My Top 3 Packing Tips

This blog was first published in 2021 and has since been revised and refreshed.

With summer on the horizon, it’s a great time for a refresh on some of my favorite packing tips. 

You may find this hard to believe coming from a professional organizer, but packing causes me a lot of anxiety. I love to travel, but I don’t necessarily like to pack! To combat that anxiety, I use these three tips to make the process much easier.

Use the Formula of Three For Packing

The Formula of Three is an absolutely tried and true travel packing tip.

Here is how it works: Pack three of everything: three tops, three bottoms, three dresses and three jackets. The important part is to choose pieces that can be combined to make several different outfits. So be sure to choose classic pieces that go together easily. You can also choose two solid colors for each set of three, and one item with a pattern.

And voila! You now have a total of 27 possible combination options to choose from (not including the shoes)!! This takes the pressure off and curbs the urge to overpack. It’s much easier to follow a formula than to try and cram in multiple outfits that only work as a single set.

Use Your Toiletry Bag Items the Evening Before

This tip has been SO helpful to me.

When you pack for your next trip, pack your toiletries THE DAY BEFORE you leave and then use them the night before and the morning of your trip. That way anything you forgot will come to mind.

This tip has saved me a number of times in the past! It also makes the morning that you leave a lot less stressful since everything is ready to go.

Store Your Travel Items in Your Suitcase

This tip is really something that you need to do after each trip in order to prepare for the next one. It is absolutely worth the time investment and will save you a lot of headache for your next trip.

Here’s how it works: When you come home, take the time to organize your travel things in one place. This might include your toiletry bag, neck pillow, travel-size liquid containers, packing cubes, electronics organizer and other travel items.

Clean them off, refill the bottles and place them in a ziplock bag, then into your suitcase. That way, when you go to pack for your next trip, everything is all ready for you to go!

Storing everything in your suitcase means they are easy to find and aren’t cluttering up other spaces in your home like the bathroom and bedroom. Plus, if for any reason you need to pack for an emergency trip, everything is partially packed and ready to go.

A Few More Simple Travel Tips I Have Used Time and Time Again

In addition to my three favorite tips above, here are a few more tips, in no particular order. 

1. Say yes to packing cubes. Bonus points: color code them by category. One color for tops, one for bottoms, one for accessories.
2. Store your socks inside of shoes to save space.
3. Use produce bags from the grocery store, or any plastic bag, to pack shoes so other items don’t get dirty.
4. Pacca bags (check my honest review here) are the best.
5. Use a pill organizer for small jewelry like earrings and rings so nothing gets tangled or lost.

And of course, if you want help packing, or getting organized for your next trip, please reach out! I would love to help.