10 Tips to Avoid Overpacking

If you want to keep your travel as stress-free and seamless as possible, then avoiding checked bags is a must. Avoiding the chance of lost and delayed baggage is essential if you are going to get a great start to your vacation or business trip, and you’ll be able to leave the airport quicker if you can avoid waiting for up to 45 minutes at baggage claim. However, to learn how to pack carry on effectively, you’ll need some tips and hints.

Check our packing tips below to discover how to pack carry-on to make the most of your space and avoid having to resort to checked bags to bring everything you need.

10 Tips to Avoid Overpacking for Your Next Trip

1. Create a Packing List Before You Begin

The key to successful packing is planning. If you simply start emptying your drawers and throwing in everything that catches your eye, chances are you’ll hit the weight limit without managing to pack all your essentials.

Think about exactly what you will need for each day of your trip and be ruthless in leaving behind items that aren’t essential.

You can cut down on the number of items you need to take by packing multiple-use items, planning your outfits strategically, and thinking about how you can reuse clothes during your trip.

2. Work Out How Many Outfits You Need to Pack.

Sit down with your travel itinerary and allocate an outfit for each day or event. What can you bring that will serve you well for several events? Bringing along a lot of items that will only be useful once will clog up your carry-on and weigh you down during your travel. Multi-use and multi-purpose items should be given priority before packing any non-essential one-use clothing or accessories.

3. Limit Yourself to One of Each Item

Are you going to need five different pairs of jeans? Or will one pair serve you just as well? Depending on where you are going and whether there are laundry facilities at your destination – sticking to one type of clothing item can help you discover how to pack to avoid checked bags.

4. Color Co-ordinate to Cut Down on Items You Need to Pack

Pick complementary colors and clothing that you can mix and match during your trip. This can cut down on the number of clothing items you need to pack and free up space for other items. Plan your outfits each day and think about which items of clothing can be used for more than one day.

5. Pack Smaller Travel Sized Items

Invest in smaller travel-sized toiletries and beauty items to avoid overpacking. Many major brands have travel packs available for their toiletries or makeup sets. This is a great way to free up some space and lower the weight of your baggage. Alternatively, you could consider buying some toiletries and other essentials when you arrive at your destination.

6. Does Your Destination Have a Laundry in the Hotel or Nearby?

Another thing to consider when you learn how to pack carry-on luggage is whether you can wash items while you are abroad. If you are staying at an Airbnb, then chances are there will be a washing machine at your accommodation. And many hotels also have laundry facilities you can take advantage of. If there are no laundry facilities where you are staying, there might be a local, affordable laundrette you can visit during your stay.

7. Roll Your Clothes to Get More Packing Space

One of the best packing tips is to start rolling your jeans, socks, and other flexible materials up so they take up less space. You’ll be able to save space and also pick out your items quicker when you reach your destination.

8. Use some Packing Cubes to Maximize Available Space.

Packing cubes allow you to fit more clothes and items into your bag by maximizing the effective space and minimizing the space each item takes up. Packing cubes also offer an extra layer of protection for your items both when in transit and when you store your belongings at a hotel or hostel.

You can pick up a set of four or five packing cubes at an affordable price and the more durable options will serve you well for years, being suitable for a variety of different trips and locations.

9. Compression Bags Give You Even More Space.

To further minimize the space each item takes up in your carry on you can use some compression bags. Using a vacuum, you can suck out all of the air in the storage space and reduce the space your packed items take up in your bag. You can also increase the number of items you take without having to delve into the realm of checked baggage.

10. Pick Clothes that work for Day and Night

When choosing which clothes to bring on your trip, try to pick versatile items that can be worn to a variety of different locations and events. If you don’t need to change to attend dinners or shows, then you can cut down substantially on the amount of clothes you need to bring along. If you need to dress up an outfit for an outing at night, then bringing along some lightweight compatible accessories can be enough to elevate your clothing.

Takeaway - 10 Tips to Avoid Overpacking

The key to learning how to pack effectively is to make sure you plan. Last-minute packing without thought can result in you exceeding carry-on weights and bringing along many unneeded items.

Use our packing tips above to make sure that every item you place in your bag can be used more than once, is taking up as little room as possible, and is an absolute essential for your trip. Avoid overpacking and you won’t have to worry about the possibility of lost baggage or waiting by baggage claim while other passengers grab transport into town.