Emtalks: The Top Suitcase Luggage Packing Tips For Holidays

Thursday, 27 April 2017

The Top Suitcase Luggage Packing Tips For Holidays

Hello hello! Today I thought I'd write a blog post with my top packing tips and tricks. I wrote a post recently featuring my top long haul travel essentials and I thought this was a nice follow up, particularly with Summer coming up! Let's just say, I've been on hundreds of trips and some would say living out of a suitcase turns you into a little bit of a pro-packer. I had to pack my life into two suitcases when I moved to Canada too and managed it with only 20kg in each case. Anyone who knows just how much of a princess I am will know how difficult this was for me, It's time to share some of my top tips with you!

1. Start with the right base - When I moved to Canada, we went hunting around for the best suitcases. For me, a good suitcase needs to be a few things. Firstly, vibrant, so I can see it flying around the carousel and I don't pick up the wrong one. Next, light-weight! For Canada, I bought the largest capacity suitcase with the lowest weight. No-one wants a 5kg suitcase before you've even put anything inside it! Lastly, a good lock! Whether it comes with an internal one or you buy one, make sure it comes with a good lock! I always go for easy to wheel, large, hard-cases as they're going to get battered when you're travelling. Matalan's luggage range surprised me, not only is it beautiful but it's ridiculously beautiful (suitcases can be crazy expensive) and also, it ticks all the boxes.

2. Plan Your Outfits - Next up, outfit planning is key. Rather than throwing in loads of random tops and skirts, I'll plan my outfits out first. For example, if I know I'm going away for one week, I'll pack 7 dresses (1 per evening), 7 day outfits and then a few random bits just incase I change my mind. I'm really not a light packer so I try to make sure I strategically plan my outfits to avoid over packing.

3. Go For Lightness - If you're going somewhere hot, wear your heavy stuff in the airport, e.g., jacket and trainers with jeans and then pack all your light stuff. I love Summer because I can take double the amount as I can for a ski trip for example, because it's all so light weight.

4. The Art Of Rolling - I found rolling my clothes up rather than folding gave me a lot more room and space when trying to pack my life into a suitcase. I also found hiding things such as rolled up trousers and dresses inside trainers really created space.

5. Toiletries - I'm guilty of taking my whole pamper routine with me (I'm a beauty lover, what else did you expect) but recently I picked up so many amazing small samples in World Duty Free (of my favourite brands such as Shiesdo and Creme De La Mer) and now I take those with me. If you're desperate to take your usual things with you, de-pot them into much smaller tubes and then you're not taking up much space but have your beloved toiletries with you. I now stock up on minis and then grab them as and when I need for trips. Most stalls within World Duty Free will give you complimentary minis if you make a purchase so it's worth getting pally with them and seeing what's on offer so you can take it on your next trip! Most of the best brands do travel friendly items anyway, if you're not interested in packing them, pick them up at World Duty Free in the airport. I got an amazing Clinique travel set full of moisture pumping ingredients plus I always grab a mini Jo Malone fragrance when going through the airport. You can read about my top travel beauty essentials here.

6. Pack Essentials - I always take an extra bag (my hand luggage) and ram it full of essentials for when I arrive, usually it will have a small dress on so I can throw it on and feel cool after a long flight, my tooth brush, my beauty essentials such as a cleanser and my sunglasses! It's really important to have the things you'll need, quickly, to hand, it means you wont be faffing around when you get to your destination then! I take a separate little cross-body bag (as well as my main handbag and suitcase) and inside it: my passport, my money and my phone. As long as you have them, you're sorted.

7. Pack Things That Double Up - Something like this shirt is a great multi-tasking item, not only does it serve as a great beach cover up, you can also dress it up for dinner or wear it with flop flops for lunch. Try and get the most out of your clothing and multi-task with it.

8. Comfort Is Key - I'm not the kind of girl who could ever wear heels in an airport. I wish I could but I'm all about comfort. I always travel in either loose trousers, leggings or a jumpsuit. I find jumpsuits arent the best for easy access (if you need the restroom on a plane they're a bit of a nightmare) but leggings are great because they're warm enough for flying but still comfortable too. I love these white linen trousers as it means you'll be cool when you arrive. Make sure you always pack a jumper too, I was freezing on my recent flight to Miami and totally forgot to pack a cosy hoodie or jumper to fly in.