Summertime is primetime for vacations (as evidenced by my work’s vacation calendar). That’s why I have written a post on getting your car ready for vacation and another on tips to get ready for a road trip.

One area where I always falter, though, is packing. I am horrible.

Just a few weeks ago I opened my bag only to find my mouthwash had busted open and all of my clothes smelled wonderfully minty. I typically forget things, so I am used to having to buy an extra deodorant, tooth brush, toothpaste, etc just for my suitcase. I have an extra cell phone charger at both my parents house and my girlfriends house. I’m also the guy who you see frantically puling his suitcase through the airport deep in thought about what I forgot to pack.

Typically, I am ultra organized, though. So what gives? What am I doing wrong when I pack? What could I do better to improve and thus save time and money?

Kick Your Addiction to Procrastination

You may delay, but time will not.  ~Benjamin Franklin

I used to pride myself on my ability to procrastinate. I think it’s a college past-time, really. He who procrastinates the greatest, learns the greatest. I think that was a saying in college. Or maybe it was he who prepares the most, learns the most. I forget. It’s one of the two!

But regardless, when people claim they work the best when they are in a time crunch, they are just rationalizing to themselves. I have done this plenty of times. And I believed it for the longest time. I would purposefully hold off on an assignment until the night before it was due. After all, I worked better under pressure. B.S. I just didn’t want to plan accordingly. Once you get into the habit of doing things a week or two before they are due, you will find you are a lot less stressed and the job gets done a lot more effectively.

The same goes for packing. If you have a planned trip, start packing for it about a week ahead of time. If you are going on a 5 day vacation, for the 5 days prior to your departure pack for 1 of the vacation days each day. This allows you to pack in small manageable chunks rather than setting aside a large chunk of time the day before you need to depart. It also allows you more time to remember things you may be forgetting and fine tune your selections. You may start with 5 bathing suits, but over the week you might whittle that down to 3 suits.

Use Good Technique

The moment a man begins to talk about technique that’s proof that he is fresh out of ideas. ~Raymond Chandler

Now, I don’t think that me advising good packing technique means I am out of good ideas, but an interesting quote nonetheless :) You can let me know if my good ideas have ceased, though!

Layer your clothing in your suitcase by putting the heavier items at the bottom. This prevents items from being crushed and reduces the chance of heavy wrinkling. If you are packing a backpack, you want the heavier items closest to your back right around the shoulders for optimal pressure on your back.

If you are packing clothing that gets easily wrinkled, either put it in a separate suit carrier (if it requires it) or wrap it in the kind of plastic you get from the dry cleaner. If you put the plastic between each “layer” it should reduce wrinkling, thus saving you a pain in the butt when you get to your location!

I don’t usually bring many shoes with me (sneakers and sandals, add in dress shoes if its for work), so I don’t get to practice this THAT much. However, you should put your shoes around the edge with the soles up or optimal space utilization. Put your socks inside the shoes to save even more room.

If you want to avoid a toiletry disaster like I experienced in the prelude to this post, then make sure you put all of your toiletries in a Ziploc bag or an otherwise sealable bag. My plastic grocery bag didn’t work out too well for me. Remember to follow the TSA guidelines for size if you are bringing the bag as a carry on.

If you have anything expensive (iPod, other mp3 player, money, jewelry, watches, credit cards, etc), make sure to keep them on your person. Do NOT put them in a bag that you check.

7 Quick Tips for Packing

• Don’t procrastinate. Give your self sufficient time.
• Pack the basics first. Toiletries, underwear, socks, meds, etc.
• Take an outfit for each day of the trip for shorter trips. If you are going for longer than a week, bring one weeks worth of clothes and mix and match after the first week.
• Don’t bring all casual clothes and risk not having clothes for a nice night out. Conversely, don’t bring all nice clothes and not have anything to lounge around in!
• If you’re going to Seattle, bring rain gear. If you’re going to Florida, bring sunscreen. Bring a bathing suit… they are pretty versatile.
• For items that people won’t see, resist wrinkling, or can be easily ironed (t-shirts, underwear, jeans), roll them up to save on space.
• Use a vacuum bag for dirty laundry. It’s already dirty…. might as well compact it as much as possible and make more room in your bag for the return trip!

Any Other Packing Tips?

Are there any other frequent travelers out there who have some good packing tips to share?

I utilized a lot the tips I shared above on my bike trip across Europe. The rolling your clothes tip ESPECIALLY. It saved me more space than I would have imagined prior to the trip.

In the end, by packing more efficiently you will hopefully make your trip less stressful and maybe save a few bucks by not having to run to the store to pick up some forgotten items once you get to your destination.