotel has one.

Hopefully that helps some other clothing & beauty lovers with

3 comments:

  1. My cat does the exact same thing when I pack! She loves suitcases.
    These are such great tips. I always try to pack light, but then in the end I throw a few extra garments I don't need in there "just in case!" I'm already thinking about how I'll pack for my honeymoon in two months-- hopefully lightly, but with lots of cute ways to remix outfits.
    And I always bring too much makeup.

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  2. Planning out outfits saves me on trips! And the more I do it, the better I get!

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