Packing your suitcase can often be one of the more stressful components of your holiday; and with luggage restrictions on certain airlines sometimes leading to a hefty fine, you should pack as efficiently as possible to ensure that your spending money isn’t dented by an overweight baggage fee. To help, we’ve done our research to compose a handy guide of our top packing tips…
1.) Know your luggage allowance, and don’t be afraid to use it. On your airline documentation, you should be able to clearly identify how much luggage you’ve paid for to take on the flight. Make sure you know exactly how much this amount is – and weight your case periodically during your packing process to ensure it doesn’t go overweight. You can purchase luggage scales from as little as £2, but if you travel frequently we would recommend investing in a digital luggage scale for approximately £10 – this little investment could save you loads of money in the long run!
2.) Don’t be afraid to maximize the use of your hand luggage. Hand luggage allowances can range from 5kg to 10kg depending on your airline. Use all of this allowance! If you just can’t fit your favourite beach towel in the top of your case or your spare pair of sunglasses, put them in your hand luggage! Again, make sure you know how much this item can weigh and always check the size regulations for each piece of hand luggage; these can be found on your airline’s website. The only thing to remember is that you cannot pack liquids in your hand luggage if they are in containers with a volume greater than 100ml, so make sure that your sun cream is in the suitcase! Something to also check with your airline is whether you can also take a handbag on-board the aircraft with your hand luggage; more and more operators are now allowing you to take your hand luggage and a small handbag on board.
3.) Lay all of your clothes out on the bed. Think – do I really need all this? Studies have shown that most of us will pack, on average, 33% too many items of clothing. So organise all your clothes into piles (t-shirts, shorts, beach wear etc…) and then aim to remove 1/3rd of the items. Maybe pile the clothes in order of preference, with your favourite items at the bottom and less desirable items at the top – this way, it’s easy to remove items you won’t necessarily want to wear whilst on holiday.
4.) Roll your fabrics! If you have any clothing or towels that you can easily shape, make sure that you roll them up. This can reduce the space that each item requires for packing by 50%. You may be worried that your pre-holiday ironing efforts go to waste – but fear not – most hotels now have free irons at the reception which you can borrow. This allows you to simply iron as you go, the items that need ironing. This is a perfect tip for those of you that always over pack, as you can fit more clothes into the space inside your suitcase! If your towels are the problem, it may be best to flatten them and put them on the top of your clothes as this way less depth is used in the suitcase.
5.) If you are really struggling, buy a travel vacuum pack set! This really is the best way to maximise the space inside the suitcase as it removes all of the air gaps. You simply pack your clothes into a vacuum bag, and then you use your household hoover to remove the air in the bag and seal it, before putting it into your suitcase. These packs can cost you as little as £4 per bag on the high-street.
This video from Heathrow airport has some really handy tips!
James Lowery is a Marketing Assistant at the Holiday With Us Group.
