- 10 tips on how to pack better for travel right now.
I'm Tom, the founder of Pack Hacker, and we love
helping people optimize their travel experience
with reviews, guides and video content just like this.
So if you're new to the channel, consider subscribing.
I've even spent two years living out of one singular
40 liter backpack, so I definitely have
a lot of experience in this arena.
Let's jump into the video.
[upbeat music playing]
Before we get going I want to mention that this video
is sponsored by onlywhatmatters.com,
an online community for aspiring minimalists.
Mac, the founder, is all about teaching folks
to live better with less stuff.
He's big on closet audits, which enable you to
declutter your wardrobe and add more simplicity
to your everyday life.
Feel free to join me in the community.
I've got a link in the description below.
Let's get into tip number one.
One of the best ways to decide what you want to take
with you on a trip, and what you want to leave at home,
is to just lay everything out in front of you -
either on the table or even the floor.
Maybe even your bed.
With this you have a big picture view on what
you want to take with you, what you can leave behind,
and maybe what you need a little bit more of.
So when you have it all laid out, it's a lot easier
to see all that and notice the patterns you have
going on in your selections.
Pro tip - look at everything in front of you and
try to cut it in half. Just take out one item,
after item, after item and pretty soon you'll notice
that you make it a lot more minimal.
Last thing you want to do is to have an overweight pack
and be that person in the airport rummaging through
everything trying to save space - to either
fit your bag in as a carry-on, or trying to take
even more things out so that you can properly check your bag
based on the airline regulation.
With everything in front of you it becomes easier to pick
an organization style that's going to work for you.
So here are a couple that have worked for us.
First - frequency of use.
Something that you use very often - say your phone.
Makes sense to have that in a quick-access pocket
on your bag or luggage, maybe even your pocket.
Or, like a fanny pack or a sling.
You don't want to have that thing, you know,
in your bag in a packing cube in another pouch.
It just doesn't make sense,
so really think through your items.
If there's a jacket that's going to be warm
for the most part, the second leg of your trip is maybe
a little bit colder - put that jacket way at the bottom
of your bag, stuff it out of the way.
Out of sight, out of mind.
You save a lot more room for things
that you want quicker access to.
Secondly - you can sort by item type.
It's good to keep light products with one another.
So if you keep your socks with your underwear,
it just makes sense.
You keep your long sleeve shirt with your sweatshirt
with your jacket, keep that warm stuff compartmentalized
in itself, maybe even a scarf or some gloves in there too.
That'll help you think through the organization
if you think in themes of item types.
And next - outfit packages.
Consider putting items that are used
in conjunction together with each other.
For instance, if you're heading to a nicer dinner
maybe there's a separate cube or compartment
where you keep all your nicer clothing.
Whereas if you're going to the gym, there's a spot
in your pack for all of that as well.
This is kind of like the item-based approach,
however it's different in the fact that it's contextual.
So it's more about the activity that you're
going to be doing with that gear versus
holding like things with one another.
So again, those are three ways that have worked for us
in how to organize things, your mileage may vary.
Compartmentalize your gear.
Think about storing everything in your bag within
packing cubes or pouches, that keeps things
a lot more organized overall.
Even a plastic grocery bag or a Ziploc bag can work wonders
if you have it laying around your house;
you don't even have to buy anything new.
This helps with the previous tip and keeps things
neat and very easy to access.
We recommend strong and lightweight packing cubes,
especially if there is compression technology.
Packing cubes and pouches come in many different sizes
and allow you to cater specific items to put inside.
Grab a smaller packing cube for socks and underwear.
A larger cube for pants, jackets, and sweaters.
Or medium-size cubes to compartmentalize complete outfits.
We've typically found that rolling clothing saves
the most space within a cube. And the cube can
take care of the rest, and really hold its shape
and make it a lot easier to pack and organize in your bag.
It's kind of like Tetris, it's fun.
Small pouches are also good for organizing your tech gear,
your toiletries, and any small medicines or small things
that you need to carry with you when you're on the road.
For a quick pro tip - use packing cubes and organizers
of different colors. This will help you create
mental models in your head so you know where things are
within your pack just by remembering
those couple of colors in your head.
Consider multi-functional items.
Take an inventory of what you've packed and really look
for things that can serve multiple purposes.
For instance a coat, especially a lighter weight
compressible one can double as a pillow when
you're on the road if you're in a pinch.
Take inventory of your cables.
The less you bring with you, overall,
the better it's going to be. So look for
small, tiny little conversion pieces.
For instance if you have a small USBC to USBA adapter,
it's a lot better than taking two giant cords with you.
Better to pack lighter weight overall.
If you're a photographer, consider bringing zoom lenses
instead of lenses with a fixed focal length.
And that's going to save a lot of space
and add versatility, especially if you're trying
to travel lightweight and minimally.
Also, pick up a buff.
It's one of our favorite lightweight and multi-functional
items that you can bring with you on the road.
You can use it as a scarf like I have here,
you can also use it as a hat.
You take this, you twist it, you fold it over itself,
and boom! You've got a little skull cap.
Look at that.
I'm not going to put it on 'cause
it's going to ruin my amazing hair.
Also, you can use it as a face mask to block the light
if you want to take a nap. So ... I'm just gonna.
[lullaby]
And then you do not have to have a dedicated sleeping mask.
And that's a plus - two for one.
Pro tip - despite all the paring down and minimizing,
sometimes it's good to have some redundancy if an item
or a piece of clothing is really important to you.
And that's a very personal choice. But if you're
in more of a remote area and it's for a long duration,
you might want to think about that a little bit more.
If you're in a city center where you have easy access
to things, that's not as big of a deal.
Get some Merino wool.
It is the optimal clothing for travel.
I personally wear it every day. So my buff right here
is wool, my shirt is wool, my socks are wool,
my underwear is wool as well - so I definitely love it
and I've integrated it into my everyday life
even when I'm not traveling.
It's nature's magic fabric - soft, comfortable,
and antimicrobial - which means it doesn't stink as much
when you're on the road.
Plus, when you bring a Merino tee instead of a couple
cotton tees, you can save space and weight in your pack and
potentially avoid overages in your baggage fees if you have
to check bags or carry them on and they weigh too much.
When I was on the road for two years I had one Merino wool
button up and four Merino wool t-shirts, four pairs of
Merino wool boxers and four pairs of Merino socks.
If I was going to do this again
I would probably cut that in half.
With two of everything it is simple to wear one thing
and one wash another, and leave it to dry while you're
out for the day from your hostel, hotel, Airbnb, whatever.
You can wear Merino many days before it requires a wash,
especially if it's from a quality brand. And from a
cost per wear perspective, if it's from a quality brand,
it can be up there as well because Merino is a tad expensive.
But it's justifiable if you want to carry less,
wear things for longer between washes, and seriously,
we love this stuff. That's why we created an entire guide
on Merino wool over at packhacker.com.
So be sure to check that out as well.
Pro tip - nobody cares if you're wearing the same thing
day after day, especially when you're traveling.
And even if they do notice, it's likely that they won't care
as long as you don't smell super bad. And that's
what's great about Merino - it stays fresh for a lot longer.
Keep everything fresh.
Between long flights and unplanned adventures there's
going to be times where you're not going to be able to shower
and you're going to be a little bit grimier than usual.
And Merino wool will definitely help out with that.
We also like to have, like, pack fresheners
within our bags and our luggage.
Although there are a ton of recommendations out there
to carry along dryer sheets, we've personally found
that wooden cedar chips are the best option for us,
especially if you like that scent.
The smell will last longer than the dryer sheet
while you're on the road.
Also we just prefer the scent of something natural
instead of something super synthetic.
Some people also like to carry essential oils with them -
lavender oil or potpourri sachets as well -
and that's totally fine; your mileage may vary
based on the scents that you prefer.
When you're on the road your bag and your luggage
is pretty much your constant in your life.
It's basically your home, so why not try to keep that fresh?
And one pro tip with these cedar chips - it's a natural
deterrent for bugs and critters that like to get into
your bag and chomp away at your clothes and things
like that, especially Merino wool. So if you keep
the cedar in there it can help deter those little critters
from chomping away at your stuff.
Get some solid soap.
So we have covered on how to keep your bag fresh,
well, how about keeping yourself fresh
when you're on the road?
Shampoo bars can do wonders.
They have a small form factor so
they don't take up too much space.
They're highly concentrated and they typically
last quite a long time.
They are multi-use when you're on the road.
So use it for shampoo, soaking your body,
you can even use it for washing dishes or laundry
if you're in a pinch, depending on the soap that you choose.
And the best part? They're a solid - which means
it's easy to get through TSA's liquid allowance
in airports around the world.
Concentrated liquid Castile soap also works really well -
say something like Dr. Bronner's. However, that counts
against your liquid allowance. And when you're going
through TSA, you're getting on an airplane,
some of the pressure changes, and there's always -
even if you're just walking around, like
your neighborhood - there's always a chance that
whatever tube or thing that you have that liquid soap in
can bust open and spill around the contents of
what's in your luggage or your bag.
Even if you're going on a short weekend trip we'd still
recommend bringing a shampoo bar or liquid soap
along with you. It doesn't take up a lot of space
and you'll be glad to have it when you need it,
especially if you're on some unexpected delays.
Pro tip - a more fragrant shampoo bar can actually
do a great job at keeping your pack fresh
in addition, or in place of, those cedar chips that we
talked about in the last tip.
Bring a compact bag.
If you're going one bag traveling - either with a backpack
or some luggage - it's good to have a smaller, packable,
compressible bag you can keep with you and use with you
as you get to your destination.
So whether it's a packable day pack, a tote bag,
or a reusable grocery bag - or maybe even
one of those bags that you see at Lululemon for instance,
where they give you the super fancy bag with
whatever it is you're buying and then you've got like,
50 of 'em at home and you don't know what to do with them?
Well, just bring one on your trip
and then use it as your out and about.
If you're cafe hopping and doing the digital nomad thing,
maybe you have a packable day pack and can use it
with a padded laptop sleeve to hold your tech gear -
keyboard, mouse, laptop, things that you need
at the coffee shop to work for the day.
If you're out for a hike or exploring the city maybe
bring your phone, a battery pack for charging,
a map, some snacks, and a water.
It's great to have that stuff with you,
and all the essentials with you, when you don't have to
carry around your giant luggage or your massive
one-bag travel backpack.
Pro tip - we have all been there, we want to take home
some souvenirs for our friends and our family,
but our luggage is full.
Well if you have a packable pack you can just
take that out, unravel it, whatever, put your souvenirs
in there and use that as your personal item
when you're flying home, depending on your airline.
And then boom! You don't have to check a bag,
you don't have to ship anything, and then you are just
good to go, friends and family will just be thrilled.
They'll love it.
Plan your flight.
Having all items close to you
on the trip is an underrated perk.
If you're using a packing cube and a pouch method
inside of your bag, consider making those packing cubes
a sling or some type of fanny pack instead.
Slings come in many different sizes and they're perfect
for the road because they can hold just about
the right amount of stuff you want to
carry with you on a small excursion.
It's basically a fanny pack with a larger strap
that you can wear messenger style.
Some examples of what you can bring along
as your essentials in flight are the following ideas:
water, drinks, and snacks. An eye mask and earplugs
to help you sleep, USB cable, headphones, your phone,
and a cord to plug into the seat monitor in front of you
for charging. A notepad and pen for any wild ideas
that come to you in the air, plus you'll like having that pen
when it comes time to fill out the customs forms
before you arrive at your destination if you are
going to a different country rather than your own.
Get creative, you can definitely put a lot of stuff in here.
I personally like putting everything that are in my pockets
inside of the sling. That way when I get to
the airport checkpoint, go through security,
instead of emptying your pockets, taking everything off,
you just already have it in your sling.
Pop that through security and you are good to go.
Strategize to save money.
A little bit of planning will help you save
some cash while you're on the road.
Starting with food.
Eating on the road - especially in transit - is usually
inconvenient, unhealthy, and expensive.
On a plane trip you need to wait for specific times to eat,
and if it's a short enough flight you may not even
be able to eat at all. Always good to prepare
and bring some snacks along with you.
For optimal packing we recommend high calorie,
high density, and low weight non-perishable foods.
You'll get the most bang for your buck this way,
and generally the space and weight to usage ratio is great.
For example - nuts, trail mix, and protein bars
seem to do really well on the road.
Next up - being prepared with electronic cords,
international converters, SIM cards, and cables is great.
Oftentimes, products sold at airports or more generally
touristy areas are overly expensive and cheaply made.
Take some time to think through your needs on the road.
Your wallet will thank you.
Consider loading up your bandwidth hungry content at home
locally on your devices before you leave for your trips -
whether it's an eBook on your Kindle or your iPad
or video content, movies, tv shows, et cetera.
Load all that up at home.
In flight and at a hotel, speeds can be quite low.
In the worst case scenario you'll be charged for either
megabytes or gigabytes of bandwidth that you've used.
Not to mention international phone plans or temporary
data plans with SIM cards that have a bandwidth cap.
There are a ton of different ways to plan and save money -
these are just three examples.
And for a quick pro tip - be sure to bring your own
empty water bottle through TSA security checkpoint,
fill it up with water after you get through,
and that's going to save you at least three bucks every trip.
Practice your trip.
We often get asked what the best travel backpack is
or what the best travel gear is, and we love and we're
honored to be experts in this space.
However, at the end of the day it's all about you -
your travel style, and what
uniquely fits into your lifestyle.
With all of this, the best advice we can give
is to practice your trip beforehand.
Load everything up in your bag a week before you leave.
Take it to work with you.
Only use the gear that's inside for
an entire week or two, maybe even a month.
At the end of the week, take a look back at what
you used a lot, what you didn't use.
Cut things out, add things in, iterate and test.
Coming from me, a person that's lived out of a backpack
for nearly two years, try to cut some of the clutter
out of your life, you'll definitely thank yourself for it.
Pro tip - be mindful of what you buy.
You probably don't need to go out and buy that
shiny new thing every couple of months.
Starting with what you have and slowly upgrading
with high quality items that have high durability and last
a long time, is one of the best ways to go about things.
Thanks for checking this out, we would love to know
your favorite travel tips in the comments below.
Be sure to head over to onlywhatmatters.com
and join me for advice and conversation on
how to simplify not only your packing and travel style,
but simplifying other aspects of your life as well.
Thanks for taking a look at this video,
we'll see you the next one.
The ... you ... [trills tongue]
Or medium sized cubes to commentalize... [laughs]
Before we get going I want to mention zzt...
this video ... [trills tongue]