Last minute packing is never a good thing, and yet so many people end putting it off until mere hours before their flights due to how much of a hassle it can be. As if that isn’t enough, keeping track of everything you’re carrying as you go from place to place can be a nightmare. Whether you’ll be staying at some affordable and convenient hotels in the Philippines for business purposes or plan to rent out a small cottage for some personal alone time, these four packing hacks will surely come in handy during your trip.
- Roll Your Clothes Instead of Folding Them
You can fit more pieces of clothing in your suitcase if they’re rolled up rather than folded and stacked in a pile. To save as much space as possible, roll socks or underwear within other clothes such as shirts and pants. If you’d like to keep them neatly rolled throughout the trip, try using a large thick rubber band or a long piece of ribbon. Fun fact: this is how flight attendants pack their own suitcases, and while having more clothes may give you a peace of mind, they recommend bringing only as many clothes as you really need.
- Take Out Only What You Need at the Hotel
It can be tempting to make the hotel feel like your home away from home, but make sure that you only take out each item when you really need to use it. By putting away every single article of clothing into the closet and stowing away your other possessions into drawers, you’ll just be giving yourself more work to do once it’s time to start packing your luggage again. Plus, you’ll be more likely to leave something behind if you’re in a rush to check out.
- Store Everything in Ziplock Bags
Don’t let your clean clothes mix with the soiled ones. Segregate your clean and dirty clothes by using large ziplock bags. That way, your used clothing won’t mingle with those you have yet to wear. Plus, you can squeeze out even more air by packing your clothes in vacuum-seal plastic bags, which means even less space used up in your luggage and more room for souvenirs to take home.
- Keep Your Clothes Smelling Fresh
If you’re worried that your clothes will start smelling less than fresh at any point during the trip, try putting a bar of soap inside a clean sock, and then placing that sock inside of your luggage. The scent of the soap should help cover up any nasty smells. Better yet, throw in a dryer sheet to keep everything smelling nice the entire time.
You don’t have to be a travel expert in order to pull off these tips and tricks. Keep these pieces of advice in mind so that you can spend more time enjoying the sights and sounds instead of fretting over your luggage. All it takes is a little bit of creative thinking to turn a task that you dread into a task that will make the rest of your trip so much less of a hassle.