It’s summer, the holidays, oh my God, what a chaaaAAaancee… There’s the sky, the sun and the marvelous suitcase of death to bang, oh my God what an enfeeeeeer. You never know what to take, how to take it or why to take it. So we take it anyway, never to use it. To regret. Not having enough room to bring an ugly present to mother-in-law. In short. It’s boring, boring, boring. To disgust you with the holidays. Fortunately, we decided to lighten your ordeal by giving you some nice tips. Stuff more useful than a fourth pair of shoes for five days of stay.
1. If you are traveling as a couple, divide your belongings between the two suitcases
Table of Contents
50/50. Half half. What’s the point, you say? Well… If one of your two suitcases gets lost, you’ll be glad you adopted this trick. Quite simply.
2. Always take a change of clothes in your hand luggage
If you are traveling alone, this can be (again) useful if your luggage is lost. What’s more, it’s still nice to be able to get changed on the way, whether it’s for questions of extreme sweating during a long haul, coffee spilled by the intrusive neighbor, meal tray accidentally stranded on your lap, big turbulence in the middle of a pee-position-squat, or even vomit caused by airsickness. In short, a change of clothes, it does not eat bread, but it can save your trip.
3. Make a list
The “everything to do list” team wriggles in front of this point. The others huff, raising their eyes in the air. I know, it can be boring, but the list has many advantages. First, it will allow you to de-stress by putting down on paper everything you need. When you read it again, you will realize that 12 outfits for 5 days of vacation is not necessary. Finally, when you get home, it will be the best way to make sure you haven’t lost anything. It’s a bit tedious, but in the end… Bah, it saves time!
4. Leave room for your purchases
No, I’m not pushing you to use it. We’re just ALL the same, and we always bring stuff back from our vacations. Clothes, magnets for granny’s fridge, this incredible packet of cake that we can’t find at home, junk food for our colleagues, a little ugly souvenir mug, more clothes, a straw hat that we won’t put back never… In short. A lot of stupid stuff that takes up a lot of space in the suitcase. We therefore plan the coup, just to avoid finishing the trip with an additional baggage allowance of 200 balls (often tested, never approved)!
5. No more than 3 pairs of shoes
For one to two weeks of stay, we limit ourselves to three pairs of shoes. GREAT MAXIMUM. Of course, we adapt them to the planned activities. Three pairs of high heels won’t be very useful on a hike, your pair of running shoes can stay at home if you don’t plan to run every morning, and your ballet flats should, in any case, have been thrown away. trash can for at least 10 years. When camping, you MUST NOT forget the pair of flip flops to go from the tent to the shower. In short, we think a little upstream, and we choose comfortable pumps, easy to wear every day.
6. … And store your socks in them
Once you’ve selected your shoes, there’s no way to let them eat up half the space in your suitcase without getting a little out of it. Stuff them, to the maximum. In particular, you can store your pairs of socks there. If you have odor-prone feet, however, I advise you not to store t-shirts there. You do what you want with it. (Of course, this tip no longer works if you have decided to pack three pairs of flip flops).
7. Roll your clothes
It saves a huge amount of space, especially for t-shirts, dresses and tops! It also seems that it prevents the clothes from creasing… I don’t really have the right technique, so I can’t confirm this point. On the other hand, in terms of saving space, it’s a big yes!
Thanks to this video, I discover that my high school teachers never told me about the work of “storage consultant Marie Kondo”. Really precise as titled.
8. Use shower caps to walk around your dirty shoes
Two possibilities: you are an organized person (you are also one of those who wriggled while reading “to do list”) and you always remember to take a shoe bag with you. In this case, go to the next point. You are a bit in the air and these little details always go by the wayside. After a good little hike, you come home with disgusting shoes, and you have nothing to pack them before throwing them next to your own things. In this case, take the beautiful shower cap (which no one uses) offered by the hotel. Pack your shoes in it. That’s it ! This technique also works with wet swimsuits that you don’t have time to dry. Phew.
9. Cover your liquids with plastic wrap
Rest assured, it is not necessary to wrap your entire bottle. In fact, all you need to do is place a single layer of film between the opening of the product and its cap. In this way, and despite the increase in atmospheric pressure, your bottle should not move, expand and end up exploding in flight. A little piece of film to save your clothes and products. Like what, it’s the little things that make the biggest things.
10. …And put cotton balls in your makeup bag
The cotton balls will simply prevent your products from colliding, breaking, and leaking all over your luggage. Likewise, if you take eye shadow, blush, bronzer or any type of powder with you: placing a cotton ball between the palette and the lid will prevent them from breaking. It sucks.
11. Put a belt in your shirt collars
You are going on a business trip, to a ceremony, or wherever you need to wear a shirt. To keep your collar rigid while saving space, simply slide your belt inside.
12. Always take an empty glasses case
I’ve been talking to you about saving space from the beginning, and now I’m asking you to take empty things. You say to yourself “but she is completely pimpon that one! and you’re not completely wrong. But let me explain! Glasses cases (generally) have the particularity of being rigid and reinforced. You can therefore store fragile items (jewellery, chargers, headphones, small ugly porcelain souvenirs, etc.) in it to secure them. Not so dapper, after all.
13. Personalize your suitcase
I’m not asking you to spend thousands and cents to customize it. A few stickers, small printed and glued papers, glitter or even simple pieces of colored adhesive tape will suffice. The objective is just to make your luggage recognizable in the middle of all these black suitcases, stories that your stay does not start with a bag exchange with Mr. Dupont.
14. Set yourself a ratio of 3:1
3 tops, for one bottom. Best way to not end up with more shorts than travel days. I know, I know… “Just in case”. No. We stop with that.
15. Bonus: only take the essentials
We can never tell you enough, but eliminate from your suitcase everything you can eliminate. Shower gels and shampoo? At the hotel, there will be. In a hostel or at the campsite, you will find some in the nearest supermarket. Towels ? The hotel will have some, or you can find some for next to nothing in “Action” type stores. Travel light!