THE PACKING PROCESS: FIVE TIPS
I don’t know one person who enjoys packing for international trips. I mean, yeah, you love the idea of packing and it’s exciting because you know this bag will take you to new adventures and bright, interesting places (as long as it arrives…), but then you start to pack.
Then you start to pull everything out of your closet and, then you realise how much shit you have, how you know you can’t fit everything into your bags even though you really want to, then you bust the zip trying. And we haven’t even gotten close to the scales at the airline check-in desk yet.
I’ve travelled a fair bit, I’m certainly not an expert, but there’s a lot of tricks you pick up on the way. And this week I will be packing for New Zealand and Japan which means the next ten or so months of my life will be travelling, so here are five of the most useful tips I can give from my experiences.
1. Vacuum bags
These were introduced to me on my latest trip to Japan. I knew what they were and had seen them before, but only ever around the house when people would store blankets and things. If you’re in Japan, you can get these at Daiso (100 Yen stores) for ¥100 + tax (literally like $1), and I’m sure many discount stores in other countries would sell them too. People have differing views on rolling clothes or folding, but you put them in these, use a vacuum to suck all the air out and I don’t think it matters if you roll or fold. The air disappears and you end up with a brick of clothes taking up half the space it did before! Probably not the best thing to rely on in developing countries, but first world countries, no problem.
2. You really don’t need as much as you think
Last winter, I travelled with about a week’s worth of clothes. And this was still too much. I found at the end of five months, there were still things that I wore more often and there was clothing I hadn’t even used that still ended up taking up space in my suitcase. Yeah, I had to wash things a little more often but I was carrying a lot less than previous trips I’d done. So whatever you have packed and ready, chances are you can take two thirds of it and be totally fine. And less is more, especially when it comes to carrying everything around.
BONUS TIP: Try and make sure you can carry everything you have, by yourself, up at least two flights of thirty stairs. Because even though you think you’ll be able to use the lift of the escalator, on that day it will be broken and you’ll have to use the stairs anyway. And for some reason, stairs turn up at the worst times ever.
3. Know airline baggage rules/your baggage allowance/your bag weight when packed
Look, the staff at the airport are just doing their job. Everyone knows airline baggage rules suck and you’re overcharged, but you have no other option. So rather than argue, you either pay more or pack within what they ask. And if you’re nice about it all and not a dick, you’ll generally find they let a kilo or two slide when you check-in. The world needs more nice people and airports can be a good place to start practicing, everyone is in the same boat (Plane?).
4. Alllllllways take the important stuff on the plane
Never trust that your bags will be taken care of like how you would, or that they won’t get lost. Keep cash, itineraries, any important documents with you all the time. This includes laptops, iPads, anything like that as well. Personally, my laptop, my camera gear and my documents all come with me as carry-on. That way, if anything happens to my bag I can still sort out travel arrangements and have access to everything I really need easily. One less thing to stress about.
5. You can always repack at the other end
If you didn’t follow step 3 properly, you’ll always be given a chance to move things between bags or wear them when you are told your luggage is too heavy. So stop complaining, put on the heaviest pair of shoes in your bag, wear as many jackets as you can and get that weight down. You’ll look like an idiot for 10 hours or so, people might laugh but you just saved $100 bucks on excess baggage and you can just repack it back into your bags when you get to your destination before you continue on your adventure :) So who’s laughing now?
Any other tips you might have, let us know! Leave a comment, hit us up and stay happy.
Peace.
Josh.
