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Are you one of those people who’s really good at packing? Just super-chill and blithely organized, getting the whole thing done in an hour and leaving your tidy, reasonably-sized suitcase by the door days before the trip? Or are you like me: The kind of person who loses their grip on reality when faced with the task of putting their own clothes into a bag. By nature, I am a terrible packer — the kind who massively overpacks and yet somehow shows up without shoes. But three years ago, I learned one small, simple packing tip that wholly changed that for me. Here it is…
Pack outfits. Not clothes.
Rather than pack in categories (shirts, jeans, dresses, etc.), assemble and pack a whole outfit for each day of your trip — undies, socks, shirt, everything. I picked this up from a parenting Instagram account that the algorithm, in its wisdom, delivered to me while I was scrolling on my phone instead of packing for my cousin’s wedding three years ago. I cannot for the life of me find the original post, but I am genuinely grateful to the woman who kindly, unobnoxiously walked me through it — because, yes, simple as it sounds, I needed step-by-step instructions. If you do too, here you go:
Say you are going to London for four days in December, for a wedding. You’ll need your wedding outfit, two more nice outfits for dinners and such, plus four everyday outfits. An everyday winter outfit might look like: Jeans + turtleneck + sweater + undies and bra + warm socks. Stack the elements together — I like to build it like a sandwich, with the socks and underwear tucked between the jeans and the top, so they don’t get lost — and place in your suitcase (or packing cube, if you’re so inclined). Repeat three times. Now do your fancy outfits. Now your PJs. NOW YOU’RE DONE.
It’s essentially meal-prep, but with clothes, and it has same effect of lifting a world of mental load. No more wondering if you’ve packed enough X or if you’ve got the right Y, or if you’ll have to find a laundromat. Sure, you’ll pack a few extras of certain items — sweaters, maybe tights — but remembering those things is so much easier now that you’ve got the main stuff sorted. Unpacking is a breeze too. And omg, if you have little kids on this trip with you? Life-changing. “We have a dress outfit and a jeans outfit. Which would you like today?” And then you just hand them the outfit — with their tiny socks and underwear already picked out (and not lost in the zipper pocket of your suitcase where you totally forgot you packed them). Plus, they get choices but not unlimited options, which, in my experience, is the difference between contentment and a full-on pre-breakfast meltdown.
It’s been three years since I switched to packing outfits instead of clothes, and I can say, without exaggeration, that this tip has changed my life. Traveling — on my own or with my family — is not only more pleasant, but simply more doable. There’s still stress (not every trip is a vacation, after all), but there’s no more stress over the task of packing, “figuring out” what to wear, or worse, having to buy underwear because I left mine in the dryer at home. (Which has happened. More than once.) For that alone, I’ll be grateful forever.
Have you tried this method before? Any other game-changing packing (or travel) tips I should try?
P.S. More travel stories and tips, including a trick for enjoying big family gatherings, and 10 things Joanna never travels without.
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