TRAVEL PACKING TIPS & HACKS FOR 2019!

Whether you're going home for the holidays or taking a much-needed vacation, there is travel—and thus the ever-daunting task of packing—in your future.

Are you sick of digging through your luggage? Trying to find what you need, only to pull out crumpled clothes and then not be able to fit it all back in? How would you like a perfectly organised suitcase with everything packed neatly and easy to find? These simple packing hacks will help you stay organised while you travel, plus fit more luggage in less space.

I'm sharing some of the essential packing tips and hacks for 2019. I'll talk about some of the items we used all the time and a couple that we wish we had packed.

CLOTHING

For clothes, what's most important is checking the climate of your destination to make sure you pack the right clothing that'll keep you comfortable in whatever weather you might be experiencing.

CLOTHING STRATEGY

One of the most common packing tips is to wear layers and I definitely agree with that but it's also really easy to pack too many pieces that you don't end up using. So I try to be really strategic with what I bring and this doesn't really work for a winter type of climate, but I usually try to pack for summer spring and fall. So I'll have my warm weather clothes like shorts, t-shirts and things like that but I also pack a few key items that have multiple purposes. For example, I almost always bring one pair of long johns that can be layered under a pair of pants. if it's cold but they can also double as pyjama pants.

WINDBREAKER

I always carry a really light windbreaker also that can be used as a rain jacket but that can also be layered with a sweater to make kind of a warmer coat.

BUFF SCARF & STYLE

A scarf can also be used to create a warm outfit but it can also be rolled up and used as a neck pillow or a small lap blanket on a cold flight.

OTHER ESSENTIALS

I also usually pack a few small items like a warm hat a small pair of gloves and a thick pair of socks and those can go a really long way to keeping you warm. So with all those items combined, I can stay comfortable in a pretty wide range of different weather conditions.

STAY ORGANIZED

To bring more stuff packing cubes can also be really practical they can help you stay organized and you can also pack a lot more clothes in your suitcase. They compress all the items of clothing and form a really small package. The drawback that I find with packing cubes although they are great is that you might be tempted or you might end up just bringing more clothes and that might be great because you have more options.

STAY LIGHTER

More things to wear but inevitably your suitcase is going to be heavier and when you're travelling even if you have a suitcase with wheels there are definitely some times where you might have to lift that thing and move it around and you want it to be as light as possible.

EXCEEDING LUGGAGE WEIGHT

Also when you're checking your luggage you don't want to exceed the maximum weight for a suitcase. Before heading out on a trip there's a couple of things that I've done to help me remember all the things that I need to bring with me. Either making a list is really helpful so you can start a couple of weeks out and as you think of things you just add them to the list. So that it's not just a really stressful evening the night before you're travelling out and the other thing is as you think of things you can take them out of the drawer of the closet and put them in a pile. So that slowly your suitcase gets filled as you think of things you need rather than just trying to rush and remember everything at the last minute. If you're really organized you can save your travel lists so that the next time you go on a trip you don't have to start over but we've never gotten to that point yet.

THE HANDY UTILITY KIT

Next is a mini utility kit so when I travel we always try to pack as light as possible and bring a few things as possible. But I still always carry what you could call a mini utility kit and in there are just a few essential items that are packed away in my suitcase that end up coming handy pretty often. For example, I always carry a few elastics to tie up food bags and things like that I will have some couple of plastic bags to carry flip-flops, wet bathing cloths and to put in liquids that might leak in your suitcase.

ESSENTIAL THINGS MUST CARRY

We always carry a pen for filling out customs cards baggage tags and writing down directions we also have a small flashlight some carabiners for keys and hanging things and I always have a few napkins stuffed our pockets or in our backpack. I can't tell you how many times those come in handy for spills and messes on buses trains and planes and the last thing we always carry a small multi-tool this is also really practical there's everything on here pliers screwdriver is a little knife and it's tiny, but this definitely has to go in a checked luggage.

FAST DRYING OUTFITS

One thing that we wish I had packed and I didn't is some quick drying clothes. The places I stayed at only had a washing machine. So it took one or two days for our clothes to air dry, which can be pretty inconvenient if you're moving around. So I would do next time is pack at least one outfit that's quick drying so either some travel specific clothes that's designed to dry quickly or close with some kind of and of cotton and polyester that dries really fast.

PACK YOUR OWN FOOD

For food, I always try to bring our own snacks on travel days and this is great because it can save us a lot of money airport food is really expensive and also on planes you don't necessarily get food so it's nice to have your own snacks if ever you get hungry.

The problem with bringing food if you're taking the flight is that it's not always clear exactly what you can and can't bring through security (More information). You definitely can't bring any liquids or gels so, for example, yoghurt might not make it through security or a container of hummus you might have to throw that out, but usually dry processed foods get through security. so what I'll do often is I'll make some sandwiches. I'll bring some roasted trail mix maybe we'll have stir-fried veggies and rice or fruit salad and those pretty much always make it through security.

It's important to understand here that it really depends on the security agent that you get. They can pretty much ask you to throw out anything they feel like but generally, for us, those items that I mentioned haven't been a problem. I always carry a few reusable items to create less waste and save money also. I'll have a couple of food containers some reusable water bottles a travel coffee mug and some foldable sporks.

One thing that I noticed really quickly is that I could have had better luggage set up.

CARRYING DIFFERENT LUGGAGE - A PROBLEM

Most of the time I was able to fit all of my clothes, toiletries and shoes into our rolling suitcases and then I have a backpack with my laptop, passport, water bottle and things like that. But this time we also had a camera bag and because I was trying to save money by making a lot of my own cooked food. I was travelling around with groceries so juggling six bags at a time became really chaotic.

PLANNING A SINGLE LARGE BACKPACK

Something I could have done to plan ahead would have been to bring a larger backpack each so that I could fit all these extra things in without having to juggle all these extra pieces. So I think it's important to really think about how you'll be travelling and to use luggage that's going to suit your trip in your travel style.

CARRY GPS

One thing that I could not have gone without on this trip is our GPS. I rented a car for three weeks so that I could explore and also I could film. I could not have found some of these locations without a GPS. One of the reasons I brought my own is because I actually wanted to save a little bit of money by not having to rent a GPS from the car rental company.

LOCATION FINDER

Another thing that I used almost every single day is the Happy Cow App. So basically it's a map that shows you where there are health food stores, cafes and restaurants that serve vegan or vegetarian food but I also use it kind of as an indicator to find really interesting neighbourhoods where alternative things are going on.

So often if you see a cluster of a few vegan restaurants and some veggie restaurants and a health food store usually that might be an indication that there's a really cool neighbourhood that you should visit.


We hope you find our essential packing and travel tips helpful. If you have some ideas that we didn't mention we'd love to hear them in the comment.