Packing for a Trip
With my trip coming up soon, packing is looming. Here is a list of packing tips…
1. Make a list a few weeks beforehand of the things you think you’ll need to take with you.
2. Lay out the clothes you think you want to take, along with toiletries, shoes etc.
3. Consider your list and look at the items you have to pack into your bag. Do you really need each item? The biggest secret is to pack lightly to save your back. Those bags don’t carry themselves you know.
4. Mix and match! If an item of clothing doesn’t work with the rest of your outfits leave it at home. Mix and match means all your blouses, shirts etc go with all the skirts or trousers or shorts you’re packing. Mix and match makes for a lighter bag and a healthy back
5. I hate to say it, since I’m not a fan of the color black, but it’s great for mixing and matching and doesn’t show the dirt. Lesson learned in Africa. That red dust gets everywhere. White undies don’t work and soon look hideous, even after washing. Go for black!
6. Plan for the weather. San Francisco isn’t a warm place in the summer. Experience again! It can be freezing and possibly very foggy. Bring some warm clothes. Layering is good. A lightweight raincoat or a travel umbrella is a great thing to have when it’s raining.
7. Flip Flops – very handy things, especially for showers with unidentifiable icky bits growing on the floors.
8. If you’re staying in a hostel consider some earplugs. Musical snoring is only funny for the first five minutes, not so much in the wee small hours of the morning.
9. Rolling clothes prevents wrinkling. It’s true!
10. Here’s another underwear trick. (Rest assured I’m bringing my nice undies for the conference.) Save up your older undies and take them on your trip – clean, of course! Wear them and throw them away during the course of the holiday leaving extra room in your bag for souvenirs.
11. Don’t forget to pack liquids and makeup in your checked luggage instead of your carry on. You don’t want them confiscated! Ditto with the scissors, Swiss Army knife and sharp objects.
12. Don’t pack your passport in your checked luggage. Just don’t, okay. But do check that your passport is safe. You don’t want to lose that sucker because you’ll end up with mega headaches getting a temp one to get home.
13. Pack toiletries etc in plastic bags so if there are spills, the damage is minimized. Take the small travel sizes in toiletries or decant large bottles into smaller ones for your trip.
Do you have any packing tips to add?
This is wonderful advice, Shelley! I’m printing it out to study carefully.
The funny thing is… everybody is saying how cold San Francisco is. And yet, according to the weather sites, it’s consistently 15 to 20 degrees F warmer at the moment than where I live! So, I’m actually going to feel quite warm there!
But I will pack my brolly, just in case.
Great Tips! I too make a list several weeks before hand. Only I don’t go back and edit out for light luggage. I’d rather carry the weight than get there and wished I had some item.
I do try and arrange my shoes around each other. For instance. On Friday morning, wear the shoes with the tight strap over the top of my foot. Friday evening, switch to comfortable low heels, and so forth. It also helps getting ready in the mornings when there’s several ladies in your room fighting for one bathroom!
Have fun to everyone who’s going! Take lots of notes for those of us not!
Portia – hubby and I were there during summer a few years ago. We’d worn shorts and T-shirts the entire trip and when we arrived at SF it was freezing! I wore jeans and a jersey and was still cold!
Keri – I’m planning what I’m wearing for each day of the conference. My shoes, however, will be limited. I just don’t have room!