About 5 days before moving across the pond, I started to pack.
My strategy: Lay down my two suitcases on the table in the living room and bring everything from my room to the living room. That allowed me to make the difference between what I wanted to bring and what I didn’t deem necessary (or valuable enough) to bring with me. I started with all of this.
Packing suitcases is like a puzzle. You want to fit the right piece in the right space. For example, my pair of knee-high boots were not really fitting into my smaller suitcase, etc. Also needed to even out the weight in both suitcase. You should avoid putting heavier things in a bigger luggage, because although it can contain more, it means it won’t need heavy objects to fill it up to the allowed weight. A smaller luggage might be harder to get to 23kg (or whatever weight the airline says is the limit) so putting heavier objects in would be to your advantage. I have no idea if that just made sense, in my mind it really does!
Here are a few tips for packing:
– Roll. Roll your clothes as if your life depended on it. First, it creates more space in the luggage and two, it usually creates less creases on the clothes.
– Wear your heavier pair of shoes in the plane. I personally wore my wellies because I knew how terribly heavy and how much space they would take in the luggage.
– Wrap shoes. I personally wrap all my shoes individually, I find it gives more space. Also if you are really serious about saving space, try stuffing rolled pairs of socks into shoes that are less foldable (such as gym sneakers).
– Vacuum seal travel bags. I tried using two large bags in the big suitcase but it made it very heavy. I ended up only using one because what I was more stringent on was weight and not space (if you only care about space then go crazy on vacuum seal travel bags). It’s especially good for fluffy stuff such as bedding, blankets, or even large coats.
– Don’t forget to take advantage of your carry-on (or two). Everything that you can’t live without should go in your carry-on. Camera, laptop, paperwork, diplomas, etc. Also, in case of a lost luggage, I always bring a change of underwear plus a shirt and a toothbrush.
– I would say to take pictures of the valuables that you are putting in your checked luggage. Any jewellery, etc. that you aren’t bringing in your carry-on just in case luggage gets lost and you need to make an insurance claim.
Please share any packing tips you might have xx
*10 Jan. 2015: As I have recently moved abroad again, I have created a new version of the packing guide : 1 girl, two suitcases*
