If you are planning on taking a vacation, you may be planning to take in a variety of attractions during your stay. You might be spending days at the beach or the pool, taking in museums or galleries, shopping or going to amusement parks. Even if you have a jam packed schedule, you can still pack smart for your trip. You save money when you travel light as you won’t have to pay for extra or oversized luggage.
Travel Sizes
Before your trip, stock up on travel sizes of all of your toiletry items. But keep in mind that these mini sizes can be costly. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money but you want to save room in your suitcase when you travel, purchase mini clear containers at a drug store or dollar store and transfer contents from big bottles into the smaller ones. Make sure you mark them accordingly so you aren’t conditioning your hair with body lotion.
Instead of bringing a bunch of prescription bottles, use a weekly pill organizer. Put over-the-counter pain relievers in small plastic snack bags and mark them accordingly. Do the same for allergy medication, bandages, cotton swabs and alcohol pads.
Double Duty
Pack items that have more than one use when you are packing. Consider picking up a bottle of a combination shampoo/conditioner or plan on using body wash in lieu of shaving cream to save space. Bring along a scented body lotion so you won’t have to carry perfume. Hotels will generally provide mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner and a hair dryer so check with them before bringing along all these items.
Accessories
When you are traveling, it might be nice to have a variety of accessories, but these will take up room and you will probably end up only wearing a fraction of what you bring. Pack one or two hair accessories like a pony-tail holder or one large barrette and a few pieces of jewelry such as a favorite pair of earrings or two. Wear a necklace that you can double up such as a long strand of pearls. Wear them long, tie them in a knot or double loop them around your neck for variety. Bring along a scarf that you can wear on cool nights or as a wraparound on the beach.
Clothing
Pack clothing that you can layer. Bring a sweater that you can throw over a tee-shirt and jeans or a pair of shorts. Bring neutral tops that go with a patterned skirt or vice versa. Bring a thin jacket that you can wear over a tank top. Wear a long cover up over your swimsuit that you can also wear at the boardwalk. Bring skirts that you can wear when you are out sightseeing but that you can also dress up with a jacket or sweater for a dinner in a nice restaurant. Make sure the clothing that you pack is versatile and doesn’t wrinkle easily. Bring along a few pairs of shoes such as neutral sandals, sneakers or ballet flats.
Ever since her kids were young, the Author has been taking them to New York City to see all it has to offer. You can find her visiting any one of her favorite family friendly New York City hotels when she visits.
