Say Goodbye to Overpacking: Top Strategies for Streamlining Your Travel Gear

Going away on vacation can be a lot of fun. However, if you do not pack then you won’t be able to make the most of your trip. Arriving in another country without your essentials can lead to you having to make purchases from foreign stores. Unless you speak the language of the country you are visiting, there is no guarantee you are going to be able to find what you are looking for. Overpacking can be just as much of a problem as underpacking though. This post will offer a few strategies for streamlining your travel gear, so you don’t bring more than you need.

Carry-on Luggage

Most people, when they go abroad, take several large suitcases with them. Checking suitcases in airports can be a very laborious, time-consuming task. The easiest way to ensure that you have all of your essentials with you is to bring your luggage in carry-on bags. The very best thing about carry-on luggage is that you don’t ever have to worry about it going missing. Also, carry-on bags for international travel are not large enough for you to overpack them. Going back to things going missing, it is a common occurrence for people’s bags to disappear when they go on vacation. Airports rarely reimburse people for their losses, which is why it’s good to take carry-on luggage, as carry-on luggage can’t get lost. You can keep your eye on your bags at all times.

Forgetting Toiletries

Bear in mind, due to a series of terrorist attacks that occurred in the early 2000s, you are no longer allowed to bring toiletries or bottled goods onto airplanes with you unless you purchased them from the airport itself. Once you get through check-in at the airport you are traveling to and enter duty-free, you will be able to buy toiletries. Make sure that when you are packing you do not fill your bags up, as doing so will leave you no room to put toiletries in which you will no doubt need.

Wearing Your Clothes

Something you need to make sure that you do if you are planning on traveling light is wearing your clothes, rather than packing them. Wearing as many of your clothes as you can help you to reduce the amount of luggage you need to take. In other words, by wearing your clothes you won’t have to put them inside of your bag. Layer up as much as is comfortable for you. Make sure that you do not go overboard if you are traveling to a hot country though as you could end up suffering from heat stroke upon arrival.

Planning Your Outfits

A good way to ensure that you do not end up bringing more clothes than you need is to plan out each day’s outfits beforehand. Make sure that you check the weather forecast in your intended destination prior to traveling so that you know what it’s going to be like and what to expect. Planning each day’s outfits will help you to ensure that you don’t get caught unprepared and mean that you don’t bring more than you actually need on your flight with you. Bringing more than you need, or overpacking, wastes bag space.

Mailing Items Ahead

If you are going to be going away for a prolonged period of time, rather than bringing things with you, mail them ahead. Mailing your things ahead only makes sense if you are going to be staying in one place for the duration of your trip though. It also only makes sense if you are going to be staying in your holiday destination for long enough to ensure that you are there to receive your goods (and then ship them back). Make sure you choose a reliable mailing service and that you send your things tracked and insured.

Using Other People’s Bags

If you have more stuff than you can afford to bring (as airlines charge people to use storage space) then consider asking any of the people traveling with you if you can use their bags, provided they have space. If they do have space then make sure that you are respectful and do not overwhelm them. Only put essentials in other people’s bags otherwise you will irritate them. Nobody likes to feel as though they are being too heavily relied upon. Stuffing all of your things into somebody else’s bags will give them this impression.

Traveling can be fun, as long as you have everything you need. Being caught in a foreign country without your essentials can be very difficult. Make sure that you follow the guidance given here in this post so that you are fully prepared.