CS.EDIT

photo via lomokev

Some people have a natural flair for organization and tidiness. Others like me, find order in randomness. But there are some tasks that requires you to be absolutely organized. Like packing a suitcase. It doesn’t work if you randomly throw everything in. This task definitely requires a systematic approach and good organization skills.

So naturally, packing is one of the task I detest the most { amongst many other mundane tasks }. Even when it is for holiday and all the more when its for work. My mom actually has a friend who will never travel out of the country because she does not want to pack!

But I suppose when you do something a million times, you somehow start to establish a system and do it better.
If you also detest packing your luggage, here’s some tips that may help you along and hopefully make the chore a little less painful.

I wanted to take some photos and share them with you as I pack my bags but the weather is a little gloomy today. In a basement apartment, it is really difficult to take pictures in such bad lighting. So instead of bad photographs from me, I try to search for pictures online instead.

1. Play your favorite music. 

This tip is good for every detesting chore you have to do. Nothing like some good music to lift your spirit.

2. Use plenty of bags. 

photo via gmarket here

Yes. The idea of bag in a bag really works! And you need bags that look different from one another or are see-through. Packing cubes, cosmetic pouches, drawstring bags etc. Whatever you can find. They help to categorize everything for easy packing and allows you to easily identify where an item is. Not to mention that they make your luggage look a lot neater and organized.
So I have a bag for each of these categories:
– clothes
– cosmetics
– skincare & toiletries
– accessories
– delicates
– electronics (zip lock bags are best for these)
– safety kit

With the bag system, it also reminds you of the things you need to pack without having to write anything down. If you get mesh garment bags like the ones in the picture (or from muji here), they also double as laundry bags if you need to wash your clothes at the launderette.

3. Ziploc bags & Vacuum bags.
I always keep spare ziploc bags and vacuum bags with me.
Ziploc bags are great for miscellaneous little things and electronics.
I also like to keep my shoes in ziploc bags.

Vacuum bags are great for packing heavy duty clothes that takes up too much space. Get those that you don’t need to use a vacuum cleaner with. So you can just roll it to squeeze the air out before sealing it.

4. Samples
If you are packing for holidays, forget about bringing all your skincare, liquids and creams in its original container size. Bring the sample sizes you get from the retail counter. Or if you must, then get little empty containers and fill them up instead. I love the ones from Muji. And I use spare contact lens containers for my creams. Just don’t forget to label them.

5. What clothes to bring?
This is definitely the biggest headache of all. How can you squeeze your entire wardrobe into a suitcase?
Do you already have to work out what you want to wear for the next two weeks in advance and plan the different combinations already?

The answer is, you don’t.

If you are like me, I’m sure there are only those few pieces in your wardrobe that you always wear. The rest are just ‘options’ that lingers in the corner waiting for a day when you might need them.
Of course you know that you cannot survive ten days with just one skirt and nine tops. Just pack the items that you usually wear the most.
I don’t even think about what clothes to bring anymore. Depending on the occasion, I just reach out to the few favorite pieces that I wear the most often.

6. Bring a foldable bag. 

Longchamp Le Pliage large travel bag

Chances are, your suitcase is almost full. So you need to bring a foldable bag. I love longchamp bags. I always bring two of different sizes with me. A medium sized as a daily bag alternative, and the other bigger bag for emergency purchases. So if you find that you made too many purchases in the foreign land, put all your clothes into a vacuum bag and chuck them into the emergency bag. This will make space in your luggage for all your purchases. And you won’t need to worry about rough handling if you check in your emergency bag.

Phew! I can really ramble.
Thanks for bearing with me and reading this far.

Unfortunately, I still have a huge headache on packing accessories. I have yet to find an ideal way to pack my necklaces. For earrings, those small see-through plastic pill boxes with various compartments are great. But for rings and necklaces, I put them all into a small container. And the necklaces always get all tangled up and its so annoying.

How do you pack your bags? Have you got any good packing tips? I could definitely use more, especially on accessories packing.

Thanks for reading!

Tags: packing tips