16 tricks to pack like an expert traveler

Although traveling is very rich, we always have doubts about what to take in the luggage and how to store it to fit as much as possible.

Here are the 16 tricks to pack, one in which you will not leave anything important and in which you will have everything perfectly stored.

1. Visualize your trip and take notes

The first thing is that you visualize your trip and ask yourself: what is my destination? What season of the year will it be when I’m there? How long will I be? And the most important: being in that city, what will I visit?

The more specific your questions are, the more effective the answers will be and with that, the more precise your trip will be. Each answer will give you the information you need for a perfect trip and to know what to pack or leave out.

By answering these questions you will also know if you have what you need at home to start your trip or if you need to buy clothes or other things.

2. Make a list with everything you need to carry

The list of things to put in the suitcase is as important as visualizing the trip. Write down in a notebook, whiteboard, Smartphone or on a Tablet, what you feel you should carry, classifying things by categories or groups, such as suitcase and bag, clothes, accessories, shoes, documents, hygiene items and others.

Although it will be the first list, it is not the definitive one. Start reducing it based on the space available in the suitcase and what you think is essential to carry. If even after making a first cut there are still things left over, you will have to do another review and take out what you think you can do without or buy in the country of destination.

Our recommendation is that you make the list on a large piece of paper and stick it to a wall. This will make it easier to see all the categories together and cross off things you’ve already saved.

3. Check your list a couple of days before and the night before the trip

Make two last checks of the list before leaving on your trip. One two days before departure and the other one night before. In the latter you can make discards or final substitutions. You will definitely know what you will leave with and what you will be leaving.

4. Carry your documents, money and credentials in a waist bag

This trick is the coolest.

Surely it has happened to you that with the fuss and stress of previous trips you have forgotten where you have your money, where you kept your passport for the last time or if you have the tax in your pocket or on your jacket.

With a travel wallet or belt you will have everything you need to have at hand in one convenient and safe place.

5. Carry enough cash

Carry enough cash to pay for the taxi to the airport, to pay the travel tax or a non-disposable excess weight in the luggage. The pocket money will also be used for a medical emergency, unforeseen things with the suitcase, to cover any craving and for the return.

6. Check overweight fees and travel tax rates

Check how much the overweight fee is and the tax rate per trip, so you have how to pay at check-in if you need to cancel something additional. This trick will save you from going to the ATM in an emergency.

Also find out the tax rates per trip that may vary depending on the national or international destination.

By reviewing this data days before the trip, you will save time and minimize the tasks to be covered on the day of the trip.

7. Carry an adaptable charger with you

Take a universal adapter with you so that wherever you go you can charge your phone and other electrical equipment. Do not trust yourself, the outlets are not the same in all countries.

It is a device that can have 2 or 4 USB ports, plugs of various types and adapters for voltage from 100V to 250V. Get them here on Amazon.

8. Pack everything in cases or plastic bags

Do not trust. The treatment that airports give to suitcases could break your valuable objects, so it is better to pack in cases or plastic bags as much as possible.

There are rectangular cases ideal for clothes, shoes, documents, your Tablet and/or laptop. Cylindrical ones are also available to store jewelry, costume jewelry, accessories or personal hygiene items.

Gather and store liquids in one place in the suitcase and apart from other things, so that if something spills, it doesn’t ruin your other belongings.

Choose quality plastic closure or magic closure cases. These will allow you to have a more organized suitcase and with less exposed items.

9. Carry your personal and hygiene items in small plastic containers

Get small plastic containers with a lid and pour shampoo, hair conditioner, gel, silicone, your body cream and other personal hygiene items into them, which in their original containers would take up valuable space in the suitcase. Also, no matter how long your vacation or stay in the destination city or country lasts, you won’t finish a liter of shampoo or cream.

In the case of perfumes you can buy the miniatures, if not, wrap them in blouses and wear the ones you have at home. They are not that big after all.

There are small toothbrushes for travelers with the ideal size. 100% recommended.

10. Roll up clothes, especially pants.

Rolling up your pants instead of folding them will save you valuable inches to put other things in your suitcase. Rolling them won’t wrinkle and you’ll be able to make neat rows, a trick that will make a noticeable difference to your luggage.

Blouses, shirts, flannels, underwear or lingerie, yes you can fold them.

11. Choose versatile and light clothing

Should you pack chic, comfortable and presentable clothes in your suitcase? The place, the season of the year and the activities you will undertake, will determine it. Choose the most suitable outfits taking into account these characteristics.

Choose basic, suggestion, opaque or dark colors. If you prefer bright colors try not to get dirty easily and combine with your clothes.

The type of fabric also matters. Avoid large volume and very heavy clothing. If you have to take it yes or yes, add it to the suitcase and that’s it.

12. You can wear coats and heavy clothes

If you are willing to sacrifice a little the comfort of the trip and because you really need to carry it and you do not want it to take up space in the suitcase, wear that coat and heavy clothes that you know you will need at your destination.

This advice is also for shoes. If you can and want to, wear those heavy or large shoes so that they do not take up space in your luggage.

13. Do not choose white or very light clothes and accessories

Anything that is white and light or pale in color tends to get very dirty easily.

The idea is that you can combine your clothes and accessories as much as possible. If part of the goal is to wear the most appropriate clothing and that the luggage is not excessive or heavy, write this down.

This trick is important because sometimes we make the mistake of wearing clothes that can be combined with these colors, which once worn go straight to the dirty clothes. Unless you have a hand wash service and are on budget, you won’t be able to match these clothes again.

Save yourself the moment, the bad time and pack more combinable colors with fabrics that hide dust or that little stain that appears out of nowhere.

14. Pack loose socks inside the suitcase

Put the socks in the little holes in the suitcase that remain to be filled after everything is packed.

Use small bags, those transparent ones, and place one or several socks in each one. See how your suitcase looks and store them. Do the same with the bras without bending the cup so they don’t get deformed.

15. Schedule enough time to pack

Define the day to pack, but please, not one or two days before. Minimum one week in advance.

Concentrate when you go to pack so that you are right both in what you will take and in how you will carry it, which means that you will have a suitcase packed with conscience and in tune with your travel needs.

That day, prepare the drink you love to drink and put on the music that inspires and relaxes you.

16. Eliminate the “just in case” from your luggage

The phrases, “I carry it just in case” and “you never know, I better carry it”, end up unnecessarily occupying space in your luggage, being a weight and bulk in the suitcase.

I leave you those little things that usually result in that “just in case” that it is better to discard:

1. Books or magazines that you think will serve as entertainment. Trust me, you won’t read them.

2. Nail polishes of all colors that would surely look divine on you, but you won’t really use them.

3. The skin care treatment you have yet to start.

4. Additional chargers to those you already use regularly.

Each trip is a particular adventure, whether for work or pleasure. What will make the difference is your preparation. Make each trick an opportunity to have just what you need.

With these 16 tricks to pack your suitcase you will save enough space in your luggage to carry more necessary things and so that they are better organized.

Share this article with your friends and fellow travelers. After this, packing will no longer be the same for you.