Holiday Packing Help: Our Top 5 Space Saving Tips

It may surprise you but packing too many clothes for a holiday can be more stressful than having all those options you think you need. Leave some room for souvenirs and surprises—you’ll be glad you did. A capsule wardrobe is the perfect solution. Choose key pieces in complimentary colours and shapes that you can switch up to create different looks each day.

Key items like a cream or navy cardigan with denim jeans or skirt work for a chic daytime look. The same cardigan can then take you into the evening over a printed dress. You can always add a touch of fun by using colour or bold prints to create different looks for each day of your trip alongside your key capsule pieces.

Nobody likes ironing at the best of times, to save space and stop creasing, roll your clothes instead of folding them. Trust us it really works. This will leave you with lots more space in your suitcase and will prevent creases more effectively.

For those tricky items that do crease on their journey, hang on a hanger and place in the bathroom, the steam from a shower or bath will help the creases drop faster. Thank us later.

Being over prepared is so not a bad thing. Pack some essentials at the top of your bag so you don’t have to unpack everything when you get to your destination. Getting the holiday started and feeling relaxed when you arrive is key to being stress-free for the rest of your stay.

Think about when you will arrive and what you need at that time. For instance, if you’re arriving late at night, put your PJ’s, tooth brush and toothpaste near the top so you can get to them easily.

Lists work for some of us, personally I live for my lists. Make a list while packing so you can see what’s going into your suitcase. This way you’ll be able to see what you still need to get and what you already have.

Keep this list safe, having all your bits of paper together like tickets, passports and passes in a secure wallet or folder can help avoid confusion and the frantic panic you get emptying your handbag trying to find something. Keep your final list with you so you can quickly refer to it when packing up at the end of your trip. We can’t tell you how many sunhats or pairs of shoes we’ve left behind on the hotel balcony because we haven’t referred to our packing list.

Holidays are the perfect time to appreciate the simple things. Sitting still somewhere new reading a book is something we often only do on holiday. However, books can be bulky and take up valuable space in your luggage. The rise in popularity in e-book readers and tablets help tackle this as you can often download all the books you could want onto one small, handbag size, device.

If you’d prefer an actual book, which I must admit is a much more satisfying feeling, here are some tips to help lighten your load. Try choosing books with paperback covers, these are lighter and can bend more easily to fit into spare space in your suitcase. You can pick up second-hand books for very little or even free at charity shops and from friends who may have read them already. Picking books you’d enjoy, but are happy to leave behind after your trip can mean a lighter load coming back.