Winter vacations certainly take the edge off of Saskatoon's longest season. If you're planning on joining the throngs of people leaving our city for a little break this month, check out our Travel page for some helpful tips, tricks, and inspiration for everything from staying healthy while traveling to the best ways to utilize your smartphone while you're away. Today we thought we would share some tips for something that applies to most any getaway- packing. We've put together some of our favourite packing tips that are sure to make your trip prep simpler and your vacation easier and more enjoyable!
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1. Taking a plane to your destination? Some essentials to keep in your carry on: an empty water bottle to fill up once you're through security, gum to take the edge off of that nasty ear pressure, snacks, and lip balm. Entertainment like books or pre-downloaded movies and games are also key. If you anticipate sleeping on the plane, we also recommend bringing a sleeping mask and a large, light scarf that could be used as a blanket.
2. Doing a multi-city trip or visiting a place that will require you to lug your bags on trains and up staircases? Consider bringing enough clothing for just one week and doing laundry midway through your trip. Spending a couple of hours at a laundromat beats hauling around a massive suitcase (or two)!
3. Before putting anything in your suitcase, lay out the outfits you’d like to wear and analyze which items could be combined in order to remove a couple of pairs of pants or shirts from the mix.
4. Put a shower cap around your shoes to keep dirty soles from touching your clothing in your bag.
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5. You've probably heard that rolling up your clothing items saves space in your suitcase, and it does!. An even better alternative to the traditional folded and stacked method is “filing” your clothing. Fold each item into a rectangle and insert it into your suitcase vertically. This enables you to clearly see what each item in your suitcase is and easily pull out what you need once you arrive at your destination. Gone are the days of having to pull everything out of your suitcase in order to get to something at the bottom! Another tight packing tip: stuff belts in shoes and shove socks anywhere you see a void in your suitcase.
6. Mark your bag FRAGILE if you can. That way, the baggage handlers are likely to put your bag on the top of the pile, and it will then be unloaded first, meaning first off the carousel!
7. Long necklaces can become an unfathomable jumble after being jingled around in your suitcase, even when stored in a pocket or separate case. Avoid this by using empty pill containers to keep necklaces separate! Empty sunglasses cases or pencil cases can also be used to store computer and phone charger cords separately to avoid the inevitable tangle.
8. Throw a couple of plastic grocery bags in your bag- you never know what you’ll need them for, and they are great for wet bathing suits!
9. Place beauty products in the middle of your suitcase to avoid breakage. If you have glass foundation or fragrance bottles that you must bring, consider tucking them inside shoes or inside a rolled up sock.
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10. Consider purchasing packing cubes like these to fit inside your suitcase. This will make it easier to put together outfits as you can separate your items into categories like "tops", "bottoms", "unmentionables", etc. This method also works great when packing for multiple children in one suitcase, as each child's clothing can be put into it's own packing cube. This will make mornings much easier while you're away!
11. Another tip for travelling as a family- save space by combining toiletries into one bag and share items like toothpaste and soap.
12. Packing for a theme park with toddlers and preschoolers? Some things you'll want to be sure to bring: diapers, wipes, snacks, water, spray sunscreen, ziplock bags for wet or dirty clothes or leftover snacks purchased at the park, and a muslin blanket to take the chill off in the morning also serves as a necessary sunshade in the afternoon!
We hope that these tips are helpful to you as you anticipate your trip!
