Last week my friends and I went on a cruise for a senior spring break (more details on that forthcoming). I showed up with a small duffel and tote bag, paranoid that someone was going to say OH MY GOD SARAH YOU PACKED SO MUCH, but when I arrived at Amanda’s Suburban, she looked at me and said, “Sarah, where are your bags?” It was then that I knew I’d mastered the art of packing.
You see, from the second that someone walks into my condo, it’s pretty obvious that I have a lot of “stuff.” My closet is nearly bursting despite constant purging, my bathroom countertop collection of various bottles seems to constantly expand, and a few of my 80+ pairs of shoes have to permanently stay on my bedroom floor because their storage area is terrifyingly overrun. (What can I say? I like options. That, and my feet legitimately have not grown since I was 10, so some of my shoes are crazy old.)
Anyway. As you can imagine, the ability to “pack light” for trips wasn’t an inherent strength growing up. But I’m proud to say that after probably more than 300 flights, incessant harassment, and continual embarrassment for my packing skills, I’ve got it MASTERED. It all started with study abroad two years ago, when I packed 3 months worth of stuff into an undersized suitcase — my mom was amazed.
Not bad for 3 months across Europe, if I do say so myself!
Below are 5 tips and tricks that work for me. Some are pretty well-known, but I promise you’ll see a huge difference if you use all of them!
1. Make a packing list
Don’t laugh. It may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised by how many people don’t plan out what they’re going to pack, either out of sheer laziness or running out of time or who knows what. Not making a packing list is a surefire way to end up with waste – you’ll take up precious space with things you don’t need and won’t use, and potentially miss out on bringing things that are more important. When I make my packing lists, I open Excel or a Google spreadsheet and make five different columns, titled: Clothing, Shoes, Toiletries, Accessories, Extras. Clothing covers everything from dresses to shirts and tops to bras and underwear and socks; Shoes is pretty self-explanatory; Toiletries encompasses everything from toothbrush and toothpaste to contact solution to makeup products, skin care, and hair care; Accessories include jewelry, scarves, sunglasses, hats, etc.; Extras is sort of like a miscellaneous section where I put electronics (computer, phone, and chargers), books, headphones, passports, etc. As I pack items, I cross them out on the spreadsheet. No man left behind, and no extra baggage (literally).
2. Color coordinate/mix & match
Here’s a capsule wardrobe example, courtesy of Pinterest
This goes together with making a packing list, because it’s another “planning step” in the packing process. I used to pack a huge variety of clothes, including different styles and color schemes. Each item had essentially one outfit that it could be used in, meaning that I’d bring at least 7 different shirts and pants for a 7 day trip (or something like that, you get the point.) This is a HUGE waste of packing space. Instead, come up with some central color schemes, such as black and grey or camel/tan/brown and an accent color, then pack pieces that can mixed and matched to create several different outfits. If you need more help on how to do this and do it WELL (aka people don’t realize you’re re-wearing your clothes), do a google search for “capsule wardrobe” — you’ll be amazed at how many different outfits you can get out of 10 pieces when you plan ahead! Personally, I like to start with my shoes, because they take up a lot of space and can tie together pretty much any outfit. For example, in the springtime I would pack a pair of tan wedges, a pair of nude sandals, and maybe a bright or funky pair of flats, and then build my outfits AROUND those.
3. Use packing bags
I never really understood packing bags until I bought these before embarking on a 3-month study abroad program. For me, I saw three main benefits while using them. First, organization – I dedicated a bag to tops, a bag to skirts, a bag to underwear, etc. (you could be broader and have one for “tops” and “bottoms”), which really helped keep me aware of what I was packing, and also made getting ready during the days much easier because I knew where everything was…in fact, the bags kind of work like drawers. (Say goodbye to living out of an exploded suitcase!) Second, space conservation – if you fill your packing bags, you can pack at least double what you would without them because they stack together neatly, whereas there’s a lot of awkward, unfilled space when you just put clothes directly into a duffel or suitcase. Last but not least, clean vs. dirty – I bring an extra bag or two (they’re tiny when empty) to put dirty or particularly gross clothes in so that the rest of my clothes aren’t affected. I HATE coming home and having to wash everything, even the stuff that went unworn, because it all smells less-than-clean.
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4. Use contact cases & vitamin containers for liquid toiletries or makeup
Particularly when packing a carry-on with constraints on liquids, it is very challenging for many women to bring everything they use in 
their daily routines. I can’t remember where I came across this tip, though I think it was somewhere in the blogosphere, and damn is it a life-saver for someone like me who has a lot of liquids (think: face wash, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, liquid makeup products, etc.) You can buy cheap contact cases in packs of 4 or 5 and stackable vitamin containers (seen to the right) at your local drugstore or pharmacy, then fill them up with your various liquids, gels, and creams. IT SAVES SO MUCH SPACE, OH MY GAWD. If I haven’t used up all the product by the time I return home, I either keep using it out of the containers until it’s gone or just empty and wash them out. It kind of depends on the product.
5. USE THE ROLL
Suitcase packed with roll method, courtesy of hubpages
I capitalized this one because I think that, out of all my tips, this makes the biggest difference and is the easiest change to implement. Before I studied abroad, I watched a video on packing tips as far as the literal method of packing goes (nerd status), and this was one of the biggest takeaways. So right now you may be asking, what is the roll? Well, instead of folding and stacking clothes, lay the item face down, fold back the sleeves, and roll it into a cylinder from the bottom up. Then stack these together in your suitcase. If you buy packing bags, roll the clothes and put them in their respective bags – this method is a game-changer that allows you to fit a LOT of clothing into a relatively small bag. If done correctly, the rolling method also helps to decrease hard creases in your clothing, but only if you take your time rolling. (I’m guilty of sloppy, wrinkly rolling on items that I don’t really care about, like t-shirts and whatnot.) If you’re packing items that tend to get very wrinkly, separate those and try folding them together — for example, you can fold two pairs of slacks together by laying one pair over half of the other, then folding the unlayered half over, then the other unlayered half over.
