Going on holiday is an exciting, often long anticipated event; an excuse for everyone to ignore necessities and think more towards luxury and adventure. This mind-set, whilst brilliant for enjoying yourself, does not translate well to packing, and often people find themselves with absolutely nothing useful in their suitcases.
So, these are the basics of packing, try and follow these simple steps and make your holiday even more relaxing.
- Don’t Over-Pack.
You regret the “you never know when you might need it” mentality as soon as you’re on holiday when you can’t find what you want beneath piles of unnecessary clothes. Think about how long you’re going for and what pieces you can mix and match to avoid packing entirely new outfits. Don’t take a pair of shoes for every day, a few pairs that will cater for all occasions, and in terms of other necessities, take it easy on the sun cream and medical supplies – you will be able to buy them while you’re away if you run out.
- Research where you’re going.
Most of you do this in terms of weather, accommodation and attractions anyway, so try and apply what you know to your packing. If it’s hot and there are beautiful beaches, then obviously you will pack swimwear, but make sure you take a few so you can alternate. If you’re going on a more hands on, active holiday or visiting colder climes then make sure you have the appropriate clothing– www.e-outdoor.co.uk is a good place to visit for this. If you’re going on a city break, then you will need comfortable shoes for rambling about in all day. The more you know about where you’re going, the savvier you can be with your packing; www.wikitravel.org is great for doing some research on your chosen destination.
- Leave some room.
This goes hand in hand with not over-packing. Everyone brings souvenirs back from holiday; whether you’ve been shopping or skiing there will be one or two extra things you want to take home, and you want to allow room for them. If you follow the rules on how to not over-pack above, this shouldn’t be an issue, but the way you pack can also help with this. Packing things like underwear and swimwear and putting them in shoes helps maximise space and rolling rather than folding will also give you extra room.
- Compartmentalize
Having shoes together, swimwear together, sun cream and toiletries together etc. in different parts of your case will make unpacking a lot easier. If you know what you’re looking for you can grab it and go. This little bit of forward planning will leave you free to enjoy every minute of your holiday.
Follow these packing techniques and you won’t go far wrong. For other hints, http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/?q=holiday has some great tips on how to make the most of your holidays – bon voyage!
