This is a guest post from my girl Lauren Wotherspoon, YBC's Marketing and Events Director. She's a seasoned traveler and today is sharing all her tips for staying organized and maximizing space.
Confession: I have a serious consolidation problem (maybe its more of a shopping problem, but I’m okay with that). I’m also the worst ever at decision making so I never want to leave a potential outfit option behind. Even if I haven’t worn those jeans or tank in over 6 months, I cant help it – it needs to be packed just in case. Plus, a girl's gotta be prepared for anything, right? Without fail, I always end up packing about 7 outfits I never even touch and a mound of jewelry I never even remove from my bag. Despite this, I never learn my lesson and continue to overpack. Needless to say, I’ve gotten pretty good at maximizing space in my suitcase over the many years of constant travel, which is why I want to share all my tips and tricks I’ve learned and developed along the way. You can thank me later!
Packing Tips: Outfits
First and foremost, we want to maximize space. To maximize space in your luggage, try rolling your clothes instead of folding them. You’ll be surprised at how much more you can pack!! (Believe me, I doubted it at first, too.) If you like to be super organized and you’re that person that coordinates outfits beforehand – you can even roll each outfit up together. Once you have your outfit rolled up – secure it with a hair-tie or elastic band.
Packing Tips: Bras and Underwear
Sorry guys, but these next few are for the ladies!! To help your bras maintain shape and not take up so much space, try stacking them and folding them in half. And if you really want to take it to the next level, place your underwear in between the cups – this will help to prevent the cups of your bra from folding in and ruining the underwire/shape. We all know bras can be pretty pricy, so I’ll do almost anything to prevent them from wearing out too quickly.
Pin now, pack later!
Mini mason jars for rings.
Jewelry Travel Tip
No more tangled necklaces and bracelets!!! Use two pieces of press and seal wrap to keep them from moving around, getting damaged or tangling. If you want to be extra cautious with your dainty/delicate necklaces, you can place the chains through straws before sealing them up! I also use small Tupperware containers (the ones for salad dressing) to hold my earrings and rings. I know using plastic containers isn’t the most eco-friendly way to handle this problem, so on trips I know my suitcase will be packed to the max, to reduce chances of the glass breaking, I like to use small mason jars to sort my earrings and rings.
Pin now, pack later!
Using: bronzer, cotton pads, make up bag (similar)
Make Up Travel Tip
Ever get to your destination, open your make-up bag and BOOM, your brand new bronzer is in a million pieces? This drives me nuts, infuriates me and makes me want to burst into tears all at the same time. Save yourself the heartbreak by protecting your make-up from cracking and breaking by placing cotton balls or a cotton pad inside your compacts.
Packing tips for your beauty products
Using: Kiehl's shampoo, Kiehl's conditioner
Packing Tips: Beauty Products and Shoes
While I’d like to bring along a brand new pair of shoes (or seven) each time I travel, that’s just not in the budget – so what to do about those dirty shoes of yours?! Bring along a shower cap so you can place your dirty shoes inside to prevent the rest of your clothes from getting dirty, plus this keeps your shoes strapped together in pairs. I also like to place bath/skincare products that wont explode and/or break inside my shoes to help maximize space. If you’re concerned about these items leaking (especially if you’re putting them inside expensive shoes), you can place a small square piece of plastic wrap under the seal and you're good to go! Lets not forget about socks, those are another great item to shove in your shoes.
Packing tips for your chargers
Packing Tip: Chargers and cords
We all probably travel with way more chargeable devices than we should these days so to help keep all your cords and chargers together in one place, neatly coil them up and put them inside an old sunglasses or eye glasses case – works wonders!
So there we have it! Those are my tips for packing up and making the most of your space. I'd love to hear yours down below in the comments!
PS- More travel posts.