When going on holiday

marrowgirl

I love packing for hols.

I take a microfibre towel (lakeland) which dries really quickly. (I hate hotel towels). Solid toiletries from Lush won't spill out everywhere. Godiva shampoo bar has conditioner in it too, and can also be used as shower soap and to clean clothes. Cleansing wipes are great too, coz they have multiple uses and get thrown away at the end. (More room for bringing pressies back!)
Packing: Large towel/coat/cardi something heavy at the bottom. Toiletries very pared down and solid if possible. (I only take what I need, either small sizes or decanted into little bottles). I roll my clothes -and everything has to match/compliment. I find a basic colourscheme like neutrals plus black or navy etc gets the most wear. Boring but practical. You can always add bright accessories. Anything that can't be rolled lies on the top -adding tissue paper if necessary to reduce creasing.

I'm not as efficient as Pennywise though!

taka

I tend to use stuff sacks (the drawstring bags you get in camping shops) to organise my packing! It sort of evolved when I went travelling for just short of a year and was living out of my backpack for most of it. :eek: :rotfl:

For long trips when I've been staying in youth hostels I revert to...
Red medium sized bag - bits'n'bobs that you need to have like mobile charger, spare journal/notebook, zipped pouch (see below) spare batteries and charger, washing powder/gel etc that get lost in a large bag
Blue large bag - Clean undies/socks (Sack large enough to carry a load to the laundrette / washing machine if needed).
Black large bag - dirty washing! (Sack large enough to carry a load to the laundrette / washing machine.)
Blue tiny bag (~20x20cm) - Torch, tissues, 1 set of spare batteries for torch, toothbrush, small toothpaste, small soap in plastic case
Black tiny bag (~20x20) - very small microfible towel
Zipped pouch (large enough to hold A4 pages folded in 3) - tickets, paperwork, pens etc

Main section of backpack - Clothes flat, shoes up the side, toiletry bag at the very top and larger towel and nightwear at the top of everything the so they are the 1st thing you come to when opening the bag
Smaller bottom section - black dirty washing sack, blue clean undies sack (may have be in main section if I had loads of washing!), red misc sack, anything else!
Left side pocket - food!
Right side pocket - small blue and black sacks - if you end up arriving somewhere at 2 in the morning and everyone else in the dorm is asleep you can at least find / see your bed using the torch and brush your teeth and have a wash quickly without having to noisly rumage in your toiletry bag to find your toothbrush etc (and accidentaly wake everyone up)! Also handy if you want to freshen up during the day when you are on the move!

For short trips the sacks still come too :rotfl:
bigger stuff sack(s) used for clothes and underwear
tiny blue/black sacks - used for mini travel hairdryer, mobile charger and any cables, spare batteries and other random stuff etc,
Zipped pouch also comes too!

Its sad but at least one of the sacks comes with me even on an overnight trip somewhere! I just can't get my head around packing without them now! :rotfl:

I can be pretty ruthless about which clothes to take and they have to go with as much of the rest of it as possibly so I can mix and match. My downfall packing wise is all the bits and bobs eg chargers/hairdryer/and just in case stuff! That ends up taking up loads of room!!

PS A sarong (the rectangle of cotton type) is probably my favourite item to pack. The sarong I bought i thailand at the start of my looooong trip got used as a sarong, picnic/beach blanket (small and light and doesn't get sand stuck in it like a towel), pillow, sheet, blanket, towel. Completely indespensible! :rotfl:

red_devil

I fold the clothes and take what i think is about the right amount. You never know what you are going to want its nice to have choice. You also need things for different occassions. I pack all the toiletries inside shoes etc and towel at the bottom. I always keep well within the weight allowance.

I do some washing while away I couldnt stand to bring it all home.

Bronnie

Managing to improve on the amount I take each time, but like a previous poster dressing on holiday is fun for me too, so don't like to be pared down to a bare minimum.

A few of my tips;

One bottle of Dove shampoo does me as shampoo/coditioner/bodywash and travelwash now! Must check-out the microfibre towels, thanks for that!

Always rinse out undies and cotton tops each day so only take the minimum and sleep nude so no pj's to pack

I need to keep my beach bag light (after an episode in Cyprus when my back 'went' due to carrying a heavy beachbag lopsidedly I think)). I use a thin cotton wrap instead of beach towel, as a wrap and to lie on. It folds up into my handbag and rinses and dries out every night in no time. Also use it instead of a dressing gown after shower! When I go out for the day, I squirt enough sun cream for the day into the corner of a jiffy bag and fold it up neatly. There's no waste as you can even turn the bag inside out and rub the last of the cream on! Saves carrying a full bottle around each day.

I agree zippy bags help being organised. I gathered up and washed old make-up bags, pencil cases and DD's little purses and find these very handy. Always transfer daily money into a tiny zippy purse.

I collect small containers throughout the year and always decant stuff into them. Only take my night face cream and use that in the day with SP as well.

goanmad

I'm loving this thread.

taka wrote: »

PS A sarong (the rectangle of cotton type) is probably my favourite item to pack. The sarong I bought i thailand at the start of my looooong trip got used as a sarong, picnic/beach blanket (small and light and doesn't get sand stuck in it like a towel), pillow, sheet, blanket, towel. Completely indespensible! :rotfl:

I'm with you on the sarong, in fact I usually take a few. Ideal instead of a beach blanket, for drying yourself, as a cover-up, wrapping around yourself at the airport....the possibilities are endless.
An arab-style Shemagh (PLO) scarf is another great travel basic, BF loves wearing one around his neck to stop his neck burning and it doubles up as a towel or a head protector. They can be tied up at the window if the room you're in gets full-on sun when you need a siesta and I've even tied one around my ankle when I sprained it clambering across rocks.

Poundland sell a microfibre hair towel which is great if you've got long hair like me. It doesn't take up much space and can be hand washed and dried within an hour when necessary.

As you can guess by my name I'm a total India-phile (not just Goa). I often travel for 6 weeks at a time and although I like looking glam my holdall always weighs less than 12kg. My clothes are silk or Indian cotton, everything can be worn together and is washed frequently when I'm there. I rely on silk scarves, ornate earrings and beaded belts to glam-up my outfits rather than taking hundreds of shoes and outfits. I travel in one pair of sandals (yes, even in winter) and take a pair of rubber flip flops with me. If I need more clothes I buy them locally or have them made there.

Apart from solid Lush shampoo and conditioner and sun cream I buy all my toiletries when I arrive (it not only helps the local economy, but saves space in my bag and is ayurvedic, cheap and animal friendly to boot).

My main problem with travelling light is my penchant for books. I usually take about 10 - all bought second hand in the UK. BF has different literary tastes to me, so we don't generally share. I'll usually source a book exchange in a nearby city and trade them in when I've read them.

red_devil

what about medicines? Do you takeeverything you can think of incase you get something or just the basics like paracetemol and maybe a few plasters?

minerva_windsong

I always overpack a little, but I am getting better at it.

The thing I would do is have maybe a couple of 'base' skirts/trousers and then take a few tops to dress them up and down with. And don't be afraid to wear things twice in the course of the holiday (provided they don't smell/aren't dirty or anything like that). Also only have one or possibly two pairs of shoes (something like a pair of classic white Birkenstocks are good as you can wear them to go out in as well as in the day), and wear all your heavy clothes on the plane. And everything in my suitcase gets rolled, shoes and books go on the bottom, underwear goes in suitcase pockets and anything crushable goes on top. 'Loose' toiletries (ie things that wouldn't fit in my pared down make-up bag) go in a plastic bag in the hold case.

On the medicines front, I took paracetamol, plasters, anti-diarrhoea medicines and my 'normal' medication to Turkey, but I probably wouldn't take the first three if I was going on holiday within the UK.

Hermia

I am a total convert to the whole pack light thing. I love travelling and so want to be able to just take the one carry-on bag. There's nothing nicer than smugly walking past all those people who are waiting ages for their suitcase to turn up on the baggage carousel!

I just take clothes (all chosen so they can be worn in different combinations). If I am only going on a short trip I just take one pair of shoes. If I am going away for longer I wear my walking shoes and take my sandals in the case/bag. I collect toiletry samples/sachets throughout the year so I only take the exact amount I need (important because of the restrictions on taking liquids through customs). If I am going away for a week or two and I know that I will be able to get toiletries cheaply where I am going I will only take a few items (especially as it's fun to try foreign brands).

The other things I take are my medications, a few painkillers/Imodium/plasters, small packet of laundry travel wash, camera, pages photocopied from a guidebook if needed, books (I try to take books that are small with a lot of text on each page so I don't need as many!). I only take a few pieces of jewellery which I wear on the way there. That's it really!

I used to pack everything, but I then spent a month travelling around America with just a medium-sized backpack and I didn't even use everything in it. Now I try to pack less each time I go. I find packing cubes really useful.

Margaret52129

I'm in the throes of getting my stuff ready for packing to go away beginning of October. We always take far too much (still within weight allowance though) and are trying to mix and match outfits so that we take less clothing than necessary. I usually roll things so there is less creases and this takes up less room so we can usually take 2 smaller cases. I also take minimal toiletries and leave what I don't use. A friend of mine says she takes her oldest undies and leaves them behind! I think I'd prefer mine to be nice ones when I'm on holiday. It makes me feel better.

I like the idea of a sarong being used as a beach towel as when you've had a towel on the beach it goes very acky quickly and they're not easy to wash. Might look into making one, not sure of material or size and having never worn one I don't actually know how to!

I've made some back packs which open out into a mat and have made them with drawstring tops so that they can used as bags as well, so no beach bag needed.

DKLS

red_devil wrote: »

what about medicines? Do you takeeverything you can think of incase you get something or just the basics like paracetemol and maybe a few plasters?

God no, foreign chemists are fabulous.