5 tips on Packing for Short Term Travel
I used to hate packing for a trip until I came up with a checklist.
At the start of my career I traveled for nearly five years all across the United States.
Most of my travel was week-long business travel, flying out Sundays and returning on Fridays. During this time I traveled an average of 40% of the time so I know a thing or two about packing for short business trips.
Even as a veteran domestic traveler, I ran into trouble before I created a dedicated packing list.
Before I realized the importance of a packing checklist I ran into these challenges which I know are common problems.
Challenges packing without a checklist
- Overpacking
- Unrealistic expectations
- Just in case situations
- Forgetting items
- Packing inefficiently
Overpacking a suitcase
Overpacking is one of the biggest sins with packing for a trip. Everyone has experienced those times when you literally sit on our suitcase to force the zipper shut. In the next moment you’re putting your suitcase on top of your household scale to make sure it’s under the weight limit.
No one wants to get charged extra when you’re in line at the airport.
I’ve been there before and it’s frustrating because you realize you have packed too much stuff.
All this can be avoidable with the use of a basic packing checklist.
Unrealistic expectations for your travel plans
On nearly every family trip growing up I was guilty of having unrealistic expectations of what I would do on the planned trip. It was always guaranteed that there was some homework assignment due after my trip or some test I “should” study for.
Naturally I had expectations that there would be a little time here or there when I could crack open a book or two. I dutifully would pack my textbooks along with papers and writing supplies on my trip.
If you know anything about paper, you know how heavy it is. Yet despite the weight and the bulk, I packed the books.
And without fail, on the family trip, not once did I crack open a book to study.
I was packing for the just in case situations that were unrealistic.
These expectations of what could happen drive us to overpack and ultimately lug our things unnecessarily on our travels.
Packing for “just in case” situations
Packing for just in case situations deserves a deeper discussion.
When packing for travel it’s easy to fall trap of packing for every situation under the sun. And speaking of weather, what may or may not happen in terms of the weather drives us to pack for all situations instead of the likely few situations.
I agree that packing for the weather is important, but many of tend to go a bit overboard here and will pack for ALL weather conditions.
Cue overpacking and you’re left with a stuffed suitcase that took too long to pack and too heavy to travel with.
Go with the 80/20 rule. Pack for the 80% guaranteed weather, and not for the 20% weather.
Yes, it could rain, but packing for the slight chance of rain guarantees that you overpack.
Forgetting important items
It is the worst when you’re traveling and you forget an important item.
The item may even be life or death such as important medicines or medical devices needed for health conditions.
Worse yet, you may find that where ever you travel to, the forgotten items may not be readily available to purchase.
Having a detailed packing checklist can avoid these types of frustrations and health crises.
Picking up these items at the nearby convenience store might be an option, but a costly one.
Utilizing a packing checklist avoids the unnecessary spending and expense.
Packing inefficiently
Over or under packing is essentially inefficiently packing, which we all want to avoid when we are traveling for any occasion. Traveling is already tough. Add to it missed items causing discomfort on your trip and it all becomes a recipe for a miserable trip.
Now that you’re fully convinced at the important of having a basic packing checklist, packing can be a breeze and one less headache ahead of your travels.
Here are my best tips for packing for travel.
Move Folded clothes from dresser directly into suitcase
It’s a daily practice to keep my clothes neatly folded in my dresser drawer. Whenever it’s time to pack for a trip, I simply grab my folded clothes which go straight into the suitcase. Folding in a compact manner will allow for ample space in my suitcase.
Take a look a quick video here on my process.
Storing the folded clothes upright, rather than stacked also makes for ease in packing. When you arrive to your destination, it’s very easy to see all that you have in a quick glance.
Store shoes in a separate dust bag
I like to take extra care when it comes to storing my shoes in my luggage. Shoes touch the ground so to keep extra germs at bay I like to store my shoes in a separate dust bag that doesn’t touch my clean items. As an extra precaution I also store the dust bag in a separate zipped compartment of my suitcase.
If this feels like an extra step, feel free to skip altogether.
Pack toiletries in a leak proof container
There have been many occasions when my daily use products that are liquid, spill, seep out and ruin or damage other items in my suitcase. All this can be avoidable by taking an extra step of packing these liquid items in a leak proof container. I personally started to use food storage bags such as Stasher bags. The moldable silicone allows you to easy shape the bag to fit inside your suitcase and the press and seal opening prevents unwanted spills. Plus, the durable materials can be used for multiple purposes adding to the versatility of the product.
Reduce bulk by using smaller containers for daily use products
If you’re taking a short 3-5 day trip you likely don’t want to bring your entire 12 oz bottle of shampoo and conditioner. Parse out the amounts that you will likely need and use into smaller bottles or containers so that you don’t pack unnecessary bulk. The same applies for daily pills and vitamins. There is no need to bring the entire bottle of pills for a short trip. Count out the number of pills needed and store them in a small container. One tip I use frequently is to use contact case containers. The size is large enough to hold 3-5 pills and hardly adds any bulk to my suitcase.
Conclusion
The key to packing is to use a checklist.
It really is that simple. A solid checklist makes for packing only the essentials for travel.
Remember, packing efficiently doesn’t mean you’re going without. You’re traveling with exactly what you need.
If you don’t want to start from scratch, I have a travel and packing checklist to get you started.
Modify and adapt the list as needed, but save yourself some trouble on your next trip by using the packing list.
Southern California based Professional Organizer, Sandy Park, owner and founder of Tidy with SPARK shares her joy of organization with her clients.
She serves clients in Orange County as well as the hundreds of thousands of followers on her combined social media platforms.
Connect with Sandy through her website or by connecting through her social channels.