As the festive season approaches, many of us find ourselves gearing up for family gatherings and visiting our homes. While it’s an exciting time filled with joy and connection, it can also be a packing nightmare. If you’ve ever found yourself lugging around an overstuffed suitcase that could rival a small elephant, you might be a bad packer.
From cramming in every outfit “just in case” to forgetting essentials, the signs are often clear. But don’t worry! Recognising these habits is the first step to becoming a savvy packer. Let’s explore these signs that you are a bad packer and how to overcome this to make your travel experience smoother and more enjoyable.
You are an overpacker
Do you usually consider the worst-case situations and want to keep all the things in the bag? For instance, clothing in case of weather changes or duplicates of the same item in case you lose one? When you think about such things all the time, you end up packing a lot of items that you don’t actually need.
It makes no sense to carry a sweater and a few layers for a hot climate. Or shorts in a place where you’ll feel cold. Since you would be staying in an opulent hotel that will take care of everything, why should you bring toiletries and towels? Or a travel pillow for your flight if you have a first-class or business ticket. Carrying a compression bag is pointless since, although the compressed clothing will make you fit more, the weight of the bag won’t go down, leaving you with more garments you won’t wear. Compressing is not necessary; instead, you could pack less. The best approach to packing is to be practical and realistic. You just need to buy it locally if you end up needing something you forgot to pack.
Instead of packing more clothing, some people decide to wash their laundry while they are travelling. That’s all well and good, but don’t go overboard. What we mean is that your laundry materials should not take up as much space as all of the clothes you could have purchased if you hadn’t done the laundry. Furthermore, you can ask your hotel service for laundry, and in this way, you can save some money.
You forget that it is a two-way trip
People frequently overlook the possibility that they will pick up new things from their travels. If you’re packing more than you need, you won’t be able to accommodate everything you bought. Consider the extra items you plan to bring back from your destination in addition to the items you will need for your vacation.
You forget essentials while packing
Have you ever reached your vacation spot only to discover you left behind essentials like your charger, swimsuit, or favourite shoes? You’re not alone! Many of us rush through packing and realize only too late that we’ve forgotten something crucial. If this sounds familiar, it’s a clear sign that you are a bad packer. Being disorganized not only causes stress but can also lead to unnecessary spending at your destination just to replace what you missed. By organizing smarter, making a checklist, and packing systematically, you can ensure that every trip starts stress-free and ends without the regret of forgotten essentials!
You do packing last-minute
People procrastinate on many things, including packing. Time-consuming and difficult tasks remain at the bottom of the priority list. When packing time finally comes, you panic and start hoarding everything you can gather. Planning your luggage and keeping things simple will help you avoid this scenario. Don’t start packing the night before or the morning of your trip.
You may get a sense of what looks good by arranging the clothing on your bed, and you can make your packing more organized and structured by assigning an outfit to each occasion. When you are on vacation, take pictures of them so you can keep track of what should be worn on which days and at what times.
You put up a last-minute fashion show
If you’re the kind of person who can’t decide what to wear on vacation and end up packing far more than you need — enough for a month-long trip when you’re only heading out for the weekend — then you might be a bad packer. Plus, you waste valuable time figuring through unnecessary outfits.
Make the wise decision to wear neutral-coloured clothing that goes well with bottoms rather than bringing spares. A capsule wardrobe is a popular travel hack that helps you to create more ensembles with fewer things and avoid over packing while on vacation. By using coordinated colour schemes, you can mix and match pieces that complement one another. You could wear a yellow shirt one day and blue jeans and a green shirt the next. Three pairs of jeans and four shirts are ideal if your vacation lasts for a week. Since a top offers more diversity than a bottom, carry more tops than bottoms.
