How to pack efficiently for travel?

Does your bag seem to overflow while doing packing? I must say mine used to do. Many times, I used to think efficient packing for travel is more of a pain than joy.

Bad packing habits

That is because, I have a habit of creating backups for everything. So a backup sweater, t-shirts, dresses and even night dresses. Huh!! It was so bad that I had no place for keeping the things that I had shopped for!! Carrying it was another mammoth task.

And then I had kids. I applied the “backup” logic for their packing as well and ended up carrying a lot, only to realize that half of the clothes were unused!

Now the problem arose, when we had to do air travel and as we know every airline has weight restrictions. I had to cut down on the luggage and take only the necessary things. Then I realized that it was all that was needed.

This is a part of our exhaustive Ultimate Guide to Travel Planning.

Tips for how to pack efficiently for travel  –

I felt really happy when I traveled light and not to mention had loads of place to keep things that I shopped for. So here is all that I learnt about how to pack efficiently for travel –

1. Kids accessories for travel

If kids can get their own attractive accessories for travel, they will be more inclined on carrying their own baggage. It saves you lifting all the load during the travel.

Read our blog to make your list of kids travel accessories!

2. Travel Organizers

Before you start packing, get the essential travel organisers to help you pack. It makes packing easy and it also makes finding things easy during you travel.

Read our blog on the curated list of travel organisers that will definitely help you with efficient packing for travel.

3. Select correct baggage

Carry a separate sling bag for tickets, passports so that you don’t fumble at the end moment over finding it. Use a wheeled bag instead of non-wheeled one. Also, my personal experience is the light weight bags are much better than the hard bound ones. They can carry lot more luggage than their counterparts.

Keep two bags with you. One check-in bag and one day bag which would be in your carry-on luggage. Keep a pair of clothes in it and other essential things like food. You are allowed to carry bottles, up to 100 ml in carry-on baggage, so you can carry milk for your baby in small bottles, if you want to.

4. Packing right

If you would like to have a curated list of your fashion needs for a weekend travel, read this blog here!

Read: What to pack for weekend getaway?

So here are a few tips on how to pack right:

• If you are doing air travel, first thing you do is, check the baggage weight restrictions for your flight. Also check the permissible items in carry-on luggage and check-in luggage. The latest update what I saw is that you are not allowed to take power banks in check-in luggage. And people were left fussing at the last moment over changing it from check-in to carry-on.
• If you are travelling with babies or toddlers, the day bag should contain one set of clothes, cap, mittens (depending on the weather), socks, diapers, wipes (most useful of the lot!), and garbage bags to throw the diapers or to put in dirty clothes. Don’t forget to pack in their favorite toys which can keep them busy for few hours. This bag should also have some food and water for them and a little bottle of hand cleanser which can be a lifesaver. This bag should always accompany you throughout the trip.
• Carry food in disposable boxes or tiffins, so that you need not carry it back. Also you can buy fruits locally. No need to carry them and increase your luggage
• Carry medicines in a separate bag so that if any of the liquid medicine pours out then it does not spoil your bag.

5. Packing right for airports

• Put some identification like a ribbon on the check-in bag so that you will be able to identify your bag when it comes on the baggage counter. Although we think our bag is different, but we still get confused, seeing all the bags at the baggage counter.
• Do not lock the check-in bag as the authorities have the right to tear your bag in case they suspect something.
• Do not keep expensive items like camera in your check-in bag. Always keep it in your carry-on luggage.
• If you are travelling with the elders, do carry a file of their medical records, handy in case of any emergency.

6. Organizing during travel

While on a trip, I have this habit of keeping the used clothes in a separate bag. So at the end of the journey as I fill one bag with our used clothes and keep the fresh clothes if any and shopped stuff in another. This really helps when I am back home. I empty the bag with used clothes in the washing machine and half of my unpacking work is done.

How to pack efficiently?

Go through this video by Marie Kondo on How to pack a suitcase –

What is your special packing tip, that you follow religiously every time you travel?

Along with the above, spill the beans about all the packing mistakes you have done till date and what were the repercussions of those packing mistakes!

Happy Travels, gals! Keep traveling, and keep sharing… Look forward to your comments on the above…