Hurray, it's summer time! The British summer weather has been pretty good so far. If you are jetting off to another part of the globe or having a staycation I hope the following tips will be useful to you!
1. Roll up your clothes instead of folding them. This will keep them crease free as well as saving space in your suitcase.
2. Place bulky or heavy items on the bottom and sides of the he suitcase. This will stop them falling down and wrinkling clothing when you pick the suitcase up.
3. Use packing cubes to organise your luggage. These are fabric boxes that you can use to compartmentalise your luggage and allow you to fit more into your suitcase. Each one can act as a 'drawer' so you can keep underwear in one, shoes in another and a different bag for electrical items. You can separate clean and dirty clothes and wet from dry clothes. Organising your luggage this way makes it much easier to lay your hands on whatever you need without hunting through your entire suitcase. You can find a set of 6 for £5.50 at Ikea and some patterned ones on Amazon here (£8.99.) A stylish alternative are these designated labelled bags by Kate Spade. There's a 'To Wash' bag for dirty laundry and a 'To wear' bag which could hold a complete outfit or underwear. The bag labelled 'The perfect pair' holds shoes and the 'Bits and Bobs' bag could hold jewellery. (This tip is courtesy of Ellis Tuesday's Blog post here. )
4. Alternatively you can use zip loc bags or sandwich bags to divide up your luggage, this has the advantage of being transparent so you can see what's inside. You can also flatten or roll them to get rid of excess air so they take up less space. You can group them by underwear- socks in one, pants in another, bag all your electric chargers together or use each one to store a baby's or toddler's outfit. Lakeland have bags that you can roll up here: Lakeland Packmate 4 travel bag set for £9.99 and 24 freezer bags for £4.79. If you don't have any spare bags you can use a hotel shower cap over the heels/soles of shoes so that the rest of your luggage stays clean. With high heels make sure you turn the heels inwards so that they don't get caught on your clothes.
5. Pack your clothes inside out to avoid sunscreen stains.
6. Pack socks, perfume and sunscreen inside shoes to save space.
7. To prevent any messy leaks, bag each cosmetic bottle separately or place a square of cling film over the bottle opening but underneath the cap and tighten.
8. If you go away a lot it may be worth having a ready packed wash bag full of toiletries on standby so you can just grab it and chuck into your suitcase. Superdrug, Boots, Marks and Spencer and Space UK have a miniature toiletries section or you can fill it with samples from magazines and beauty subscription boxes.
9. If you're taking a plane then buying a transparent makeup bag and wash bag that meets security guidelines will make your life easier. BAA standards stipulate transparent bags must be resealable and can measure up to 20cm x 20cm max. This basic bag from Superdrug is cheap at £2.99 and fits the bill, alternatively this Miamica 'Cleared for Take-off Bag has 15 containers with labelled stickers that fit into a 7 x 8 x 1.5cm bag £6.39 from Amazon. If you're after something fun rather than purely utilitarian then this 'I don't sweat I sparkle' cosmetics bag (15 x 20 x 7cm) is £4 from Amazon and this medium polka dot Miss Etoile 'You are Magic' bag (measures 15.5 x 12.5 x 8cm) is £16.95 from Trouva. If you love all things cute and kitsch then take a look at the Paperchase Kawaii Rainbow cosmetic bag or the Pineapple print bag £14 each (both measure 14.5 x 10.5 x 12cm.)
10. Put anything breakable such as perfume bottles, souvenirs etc. inside a sock to protect them.
3. Use packing cubes to organise your luggage. These are fabric boxes that you can use to compartmentalise your luggage and allow you to fit more into your suitcase. Each one can act as a 'drawer' so you can keep underwear in one, shoes in another and a different bag for electrical items. You can separate clean and dirty clothes and wet from dry clothes. Organising your luggage this way makes it much easier to lay your hands on whatever you need without hunting through your entire suitcase. You can find a set of 6 for £5.50 at Ikea and some patterned ones on Amazon here (£8.99.) A stylish alternative are these designated labelled bags by Kate Spade. There's a 'To Wash' bag for dirty laundry and a 'To wear' bag which could hold a complete outfit or underwear. The bag labelled 'The perfect pair' holds shoes and the 'Bits and Bobs' bag could hold jewellery. (This tip is courtesy of Ellis Tuesday's Blog post here. )
4. Alternatively you can use zip loc bags or sandwich bags to divide up your luggage, this has the advantage of being transparent so you can see what's inside. You can also flatten or roll them to get rid of excess air so they take up less space. You can group them by underwear- socks in one, pants in another, bag all your electric chargers together or use each one to store a baby's or toddler's outfit. Lakeland have bags that you can roll up here: Lakeland Packmate 4 travel bag set for £9.99 and 24 freezer bags for £4.79. If you don't have any spare bags you can use a hotel shower cap over the heels/soles of shoes so that the rest of your luggage stays clean. With high heels make sure you turn the heels inwards so that they don't get caught on your clothes.
5. Pack your clothes inside out to avoid sunscreen stains.
6. Pack socks, perfume and sunscreen inside shoes to save space.
7. To prevent any messy leaks, bag each cosmetic bottle separately or place a square of cling film over the bottle opening but underneath the cap and tighten.
8. If you go away a lot it may be worth having a ready packed wash bag full of toiletries on standby so you can just grab it and chuck into your suitcase. Superdrug, Boots, Marks and Spencer and Space UK have a miniature toiletries section or you can fill it with samples from magazines and beauty subscription boxes.
9. If you're taking a plane then buying a transparent makeup bag and wash bag that meets security guidelines will make your life easier. BAA standards stipulate transparent bags must be resealable and can measure up to 20cm x 20cm max. This basic bag from Superdrug is cheap at £2.99 and fits the bill, alternatively this Miamica 'Cleared for Take-off Bag has 15 containers with labelled stickers that fit into a 7 x 8 x 1.5cm bag £6.39 from Amazon. If you're after something fun rather than purely utilitarian then this 'I don't sweat I sparkle' cosmetics bag (15 x 20 x 7cm) is £4 from Amazon and this medium polka dot Miss Etoile 'You are Magic' bag (measures 15.5 x 12.5 x 8cm) is £16.95 from Trouva. If you love all things cute and kitsch then take a look at the Paperchase Kawaii Rainbow cosmetic bag or the Pineapple print bag £14 each (both measure 14.5 x 10.5 x 12cm.)
10. Put anything breakable such as perfume bottles, souvenirs etc. inside a sock to protect them.
11. To stop necklace chains becoming tangled get a drinking straw and thread one end of the chain through the straw and then fasten the necklace.
12. Make sure your bag stands out to make it quicker and easier to spot it on the luggage carousel. Customise it by tying a coloured ribbon, scarf, key ring or bright duct tape to the handles or zip ends You can also use duct tape to decorate your case with your initials, name or a create a nice pattern. You can buy bright luggage straps, add travel stickers or patches to sew or pin on to soft luggage. Another option would be buying a distinctive luggage tag in neon or in an animal shape. Or you can go wild with fabric paint or spray paint stencil designs onto hard shell luggage.
13. Alternatively invest in some pretty luggage. Make sure it's colourful or distinctively patterned. Look for one with four wheels if possible as they are much easier to move and travel with. TK Maxx and Debenhams have affordable brightly coloured and patterned luggage. Or you can treat yourself to branded luggage from Amara here. I love the Ted Baker ones. You can also choose a photo to personalise your case with the Personalised luggage website here.
14. Invest in lightweight luggage to get the most from baggage weight restrictions.
Don't forget that the actual suitcase weight will contribute to how much you can take with you weight wise. Check the restrictions for each airline here. Tesco, Bags Etc, TK Maxx and Matalan sell IT Luggage Worlds's Lightest Suitcases which are made with a fibre glass frame. They are available in small (37L capacity), medium (63L) and large (92L) with two and four wheels, ranging from £30-45. Antler also stock some lightweight suitcase ranges.
HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO SAVE MONEY ON FLIGHTS...................
- For cheaper plane tickets look for travel locations that have the most number of flights leaving your local airport. If there are lots of flights going to the same place, airlines compete to give you cheaper plane tickets.
- It's cheaper to book plane tickets at midnight on Tuesday or all day Thursday and avoid Sundays.
- Clear your computer/tablet of cookies and use different browsers i.e. do your research on Google but buy tickets using a different browser such as Internet Explorer. This is because airlines and booking engines are using cookies on their web pages. These track your browser history so that they know what you're interested in and when you go back to them their prices they show will be potentially higher on the routes that you have searched often.
- It's cheaper to travel during the week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, particularly to if you're travelling to the US.
- Beat the January blues by booking a holiday- the cheapest time of year to travel is after January 7th. Spring is also a good time to fly out, specially flying in May from the UK to Thailand. October is another good month to book.
- Sometimes breaking up your journey into single flights are cheaper see STA Travel for more information.
- Don't forget to factor in extra costs on a cheap flight such as higher baggage fees, having to book a hotel in order to catch an early flight, petrol and parking fees at airports or a longer and more expensive cab fare if the airport is further away. If you are breaking up your flight and getting connections you need to factor in meals which may be expensive at the airport or inconvenient to find a place selling food on the go rather than just eating on the plane.
- If you are choosing between two fares that are similarly priced consider which ones has better entertainment choices, which one has more leg room, better food. Check before you go on Hipmunk which will give you an idea of what to expect and identify any potential snags.
No comments:
Post a Comment