Travel like a pro: How to pack your bags

That's a montage of my last Korea trip in 2012. I love to travel, but packing for a trip is one of its ugly necessities. When I was younger (and much less an avid traveler), packing for a trip was exciting. It meant I was about to go somewhere new or fun, and I enjoyed poring over which items to fold in to my suitcase or duffel bag. Unpacking, on the other hand, was less appealing—it was the mark that my vacation was over, and I’d soon be rejoining the mundanity that is my life.Then I got old and, with age, became jaded. Now I abhor packing—mostly because it takes up more precious time than I’d like it to—and look forward to unpacking. Unpacking means I’m back home to my beloved boring routine. Plus unpacking takes less time nowadays than packing—in fact, my modus operandi is coming home, showering, unloading my bags, and doing laundry. It’s when I feel most relaxed.I’ve had to pack for many trips, both business and leisure. The hardest part for me is always the clothes: how many different outfits can I make out of these X shirts and Y number of bottoms, do they color coordinate, which shoes should I bring? Oh no, always too many.Packing does, however, become les painful when you’ve got nice packing gear, which brings me to my first tip.

Get some durable yet lightweight bags with lots of pockets.

I got this Samsonite luggage set from Costco for less than $200. It comes with one larger suitcase for checking in and one smaller roller bag for carrying on. My favorite feature is the spinner wheels that make the luggage easier to maneuver. You can also find a Samsonite set on Amazon.You should get luggage in a color or pattern that’s easy to spot (read: NOT black), but as Costco only had the set in black, I bought these luggage tags. Now don’t go buying the same kind as mine, or else we may get our luggage mixed up should we be on the same flight next time! For additional options, see what people said about their favorite roller bags.Smaller carry-ons like backpacks and tote bags are also important. The hubs prefers a backpack from Northface as his under-the-seat carry-on, but I usually carry a bag similar to this Tumi tote bag (it looks a little more professional than a backpack for my business trips). It may not be cheap, but I’ve used it countless times, and it’s still in great shape. I like that it’s lightweight and made of water resistant material that’s easy to clean. I admit, though, that backpacks are pretty convenient—it frees up your hands, doesn’t mess with your posture as much, and it’s got tons of pockets and pouches and clips for storing everything.If you’re going to carry a tote bag like me, make sure the straps are comfortable on your shoulder (wider straps tend not to dig into your flesh), and there are lots of pockets for stuffing all your in-flight needs (more on this below).

Get packing accessories to help you stay organized on the go.

Just hours before writing this blog post, I purchased these packing cubes from Amazon Basics. I haven’t received them yet so don’t have much to say, but I’ve heard some people swear by packing cubes. They’re essentially pliable pouches with zippers that help you divide and organize your things within your bag. For example, you can put all your tops in one cube, bottoms in another, outerwear in a third, and so on. Or you can pack day one’s outfit and gear in the first cube, day two’s stuff in a second, etc. Packing cubes are supposed to eliminate that disgruntled feeling you get when you open your luggage, and everything pops out every which way.Something I personally swear by is my Tumi toiletry bag. It has enough pockets to hold my skin care, medicine, first aid kit, cotton swabs and pads, comb, toothbrush, and floss. One of the pockets are detachable, and when I travel on an international flight, I unzip it from the toiletry bag and carry it in my tote (more on its contents below). Another great feature of this Tumi toiletry bag is it has a hook from which you can hang it in the hotel bathroom. This saves on oftentimes limited counter space. Here's an alternative toiletry bag with hook from Amazon.Some other things I find useful when traveling are:

• Garment bag for underwear
• drawstring bag for dirty laundry
• Shoe bags to contain your dirty/smelly footwear

Pack your suitcase efficiently.

I’ve written before about how to pack your luggage efficiently, so no need to go into great detail here. For me personally, I fold my clothes if there isn’t much to pack; otherwise, I roll or bundle to save on space. If I’m going to be outdoors a lot (say, on a beach trip), I like to pack a hat; in this case, I stuff it with socks or swimsuits, lay it upside down in my suitcase, and surround it with clothes. This offers more padding so as not to smash the hat.Try to pack clothes in the same color family so you can simplify your mix-and-match game. Also, try to streamline your shoes because these are always the clunkiest part of anyone’s luggage. I admit I’m still a novice when it comes to these two pieces of advice—I think it’s because most of my trips are a mix of business and leisure—plus I want to be comfortable when in transit—so I’ve usually got both a pair of heels and sneakers in my luggage, not to mention the flats or boots on my feet.Ideally, you’ll want to wear your heaviest clothes (coats, boots, etc.), but also keep in mind that you want your outfit to be comfortable and convenient when going through security checkpoint and boarding; this means no belts, no crazy big down parkas if you can help it, no thigh-high lace-up combat boots. My travel uniform is usually a tee-shirt dress over UNIQLO HeatTech leggings, a light cardigan or jacket, and either flats (if it’s warm) or Chelsea boots (when it’s cold).

Don’t wait until the last minute to pack!

Okay, so I still have trouble following this rule. I procrastinate quite a bit when it comes to packing. But I’ve found that if I just start packing little by little a few days before my trip, I don’t end up spending late night hours the night before an early morning flight scrambling to coordinate outfits and playing Tetris with my luggage.

Be prepared for your long-haul flight by dressing comfortably and packing your essentials.

Lastly, for those of you who are planning to travel abroad this summer, I’d like to share with you some tips on packing for international travel. Like I mentioned before, it’s important to dress comfortably. I don’t like restrictions on my waistline, so I tend to wear loose-fitting joggers, tee-shirt dresses with leggings, or maxi-dresses. The seatbelt is annoying enough—you don’t need a tight waistband from your stiff jeans to pinch your tummy after a gas-inducing in-flight meal. You also want to be ready for whatever temperatures the airplanes, airports, layovers, and destination throw at you. This means bring things to layer: thin cardigans or light jackets; and thin, cashmere, or compression socks (depending on your preference). Shoes that are easy to slip on and off are best since you’ll undoubtedly want to take them off during naps but need to have them readily available for those lavatory trips.In my carry-on tote for long-haul flights, I will have:

• toiletries, such as mouthwash, comb, face wipes, lip balm, and moisturizer
• face mist because that recycled air totally dries out my skin
• hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes because tray tables are the germiest things on a plane
• phone with USB charger
• Bluetooth earbuds plus its USB charger so I can listen to my audio books
• charged battery pack with USB slots to charge the above—you can never have too much juice
• sometimes my laptop plus charger
• pair of socks because my feet get cold easily, and you sleep better when your extremities are warm
• eye cover to block out your neighbor’s reading light (my mama-in-law made me mine)
• sunglasses for once I arrive at my (hopefully) sunny destination
• a thin cardigan or this fabulous UNIQLO ultra-light down jacket
• maybe a big but thin scarf to wear or use as a blanket when it gets chilly on board

sometimes a snack or two because airline food may not sit well with you, but you still have to eat

• sometimes a water bottle to fill up at the terminal because, let’s face it, those little plastic cups are, one, bad for the environment and, two, never enough to hydrate—I like these incredibly insulated hydroflasks
• passport, visas, wallet, important travel docs—obviously

So that’s all my knowledge on packing. I hope you find some nugget of travel wisdom in this post. What are your personal packing tips?