The Secret to Smart Packing

We love to travel, but we hate to pay baggage fees, wait at airport carousels for bags that may never arrive and we are loathe to drag a massive amount of luggage through small European towns.

“Pack light” they say. Often this is much easier said than done.

I have a couple of secrets that may help. In the past I have been a slave to my suitcases, where my desire to bring my entire wardrobe has won out over my common sense. In the past I wanted to take every outfit that fit, was the right color and could be jammed into my bags. Those days are over.

We have just embarked on a five week holiday. For this vacation we will travel on an eleven night cruise to the Caribbean, then embark on a fourteen day transatlantic cruise that will visit the Canary Islands, Spain, France and end in Italy. Once in Italy we will visit Rome and then take a train to Lake Como. The temperature will likely vary by at least 30 degrees.

How the heck do you pack for all of the different locals? We will be visiting twelve ports and two cities in Italy. We will travel by plane, boat, train and car. That’s a lot of moving around.

On a Viking River Cruise several years ago I spoke to a very seasoned traveler who commented to me that she only took one bag for her cruise which also included several weeks in France following the cruise. She mentioned that she loved the travel cubes that she purchased on Amazon. They kept her organized and allowed for her to pack smarter.

Once home I researched user comments on Amazon for E bags Packing Cubes and the Amazon brand packing cubes. I ordered one set for myself and eventually ordered a set for my husband. I love the bags because they allow me to organize my packing wardrobe and unpacking is even easier because many of my items remain in the mesh bags and are placed into the drawer of wherever I am staying. They’re washable and easily stored in my suitcase when we are not traveling.

Amazon
For this five week journey I combined two strategies. I utilized the packing cubes from Amazon and I rolled all of my clothes. I also used rubber bands to make my rolled piles fit a bit more into the cubes. Dresses were placed together and rolled into two neat piles. Long sleeve shirts were combined with a couple of sweaters. Short sleeve and t-shirts were combined and rolled into one cube. When all the packing was completed I had packed 9 dresses, 11 shirts, 4 pairs of pants, 4 pairs of shorts, 2 sets of pajamas, 2 pairs of shoes (sandals and a wedge, 11 days worth of undergarments, a couple of socks and a jacket and two swim suits into ONE CARRY-ON AND ONE BACKPACK. Also included in my packing are some basic toiletries, jewelry, and jewelry-making tools such as wire, beads and a small set of pliers.

I began by placing all of the clothes that I wanted to take on my bed. In the end I edited one blouse..

I roll each set of clothing into tight bundles held together with rubber bands.

by the time I was finished everything fit. I then packed my husband’s clothes into his packing cubes and added three shirts and a pair of slacks.

I pack clothes that are relatively light weight, wrinkle free and don’t need dry cleaning. It is necessary to have use of laundry services and or a washing machine. If I get tired of an outfit I make sure it’s expendable on the trip. I wear my sneakers, a jacket and pants on the plane. Books from Amazon are loaded onto the IPad that my husband carries in his backpack along with my camera and a few lenses. Most of our souvenirs are photographs. To view some of the packing cubes follow the link below.

Amazon Packing Cubes