This week for the Friday 5, I am mixing it up. We are closing in on the end of February and looking forward to all things spring. For most of the south, we had brutal cold last week which definitely has me jonesing to get out into the sun and warmer temps. So, I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about travel, specifically my 5 packing tips. My hope is to help you pack exactly what you need and to help with the dreaded stress of packing. I traveled a ton for work before I became a mom and we continue to travel regularly as a family, so I have really perfected my packing. These tips are specific to packing for just yourself, I will discuss kids and all their accoutrements soon.
Being Clear on the Purpose of Your Trip
Going somewhere for a wedding? Work event? Beach trip? Skiing? Hiking? Camping? Whatever it is, name it and start a list. I have notebooks full of packing lists entitled “July beach trip” or “Wedding Weekend in West Palm Beach.” If this is a special trip, start a list early to make sure you know exactly what you need. Have a clear idea of what the weather will likely be as well as any special events you will be attending. We went to Crested Butte, CO a few years ago for New Year’s and that required a specific wardrobe, most of which I didn’t own. I was also pregnant, so I had to order maternity long johns and all sorts of other gear. We were once invited to a wedding in West Palm Beach that was an entire weekend of events. Brunch the morning after a wedding was the last of the weekend, where the attire was listed as “come and go casual,” you better believe I had a very extensive list of outfits for the entire weekend.
Be Realistic
Headed to the beach? Probably don’t need a fancy going out dress and heels. Going skiing? You probably don’t need your strappy top and heels. I used to bring all sorts of options when traveling for the “just in case” stuff and almost never needed it. So, be honest with yourself. After laying on the beach or skiing all day, are you going to get all decked out for dinner? If that’s you, go ahead girl, pack your fancy stuff, but maybe just keep it to one extra outfit. Cause chances are that’s all you are really going to need.
Plan, Plan, Plan
When I used to travel for business, I would get crazy specific with my clothes. We often would be teaching classes or at conferences all day long, run back to the hotel for 10 minutes to change and freshen up, so I didn’t want to waste any time figuring out what to wear. All of these decisions were made ahead of time. In my notebook or on a sheet of paper I would map out my schedule for exactly what we were doing, from there, I would assign outfits to each event, including my travel days to and from. And I would write out EVERYTHING I needed for that outfit. I’m talking bra, jewelry, shoes, accessories and even sometimes undies if it was a white dress or something fitted that required specific undergarments. I would try to mix and match or use the same item multiple times where I could. Shoes, jeans and jewelry were usually pretty easy to repeat a couple of times. I would always have a plan for one additional outfit just in case and of course something to sleep/lounge in at the hotel. Vacations may not be as detailed, but I always plan for day outfits or swimsuit/coverup combos and then maybe one or two dinner outfits, depending on what our schedule looks like. When we go to the beach, I almost always plan our food ahead of time and bring most of it with us. This means there is no guess work at the end of a long day at the beach. So, dinner is normally eaten in pj’s or sweatpants.
Pick a Color Scheme
This is something I always did without even really being aware of it. If I had an awesome pair of brown boots I wanted to bring with me, that was part of my color scheme. Almost everything I packed could be worn with those boots. Same goes for accessories and outer garments. If you are going somewhere cold, making sure everything goes with one big jacket makes all the difference. Going to the beach, everything I bring goes with my favorite nude flip flops. You’d be surprised how easily you can do this when you put some thought into a few pieces you really want to wear and then work around them to add more.
Keep Toiletries at a Minimum
Do you have an elaborate 10 step nightly skin care routine? If you are just going somewhere for 2 nights, do you really need all of it? How about just packing your cleanser, moisturizer and eye cream. One or two nights off of all the other stuff won’t kill your skin, I promise. If you will be gone longer than a few days and really want all of your things, make sure to purchase travel size of those items or at least get the travel containers to put them in. Some of my skin care stuff is in glass bottles and is pretty pricey, I usually leave those at home or transfer a small amount to a travel container to avoid breaking them and losing a lot of money. Have eye patches or make up wipes you want to bring? Take out the amount you need and store them in a Ziploc rather than lugging the entire container on your trip.
Let’s talk about makeup too. I don’t wear a ton of makeup every day and I wear even less on vacation. If I am going to the beach, I normally just pack tinted moisturizer, concealer, blush and mascara. No matter what I’m doing, I know I will not be doing a full makeup look on any part of the trip. So again, be honest with yourself. If you really will use it, bring it. But chances are, it’s just going to take up space in your bag and it’ll be one more thing you must unpack when you get home.
I hope you found something helpful or inspiring in this week’s Friday Five! I’ll have 5 new favorites to share with you next week, have an awesome weekend!
