Tips & Tricks: Packing for the Perfect Vacation

Hello again, it's Gabe here, and today I have a post about some packing tips to hopefully make the lead up to your vacation as stress free, and exciting as possible!

First Gather the Essentials

In this step gather anything critical you will need for your trip. This can include any sort of necessary medication, necessary documentation (i.e. passports, boarding passes, etc.), a power adapter, credit cards, or whatever else you will have to have on your trip for whatever reason. Gathering essentials is a good place to start so that you can remember to gather everything that you will need. It is better to forget to bring that fourth pair of shoes, than your daily medication, or your passport. 

Next Gather a Couple of Clothing Items

In this step you should choose some essential clothing items. This could be a comfy pair of walking shoes, a pair of black pants, some shirts that go with everything. It is good to get started with about 2 or 3 outfits in this step, you can always add or subtract some later, and adjust the numbers for your length of vacation or if you will have the ability to wash clothes. Everyone has a different comfort level when it comes to how many outfits should be brought on vacation, so the number you bring with you is ultimately up to you, some people can wear outfits multiple times, others do not feel comfortable with that, some people are comfortable in fast-dry materials, some are not. 

Now Gather Some "Novelty" Clothing Items

This step has a few different aspects to it. Firstly, set aside an outfit you may only wear for a short time, this could be for a special event such as a nice dinner, a show, a meeting, etc. Next, set out some of those "just in case" items. These are items that you bring along with you just so you can have them if they are needed. My "just in case" items are swimwear, as one can never be to certain if they will want to go for a swim, to the beach, or whatever while they are on their trip; I also always bring along a raincoat, as it could very well rain while you are on vacation, even if the forecast shows that it will be sunny for my whole trip, I will bring a raincoat because inevitably one of the days may have a spot of rain or two. Sticking with the forecast theme, it is also good to bring along some clothing that is true to the climate of the region you are visiting. For example, you may want to bring along a jacket if you are visiting the Norwegian fjords, as I found Norway to be very cold (even in June & July). You may wish to bring along a raincoat if you are visiting the a tropical area, such as Florida or the Caribbean in the summer, as they usually get a downpour in the afternoon. Bringing along some "novelty" clothing items can prove to be particularly useful!

Now Gather Non-clothing Items

This can include your computer, chargers, phone, camera, or anything non-clothing related you may want or need on your trip; this step if fairly simple, as you should have a good idea of what you would like to take with you.

Review & Pack

Now you should take a minute to review what all you have set aside to bring with you. This is good to do as you may realize that you forgot something, can put something away, or can get something else out to bring along. Now you can start to pack your items! It seems like everyone has a way of packing that they prefer or works best for them; I personally prefer rolling clothing items, however some may find it useful to use vacuum bags, or to just fold their clothes. Once you have packed the items that you set aside during this process, you should take another minute to review what you have, see if you want to bring anything else, forgot something, of if you should take something out.

I hope this helps some of you out with your next packing endeavor! Leave a comment below if you found this guide to be useful!