Tips – Stop Overpacking for Your Travels
You know why you’re here. In the past, you’ve lugged around a giant suitcase in a foreign destination filled with clothes you didn’t wear and items you didn’t need. Over the last four years, I’ve been slowly adopting a system that forces me to pack only what I need and stop overpacking. And with success! On my last three trips, I wore every piece of clothing I brought. I amazed myself. Let’s leave the past behind and bring only what you need for your upcoming trip, shall we?
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The Moderately Adventurous “Stop Overpacking” System
Before we jump in I want to warn you, this is NOT minimalist packing. Let me do a very quick breakdown of what my system is and is not.
This “Stop Overpacking” system is NOT:
- Minimalist packing
- Packing only in a backpack
- Only for men
This “Stop Overpacking” system IS:
- A thought process before you start packing with tips for the actual packing (I usually do half of the steps at work or anywhere with 15 mins to spare and somewhere to write things down)
- Pack what you need, leave duplicates behind
- Will prepare you for your planned activities
- Make packing easier
I’ve created a worksheet to pair with this blogpost. The worksheet leads you through the steps of my system. You do absolutely need the worksheet to complete the steps. However, I had fun making the worksheet and would love to see you using it. Tag me in an Instagram post if you use my worksheet or use the steps listed!
Step 1: List the Activities
Okay, let’s dig in. Pre-step 1, or step 0, is to step away from your closet and take a couple of deep breaths. Repeat after me, “I can do this. Packing is a good thing because I am preparing myself to have an incredible trip. Packing is easy. I can do this.” When you feel calm, get your worksheet or notebook ready with a pen. We are going to make a large chart in landscape with 4 columns and the number of rows corresponding to your trip days. We are going to work column-by-column:
Column 1: Date
In the first column, write each date of your trip on a separate row. Begin with the day you leave, even if it is a red-eye flight.
Column 2: Day of the Week
In the second column, write the day of the week associated with the date. Working down the column, your final day should line up with the date.
Column 3: List Activities
To the best of your knowledge, write down the activities planned for each day. For travel days, simply write “Flight” or “Drive day” or “Travel to X”. If you know you want to do certain activities, but don’t know what days they will end up falling on, simply choose days for this exercise. You can also write more than one activity for the day. This step may take some research, asking, or decision-making in terms of roughly know what you’re up to on your trip. The more specifics that you know, the less you will have to pack because you are not preparing yourself for three different activities in one day.
Column 4:
Now, referencing the activities on each day, choose what kind of outfit you would wear for those activities. Don’t worry about specific items, simply put the type of clothing items. Here are some examples:
- 1/24, Sunday, Flight: Long-sleeve top, pants, scarf, closed-toed shoes, and cardigan/jacket
- 1/25, Monday, Flight arrival & walking tour: same as above, a cute top, shorts or skirt, sandals
- 1/26, Tuesday, Drive day, snorkeling, museum, & walking tour: swimsuit, comfy shorts, tank top, sandals
Keep it simple! For example, on this last day’s example there seems to be a lot going on: “Drive day, snorkeling, museum, & walking tour.” However, I simply start with the absolutes: I need a swimsuit for snorkeling. Then I can easily wear the same thing for the other three activities.
Don’t move onto the next step unless you’ve completed the table!
Step 2: Count the Items
Referencing the table that you just filled out, I want you to count the number of times you see each of the following items:
- Short-Sleeve/Tank Tops
- Long-Sleeve/Button Down Tops
- Sweaters
- Cardigans/Jackets
- Shorts/Skirts*
- Jeans/Pants*
- Leggings/Athletic Bottoms*
- Athletic tops
- Dresses
- Swimsuits
- Scarves
- Hats
- Other trip-specific items that come up more than once
For the three asterisks (*) bottoms, divide your number by 2. I know you didn’t expect to do math while packing, but this should be simple enough. These final numbers represent the MAXIMUM of each type of item you’re allowed to bring. It may sound tough, but the reason you’re here is to stop overpacking. I had you divide your bottoms by 2 because I am a firm believer that you should be re-wearing your bottoms and mixing/matching with different tops.
Step 3: Brainstorm Items
On the back (or second sheet) of my “Stop Overpacking” worksheet, you’ll see a section for listing out clothing items. I use this section to brainstorm or make notes of clothing items as I go. Because, when I am writing out the activities and types of clothing in Step 1, I usually start thinking of specific clothing pieces that I know I want to bring. I don’t want that to slow me down, so I will jot it down in this section. Or once you have the other information, sit for a second and think of clothing items you know you want to bring. That way, when you head to your closet, you have somewhere to start. And starting is the hardest part.
Tips for Physically Picking Items
While doing the actual packing, you don’t necessarily have to pick outfits specific for each day. I personally do because I want the clothes to photograph well for this very blog you’re reading! So if you do want to pick out items for specific days, you’re in good company. Here are my tips for the process of picking items:
- Check the weather in your destination(s).
- Have a clear working space. I use my bed to layout items.
- Start with the items you brainstormed in the last step of the worksheet.
- Reference the worksheet for what you’re doing each day.
- Choose items you like to wear in your daily life. If you feel good at home/work, you’ll probably feel good in France or wherever you’re going. But consider weight and functionality.
- Try on items that you haven’t worn in a long time. There might be a reason why you never wear those pants (they are too small) or that top (it has a stubborn stain).
- Choose a similar color scheme for your items for mix and match opportunities.
- Pack your toiletries on a separate day from your clothes (assuming you have multiple days before your trip).
Once you have things laid out, do a quick comparison to see if your numbers line up with the numbers in Step 2. It is okay if you switched some items out, like a dress for shorts and a tank top or vice versa. It is also okay if you round-up on the bottoms that I had you divide. Remember, we’ve thought through your entire trip and already counted out exactly what you need. If your numbers are way off, you need to reduce. Remember, this is to stop overpacking. You want extra space in your suitcase to bring home souvenirs!
Super Tip for Packing
One thing that helps keep me insanely organized while traveling and also makes me pack super efficiently are packing cubes. It is a bit of a misnomer because they are not actually cubes. Instead, they are rectangular lightweight bags that allow you stuff like-things into. I usually have one large cube of my tops and one large cube of my bottoms. If you watch the course, you’ll see how I am able to fit all of my tops and a dress or two for my 9 days in Cuba into one packing cube. Life. Changing.
Get your own packing cubes on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2W7vPdr
Suitcase Options
Your clothing items should be roughly complete. Now that you’ve officially not overpacked, let’s reconsider your suitcases. Do you still need your giant wheeled suitcase? What about the following combinations?
- A carry-on with a backpack
- A small duffel bag
- A large duffel bag
- Checked suitcase with a backpack
What I’ve noticed is that people generally fill the space they have available. So having various sizes or options will allow you to bring less, and maybe save some money from checked luggage. Another thing I have done with colder locations with a travel partner is that we would split a checked bag and each bring a carry-on with a personal item.
Stop Overpacking Overview
Packing is hard because we are trying to think of everything at once – what the weather is, what days are travel days, what things you’re doing, what toiletries we need, if we need the headlamp, where are the headlamp batteries, and etc. Thinking of one thing leads down a rabbit hole and wandering around the house for hours. Taking a step back and doing some of that thinking ahead of time will allow you to focus on what clothes you need. This system has not yet failed me, so I hope it works for you too!
What are your favorite packing tips? Share in the comments, so others can benefit from your wisdom!
Happy Travels,
Hanna
