I love traveling and I've been very fortunate to travel for both personal and professional reasons. International and within the U.S., however, my dilemma is the same. I'm the absolute worst over packer ever. I'm always afraid I'm going to need another pair of shoes or forget something and I almost ALWAYS forget something. I try to plan ahead and start packing a week in advance. This gives me time to process each day I'll be gone and what type of situations/outfits I'll need. My goal is to be prepared for anything! I've learned a few tips here and there about packing and traveling. I thought it would be appropriate to share them today as I'm traveling to Mexico.
While I'm fantastic at overpacking, I'm actually really good at space management and efficiency. At this point I think this enables my overpacking problem but, oh well. Can't win em all right? So one of my efficiency not-so-secrets is I roll all my clothes into tight long rolls. The main reason for this is it helps keep wrinkles out of the clothes. I also put socks in my tennis shoes and under my bras to help save space and allow my bras to maintain their shapes. Another tip I learned was to take 1 shirt and lay it out lengthwise. Then, space out any necklaces and lay them stretched out flat in the shirt about 1" apart. This allows you to roll up the shirt as well as roll the necklaces to help them not get tangled. I also love the zippered bag containers that allow you to pack all your shirts in one bag, all your pants in another, etc. It's easy to take one container out and keep things organized if you're a type-A organizer like myself.
Now, if you'll be traveling for a decent amount of time or plan to do laundry, a travel clothesline is perfect for drying clothes that are too delicate for the dryer. I bought mine on amazon like the one I linked and it's came in quite handy over the years when I used to travel to London for weeks at a time for work. I like that one specifically because it's easy to hang clothes over or use the bungee to wedge clothes in between the ropes.
There's lots of helpful travel gadgets online and T.J. Maxx is a great place to find random travel things at a great price. Ultimately traveling is supposed to be fun, at least I think that's the point. It can be difficult when lines are long and people are stressed but I try to put myself in their shoes and think about all the grumpy, tired people they must encounter every single day. Not a job I'd ever want but I'm so grateful they're willing to be there and help me to get to my destination. I think it's especially important for everyone to try to be as calm and patient as possible and just take a deep breath when you begin your travels. I hate flying, always have. But in order to get to the beach, flying is my only option. People fly all day every day and I just keep telling myself that until I get to my destination. I'm extremely introverted on flights and prefer to just remain silent. I'm already nervous enough to fly but if I befriend the person next to me, I'm way more likely to grab their arm the moment turbulence starts and that's just awkward for everyone.
My family and I just flew to visit my family in Florida over the Holiday's. I can't remember where I got the idea, probably pinterest, but my kids and I decided it would be a great idea to make our flight attendant and pilot a thank you card. They were working over the Holiday's and we were grateful for that. Simple as that. So we gave them our cards and we could actually see their faces light up. They were tired as we had a really late flight and it was delayed an hour beyond that so everyone was at the end of their tiring days. It was nice to feel like we made someone a little happier and they knew we were genuinely thankful for them. I tell this story not to boast but to inspire you to take a few moments and think about how you can make someone's day while you travel next. Maybe you have no travel plans other than Target in the foreseeable future. Ok, fine. My challenge still stands. Share kindness, share joy, share thankfulness. Wherever, whenever, and especially while traveling.
Sunshine here I come!!
XOXO
Ashley
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