Packing: Top 10 Tips – Lydia Torrington

Lifestyle School Mr Hodson June 21, 2018 0 Comments

The task of fitting all your favourite clothes, lotions and potions into a suitcase is not one that anybody looks forward to. As it is coming up to the biggest holiday of our school year and everyone is dreaming about their summer trips, expert tips on how to effectively pack your suitcase stress-free have never been so relevant.

1. Make a packing list. It is impossible to forget any essentials if you’ve got your packing list. If you’re lazy, there are actually websites where you can print off a ready-made list with tick boxes for both outward and return journeys to ensure that no items are lost. Furthermore, a packing list is the perfect way to motivate yourself for the act of packing itself.
2. Being as boringly British as we are, checking the weather at your destination is a fundamental in the packing process. You don’t want to turn up in shorts when its snowing or in coats and wellies in 30-degree heat.
3. Know your limits. Do not embark upon your packing unless you know exactly what your ultimate goal is in kilograms. The normal limit is between 20-23kg, but you must check in order to avoid extra fines and in order to milk every ounce of your allowance. Also buy a handy luggage scales so that you know exact how many grams you are checking in before the lady at the desk does.
4. Buy a light suitcase. One of the many hacks of reducing weight is to buy the lightest suitcase you can find. Extra zips and pockets are simply excessive non-essentials for an efficient packer.
5. Pack light. Has been said by many before me but if you are going somewhere with a washing machine, or even with soap and a sink, then pack less than you want. I have never yet been on a holiday where I have run out of clothes or where I haven’t come home with at least one outfit completely unworn.
6. Wear all your heaviest items to save space. If you have sit on the plane in several hoodies and layers of trousers and a pair of heavy trainers, then so be it. You’ll be the one laughing when no one has anything to wear after their suitcases are sent to the wrong airport.
7. INVEST IN A KINDLE. Mr Gould may not approve of this new piece of technology, but the kindle is made for keen readers with a low baggage allowance. Although it may not have the same rustic feel as reading a paperback next to the pool, it will save you a few tons in your luggage.
8. Learn how to fold. Many have tried and failed to successfully pack a suitcase without using the art of folding. You will not fit everything in and even if you do, your family photos will be ruined by the creases in all of your clothing.
9. Have a trustworthy bag for your hand luggage. Your carry on is where all the nuts and bolts of your holiday live – the passports, the tickets, the money and the house keys (and the on-flight entertainment and snacks) so it is vital that this bag is practical, durable and roomy enough but not too big for the pesky size-checking bag holders.
10. My final tip is to remember that you are going on holiday. No part of your holiday should be a chore. At the end of the day, no one will notice if you didn’t pack a top to match your shorts or if you wear the same swimming stuff for most of the holiday. Everyone is there to enjoy themselves and packing should not take away any of that enjoyment.
[BONUS TIP FROM THE EDITOR – Use the Scannable App to take pictures of local recipes from your cookbook selection if going on a gourmet retreat to Italy… or is that just me?]