So this post is about how I managed to over pack my suitcase by 10kg AND THEN lived in basically the same 5 items. As per. You’ve been there, right? If you’re a chronic over packer then you know the fear of the airport scales. My mother once had a bag too heavy to load, it surpassed health and safety limits. Seriously.
Over packing, it’s genetic apparently.
I’m an over packer. There, I admit it. I try not to then end up majorly under-packed and can’t help but wish for my back-breaking suitcase stuffed to the gills with every item of clothing I own. I have a feeling that Nat Tucker’s Boss Course would help me overcome that…
But until then, let me tell you about the mistakes I made when packing for the past week in Melbourne. That’s a learning experience, right? I think so. And as a blogger I think it’s my job to share what works and doesn’t work for me, maybe save you some time in your own life.
Packing Mistake 1: No plan!
That’s right, no plan. In the lead up to Melbourne Fashion Week Plus, outfit conversations were flying thick and fast and I had no idea what I’d be wearing. Big mistake, huge. When it came time to pack my bag I was literally throwing in everything that might work, maybe, without much thought for where I had to be and how often. I ended up with at least three times as many casual outfits as I needed and a couple of runway-worthy outfits short. Whoops.
Packing Mistake 2: No colour theme.
I’m a big advocate for packing on a colour theme so everything coordinates and is interchangeable. Unfortunately, for me, I seemed to have forgotten that this round as I mixed my colours and print and came out with a million and one odd-man-out items that either didn’t work with anything or could only work in one outfit. Not sensible packing, at all. Planning helps with this, choosing items that mix and match with others and work in multiple ways. Note to self: review point one. Haha.
Packing Mistake 3: Shoe overcompensation.
The entire top half of my suitcase was shoes. Shoes, boots, ankle boots and sneakers. Way too many. Keeping the number of shoes you pack to a minimum helps reduce the overall weight of your suitcase and gives you more room to move. I could have easily taken my nude heels, knee-high black boots and sneakers and been all good. The other 3 pairs of shoes I had packed were nice to have, but pointless, especially after I purchased some strappy little numbers while I was there.
Packing Mistake 4: Full-size toiletries.
Rookie error, I know. But again, because I didn’t have a plan I found myself the night before I was due to fly out shoving full-size items in my bag and hoping like hell they didn’t escape. They did, but on the return journey, luckily. Hello, purple shampoo ALL over the place. At least it smells pretty because that made one hell of a mess. So pack light in regards to toiletries and go sample sizes or those cute little plastic containers you get from Daiso and travel light.
Packing Mistake 5: Coordinate your efforts
My roommates for the weekend had this method down pat. Liv packed the hair dryer, Desiree packed the straightener. Things like that. If you’re sharing a room or staying with friends, work out what you’re actually going to need and what you can split over a few suitcases or leave at home. Another factor in this is that throughout the week I wore more than one piece of clothing from the other ladies suitcases and they wore from mine. So get together, pool your efforts, pack lighter and wash.
Like I said, I have a gift for this stuff. What about you? Do you over or under pack? Got any tips for us?
Hi! I’m Melissa Walker Horn. Around here, they call me Suger. I’m the Chief Blogger and doer of all the things here at Suger Coat It. Blogging since 1901; I love a casual ootd, taking photos, and writing about things that irk or inspire me. I love wine and cheese, long days at the beach and spending time with my family. I make stuff for the internet over at Chalkboard Digital. You know, living the sweet life.
I can totally relate, I know them feels! Haha!
I’m pretty bad with over packing too, except I usually get so excited for my upcoming trip that I start packing and planning outfits 2 weeks in advance, which gives me a lot of time to cut down on the non-necessities!
Kez | acaciasdreams.com
Oh I get excited, but usually distracted and then no packing happens until WAY too later for planning and such. Haha. I’ll do my best from here on out, that’s the plan. Probably. 😉
Oh, I forgot to say – before I went cruelty-free with toiletries, I used to just buy shampoo etc at my destination or use the hotel ones, if I stayed in a hotel. It makes packing so much lighter. Shampoo always leaks. I’m going to try taking the top off, covering the opening with glad wrap then putting the top back on trick next time.
You’re so right, shampoo ALWAYS LEAKS. Always. The stinker. I’ll be sure to find a way to secure that sucker next time, the glad wrap sounds like a plan.
I travel way too much to overpack. I travelled for nearly a year with 12-15kgs of luggage. I’ve found 12kg to around the optimum weight for comfort. Even then I often pack stuff I end up not wearing.
I think it all comes done to confidence. Overpacking comes from all that pre-trip anxiety.
I did a 2 week trip around Japan with just 3 dresses, 2 pairs of shoes, a cardigan and, of course, underwear. I knew I’d be catching a lot of trains and needed to swing my bag up onto the overhead racks so didn’t want to wreck my back. Also, I knew I’d be staying at places with laundry facilities.
I can imagine that fashion week would be hard to pack for though. It’s the one time where you want to show off every pretty in your wardrobe 🙂
Holy heck! Take us to your leader lady, you’re the queen of packing by the sound of things. IT’s so true about the laundry facilities, you really don’t need much if you can access washing facilities, we did that in New Zealand and saved us A LOT of luggage.
And yeah, it was a case of having three runway nights, one night panel, one day panel and all sorts of partying in between. It was hectic in terms of events and a such and you want to look cool at ALL of them. Sigh, so hard! Haha.
I’m on a few travel + digital nomad forums and people get seriously competitive about their minimalist packing. Like carrying only one pair of undies and washing them out every night! For real, undies take up hardly any space, pack a spare and have a night off once in a while.
Really, for a single destination trip what does it matter? You only need to get from the airport to your accomm and back. It’s when you have to lug stuff around from place to place it kills, esp with solo travel when you have to get all your luggage into a toilet cubicle with you.
I think you’re right, more than one pair of undies is absolutely manageable. Haha. I always find it so fun to see the things that humans will get competitive about.
And agreed. In the end I have to get my giant bag into and out of the airport and that’s about it. As long as it’s light enough that they allow it on, then I’m good. But, as we heard, I’m team over pack from birth. 😉
I am a CHRONIC overpacker. I flew to MFW+ with two suitcases (for ten days) and only wore half of it. That annoys me mostly because I could have done more shopping if I hadn’t taken all those extra things I didn’t need!
Haha. Two for 10 days! Crushed the over packing racket lady. And that’s it, right? Gosh, no room to take anything home. Like, at all. Siiiigh.
I just started making my packing list today for my first Problogger (leave on Thursday). So far my list consists of shoes, jewellery, jeans and a dress. We have travelled a bit and I’m pretty good at not going over the weight limit, but I still manage to take a bunch of stuff I don’t end up wearing. I just like to have a choice for last minute mind changes or mirror freak outs when I’m just not happy with my planned outfit. I am only taking 3 pairs of shoes….maybe 4….but I’ll lay it all out on Sunday afternoon and get it packed early so I don’t do the last minute rush packing – which is when I end up with a suitcase full of nothing that goes together 😳
OOOOOOOooooo, so exciting! Enjoy your first ProBlogger, I’m still hoping to get down for one of the parties to see everyone, we’ll see how it goes.
And that’s exactly what happened to me, no plan, random items stuffed in an over stuffed bag. Haha. Happy packing, I’m sure you’re going to nail it. x