How can I be a more organised flyer?

[Redhairandhottubs]

Just got back from 4 nights away. I took a small cabin case and a large bag. Both jammed full and weighed a ton. Really struggled getting on and off the plane, plus juggling passport, phone for boarding pass, etc.

Would be grateful for any tips on how to travel with less stuff and be generally less faffy!

You're probably right that you need hold luggage if you want to take that many clothes / products etc. You've got 7 tops plus whatever you are wearing to travel? For 4 days? not criticising but it's not travelling light. also, if you don't have access to a washing machine you will need more.

I just accept that I'm going to wear the same clothes day and evening and we tend to stay in apartments so usually have access to a washing maching. I only take one outer layer (the one I am wearing to travel), one pair of shoes (ditto, though I did pack my slippers this time as a treat), very few toiletries, no hair taming tools. Last time we went away I had a half-empty rucksack under the seat, and a small cabin case and that was for 6 nights. I really value not having heavy / lots of luggage to drag around as I have tendonitis in my shoulder.

I great at the clothes part. I lay out every outfit with the shoes and underwear, so I never overpack that bit.

But my weakness is my toiletries. I could fill a case with skin products, hair products and makeup.

I always keep the little sample pots you get with creams etc. wash them out and decant make up/face creams into them. Also I sometimes buy make up minis and keep them for going away. Also have mini soaps and toothpaste. All fit into a little clear bag for the airport

I've got better & better at packing over the years.

When you unpack, assess what you wore & didn't wear. How much stuff did you pack & carry around & didn't use? This is where you really learn.

If I'm checking in a bag I don't usualy bother but for carry on only, decant stuff into small bottles pots etc - a quid from primark/poundland etc. When you get home make sure you use up any excess product in your decants first & then clean out the pots ready for next time. I used to take face masks and things thinking I would do them on holiday - I never did.

Take small perfume vials/samples.

Vairable weather means you do need more clothes & wear layers.

Wear items more than once. For 4 days mid season you could wear one pair of jeans, change your tops.

Wear heaviest/biggest items there and back.

You can buy toothpaste etc locally if you need to.

Looking specifically at your packing list (assuming this is in addition to what you were wearing?):

Case -
Hoodie & Denim jacket - take one only & wear on plane
Jeans/Cargos - wear one set on plane.

Leggings - why? Are you wearing these with the tops?
Going out tops x 2 - take one. or take 2 and multi task them. Wear for going out & then wear the next day too.
1 long sleeve top - wear on plane
2 T-shirts
2 vest tops - wear these to bed as well
Swim suit - did you use it?
Shoes - I have size 9 feet. Packing shoes are always an issue. I wear chunkiest shoes on plane, take another pair & a pair of flip flops for indoors/pool etc.
Bag with all my meds - unavoidable
Underwear & Socks - stuff socks into shoes.
Pyjamas - wear vest top/leggings/underwear/sarong as PJ's
I would add a sarong - multi use, multi purpose & always used.

Bag -
Straighteners
iPad - could you use phone for 4 days?
Kindle - use Kindle ap on ipad or phone for a few days.
Make up - less is more
Skincare and hair stuff - decant
Claw clip - wear it
Hairband

I take a small cross body bag with vital/important bits (Uniqlo or similar)
Water bottle (mine is small so it fits)
Passport - don't forget your GHIC & travel insurance
Purse - edit things down. I use a small coin purse when travelling with DL, card/s, cash.
Phone & charger plus travel plug.
Headphones
lip balm & sample moisturiser (for long haul)

I went to Florence for 4 days on hand luggage and could have gone much longer with no problem. I’m also not a low maintenance person clothing wise so I spend a great deal of time planning it and logging it on my app ( I’d say I’m medium maintenance not high maintenance though)

I used a Foldie hold-all which I like but quite honestly an Eastpak backpack that opens like a suitcase is easier to carry ( the Foldie is flexible depending on airline restrictions ). I used compression cubes for the clothes which were not the flimsiest cheapo ones and I found them good. I chose separates in three colours that co-ordinated with each other. Some of the items were silk which were the lightest thing I carried and I also chose that crinkley fabric (that I can’t remember the name of that doesn’t crease.). I really liked items from Rise & Fall for their classic styling. The heaviest items I wore on the plane.

For toiletries I decant into very small pots and spray bottles. I used Nudistix pencils and Jones Road palletes which do double duty. I have a travel set of straighteners which are not great but much lighter than my full size ones.

Suitcase for everything you don’t need on the plane.
Backpack for anything you might need on the plane.
Cargo trousers/skirt for passport, phone etc

Alternative perspective; life is too short to be ruthlessly organised and try and get by on the bare minimum and worry about forgetting stuff.

We just always check a bag! As many toiletries as I want, no decanting, minis, etc, just pack everything I use in my usual daily routine. No indecision about outfits, just chuck in as many as I need and no one cares if I want to chuck in an extra pair of shoes because I couldn't decide.

I have a small cross body for phone/passport/lipbalm and usually a rucksack with my camera/kindle in. Small crossbody fits in rucksack.

Checked bag dropped off on arrival at airport, take crossbody out of rucksack to process through airport, goes back into rucksack as soon as we're seating. Rucksack underseat and everything easily accessible.

Off plane, process through airport with cross body and rucksack only, put cross body away, pick up checked bag for onward journey.

It baffles me that people are so obsessed with flying hand luggage only when that means pulling everything out for the scanners (Heathrow still don't have the new ones everywhere!), planning your packing to the nth degree, rolling clothes up as small as possible and getting crinkled etc.... doing laundry whilst away evenI just take an appropriately sized bag! It's never that much more on what was a cheap ticket on a budget airline or it's included anyway with the bigger airlines

It could well be that a hold bag doesn't cost much more than a big cabin bag and you don't have to drag it round the airport, onto the plane and fight for space in the overhead locker. Plus you're allowed to take all the liquids you want.

The other thing that I think is easier if you have a printer is a paper boarding pass. Then you just keep it folded up in your passport instead of needing to fiddle with your phone every time you need to show it.

@user1471548941 - I do take a hold checked bag when suitable. But often my flights involve getting a train or walking to or from airport in country, even if I drive to airport here. Carrying a heavy case up and down stairs in places with no lift, or on tube or trains or boats with no storage for large cases isn’t easier than just packing lighter, and washing a pair of socks if needed.

Some we have 5 passengers in our car, so 5 medium cases, plus handluggage and small pram wouldn’t fit even though our car is a decent size.

Our next long trip will be 2 adults and 5 year old. 3 week trip. Carrying 3 weeks worth in any bags is simply too much. We will need a car seat also, and have to switch between car hire and train a few times. Whilst someone has hand of child also for safety. So realistically it will be max one checked in bag, and one hand luggage case ( plus car seat), as we haven’t enough hands for much else. So washing will have to be done at some point

I think I am half way between these many replies. I generally don't check a bag, but that's mainly because I'm usually doing some amount of public transport at the other end and I just don't want to faff with that.

My answer is to be super organised with my backpack and to make sure my carry-on suitcase won't need opening at the airport.

So that means splitting out liquids and hair straighteners etc as you have.

Clothing wise, if it fits in the suitcase I'm not that bothered by how much it weighs. My solution to finding it hard to heft about/lift over my head has actually been to do some weight lifting at the gym. I can now happily carry two carry ons up and down stairs, put them up in the lockers etc. If you can manage to get a carry on suitcase weight above 10kg that will be impressive, so it's unlikely it will weigh more than that. That's a personal preference though because although I'm a "light packer" (have done 2.5 weeks on Ryanair hand luggage), what I actually am is a super efficient and dense packer. If I am going somewhere warm, I generally take 2x nighties, 1x thin dressing gown, 4-5x dresses, 1x leggings, 1x denim jacket, 1x thin long sleeve top for under dresses, 1x shorts, 2x t shirts, pants, socks, 1-2x swimsuit, goggles, spare glasses, low top converse, sandals, plus charging plugs. That's in the suitcase.

And then I take a rucksack which contains:

Battery pack, kindle, phone, IDs etc, water bottle, jumper, liquids, any airport snacks, an umbrella if I want one, hair brush, electric toothbrush (reduces the risk of my case getting pulled if everything electronic is in here). Anything that needs pulling out for security goes in a thin sub bag. My phone and IDs go in a small cross body which can also go into the rucksack for boarding but no one has yet questioned it not being there.

So to me the amount of stuff you took looks about normal - though I find you need almost as much for 4 nights as a week and you'd probably have felt it was fairly good packing I'd you had gone for a week. And just probably need a rucksack or similar so you aren't hefting a weighty tote around.

I think we're different people. 4 nights just me would be an under seat bag/rucksack.

In a lot of cases I'd rather just check in a suitcase and have as little as possible to lug around the airport. It's the toiletries thing for me too.

I don't see why you'd need jeans AND cargos - and if you wore a pair of jeans to travel in why would you need more of them? For four days one pair would do. I'd also have worn either the hoody or denim jacket to travel in. Too many bulky items in that bag.

I have toiletries I only use for travel in tiny tiny containers. Obviously the travel sections in Boots and Superdrug are good for this but I find beauty advent calendars are a great source of them, especially for more niche products and perfume etc

I have a folding hairbrush and travel size straighteners, I take thin muslins for washing my face. I can get all my makeup and beauty for a holiday in a small zip up bag. I will use the hotel soap and shampoo though.

A lot of my clothes will do double duty so ill wear the same outfit to travel both ends, I take one coat, one set of pyjamas, one jumper, one pair of gym trainers which I'll also wear as casual shoes sometimes and either sandals or boots depending on the weather. I don't skimp on tops though or do any handwashing to stretch outfits. I don't take extra jewellery as it's heavy and I would worry about losing anything expensive.

I plan outfits carefully and try to match colours. That's the key I think. And not many electronics. I take my phone and a USB charger, if I'm staying somewhere modern I won't even take the plug, just the wire.

A checked bag is the answer. I love my make up and have sensitive skin which plays up in the sun. I also have short hair that needs product.

This is so relevant to me as I'm packing today for a holiday tomorrow. I have packed / unpacked and am still undecided . It's difficult clothes wise because the destination has mixed weather , warmish in the day with some rain / some sun . Cold at night .
Ahhh

O find that unless you are in a very smart hotel the shampoo, conditioner and often shower gel they provide is no better than cheap washing up liquid and will trash my hair and skin. I'd rather sacrifice weight somewhere else and decant my own products to avoid looking like Worzel Gummidge on holiday

I'm another who wouldn't travel without moisturisers , hair products . All very well if you have flawless dehydrated skin and easy hair but not all of us do and we don't want to look like Uriah heep on holiday.

I'm on holiday, but still want to look nice when I go out in the evening.

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This. It makes me at how scornful some posters can be about wanting to look nice when away, unfortunately some of us have mad hair that needs taming!

Also, I always take a fabric tote folded up like this in my cross body to put all the crap I inevitably buy once airside, like meal deal, magazine, even more toiletries in duty free I can the use at the other end for supply runs for the room

When you unpack, assess what you wore & didn't wear. How much stuff did you pack & carry around & didn't use? This is where you really learn.

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This. Massively helpful and quite an eye opener when you see what you didn't use. Especially when it's the same after your next trip!

About compressing cubes - we went via London City recently and one lady had to open two of her compression cubes to let the security search for something, she wasn't happy as she suddenly had severe problems getting her stuff back into her tiny suitcase....

Jeans for going out, cargos to wear during the day. I would have been too hot in jeans during the day. Clothes you fly in always feel grubby and I prefer to wear something more comfortable anyway.

I dont travel light, we've just come back from Spain, its medium weather there at the moment so I needed woolies but also light stuff. I took 6 pairs of shoes, they were all worn. I took lots of clothes, they were all worn.

Holidays are about the only time I get to wear nice things, put make up on, do my hair nice, Im not going to deprive myself. My case was on the limit for weight 23kg, but thats a checked in case, and then I had a cabin suitcase and also a handbag to hold my passport, phone, purse in, plus a smart leather rucksack which went on the back of me.

I may try to cut down the suitcase weight next time as I like to bring gifts back or buy new things while Im away, I also took a kettle as not all spanish (or italian) places have kettles, glad we did as this one had a kettle but it seemed quite dangerous.

I wear my heaviest and bulkiest clothes while travelling. I also carry my limited liquids in a special bag.

Absolutely this, I dont even use those products!!! We dont stay in hotels but airbnbs often have these supplied and they're rubbish