Stuff all laid out?
Ok, now for the fun part! Getting all your stuff in your luggage. The main issue here is going to be your method of travel. If you are taking a plane and are restricted to a weight limit it can be extremely challenging.
First, make sure your luggage is as light as possible, this gives you more room for your things. Obvious right? Ok, the next part is the fun part for me. I would recommend getting some space bags. Does not matter the brand, but I recommend a variety of sizes. I also like the bags that are for travel, not the vacuum style. You want to be able to roll the air out not need to worry about sucking it out. The travel ones also tend to be smaller due to the fact they don't have the vacuum port.
Once you have these wonderful tools place your clothes into the space bags in a manner of necessity. I would recommend placing all the maybe worn clothes into one bag. This bag may or may not be opened at your destination. Socks, underwear and other small items into another, dress style clothes, t-shirts/shorts, long pants etc... all in separate bags.
Once, all the clothes are in the bags as you like, seal them and then layer the bags into your luggage. These also work great for carry-ons and personal items. Now that everything is flat in your bags you need to add in the odd shaped items, shoes, toiletries, etc... MAKE sure you put your shoes into a grocery-style bag or something equivalent and definitely put all toiletries into zip locks. If a liquid spills that can ruin a trip. Your shoes may get wet or dirty and you don't want to get it all over your clothes or luggage. My last trip I had a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves I used for canyoneering and they never really dried. Needless to say, they smelled horrible and if I did not bag them---- YUCK!
Why all the bags? First, they keep everything neat, second they are slippery so you can shift them around easier(pack more), third they keep stuff dry - humid climates can wreak havoc on our clothes, fourth they can be used for other things on the trip- dirty clothes, fifth you can fit far more stuff, sixth you can buy stuff during your trip and still have luggage space. LOTS of great uses for packing appropriately!
Packing is almost an endless topic. I will continually update my tips are tricks as well as add to these sections periodically. You just cannot write it all down at once. 
No comments:
Post a Comment