Plan Before You Pack

7 Tips for Better Packing

A confession: I am not one to go away for three months, as some do, with only carry-on luggage. There I’ve said it. All of you who want to feel morally superior, go right ahead.

Nonetheless, over the years, I’ve gotten much better at traveling light. In decades past, I might have thought what if I am invited to (fill in the blank)? I’ve gotten over that. Now, as a woman of a certain age—and a more confident one—my attitude in travel as in life is ‘take me as I am or watch me as I go'.

Yet a recent two-week tour to archeological sites in Greece left me feeling like the pioneers crossing the Rockies, lightening the loads of their Conestoga wagons, leaving things along the difficult trail they traveled.

Returning from my travels this year to Greece and to Paris, I’ve kept lists of what I’ve taken and what I’ve actually used.

This is what I’ve learned and what I do now to pack for a trip. These seven tips will work whether you’re planning to take only carry-on or to check a bag or bags:

1. Check the weather forecast. First, google “weather in (MONTH) in (DESTINATION)” and see what the trend or forecast is for the time you’ll be there. For a more precise forecast, the Accuweather app allows you to put in a domestic or foreign location and see the predicted temperature and rainfall for the coming six weeks. Whatever the forecast, prepare for rain. You can always buy an umbrella, but on a recent trip, I took a virtually weightless hooded poncho, while others in my group brought windbreakers. On our first night in Athens, walking back from dinner, we were caught in a deluge: everyone except me was drenched to the bone. 2. Anticipate how much laundry you can do and how you'll be able to do it. If you’re going to settle in one place with access to a self-serve laundry, dry-cleaning, or a drop-off laundry—which beats sitting someplace waiting for your clothes to dry—great. If you’re on a tour, figure out how long you’ll be in each place to take advantage of these services or if you’ll DIY it. Usually, I do a sink wash the night I arrive, freeing up quick-drying plane wear for use the day after next. When checking into a hotel, I ask whether they can send things out and what the turnaround time is. But just in case, my advice is to pack SinkSuds or other detergent packets that enable you to wash items in your room.

​3. Plan for what you’ll be doing and how dressy or casual those events are. Will you be hiking or, as one tour member in Greece put it, “humping up a hill in the hot sun to stand around a pile of ruins”? That may call for hiking sneakers and a big sun hat. Denim jeans can be dressed up or down and worn for days, but will they be too hot or dirty after a day in the woods or on a dusty trail? Dinners might not be “dressy,” but it’s always nice to feel and look put together, especially in France, where the natives do notice and seem to treat female tourists better when they are not wearing the distressed denim short-shorts and revealing tank top they might wear to an American supermarket.

4. Now it's time to choose your travel capsule wardrobe for this trip. First, think about the weight and volume of what's going into your luggage. Rolling your clothes can be great for items that won't wrinkle. Compression bags can help, too, but fabrics like linen won't appreciate being compressed for long. Second, think about how many times you can wear each piece: on a recent trip to Paris, I took a dress that I love, although it took up a bit of space in my suitcase, but didn't wear it even once because I found it easier to put outfits together from the other items I'd brought. Instead of wearing that one night when all of the participants of my writing workshop went out to dinner, I wore a black silk slip dress with a white blazer; it just felt more put together and suitable for the place and the occasion. I had planned what I packed for that trip around a black-white color scheme so the minimum number of pieces I took matched everything else: the perfect capsule wardrobe. Think about your choices that way and everything you take will serve you.

5. When you’ve got everything together, lay it out on a bed or hang it on a wheeling rack—even closet doors will do. There are apps that can help too—Stylebook is a popular one. But I’m old school: hanging things on doors and laying them out on a spare bed work for me. Then I do a mock pack. If this sounds a bit OCD, maybe it is, but I’m not the only one who finds it useful. The mock pack helps me to pare down, but also to remember all the other stuff I might take—toiletries, make-up bag, flat iron—how much space they consume, how much weight they add, how much I’ll need or want them. For instance, I love photography, but if my Nikon and its lenses complicate my life too much, I’ll leave it at home and use my iPhone, which is handier, easier to access and use, and can be less intimidating to the subject when I want to capture a really good candid shot.

6. The corollary to “travel light” is to think about coming home. One savvy traveler I know shops for lightly used clothing in thrift stores before her trip, assembles her outfits—invariably flattering and well put together—and leaves things behind as she packs to come home. (Presumably she’s making room for things she may purchase on her trip.) It’s not condescending to leave items of clothing in your hotel room if they no longer serve you and are still in good condition: the staff will know of people who would appreciate having them. When leaving Itaka Island, Greece, I gifted a brand-new unworn skirt to the concierge, who had gone over and above her job description to help me. It was a lovely skirt of good quality, and I had packed it thinking I should take it, but I never really liked how I looked in it. The “maybe you know someone who would like this” that went along with the gift told her I didn’t think she was needy or incapable of buying her own things. And there are places in the developing world and in Cuba where items travelers leave behind can be very much appreciated.

7. Once you have packed, make a list or take photos of what your bags contain, just in case. If your bags are permanently lost, it’ll be helpful to have a list of their contents for the airline and for insurance. But, before closing my checked and carry-on bags, camera bag, day pack, and purse, I toss an Apple AirTag into each: paired with my phone, these tell me where my things are: I feel more secure when use them.

© Gladys Montgomery 2023