As an avid travel enthusiast, whether I'm heading out for my next getaway or international trip; the one thing I'm always doing is packing last minute. It's a very bad habit that I've been unsuccessful in breaking. This resulted in me coming up with a strategy that allows me to pack all of my essentials and even some extra's in three hours or less. Hey, I always say, if you can't beat it, then work with it.
While I will be describing how I specifically packed for this trip, feel free to tailor this method to your needs. Everything mentioned can easily be substituted, added to or removed altogether, to account for what works best for you.
On my most recent trip to Washington D.C. I will go into detail about how I used my travel essentials checklist as well as my strategy on how to pack everything you need and along some extra's so you don't leave anything out. It was literally the night before I was supposed to leave and I assumed that because this trip was a few hours away, in another state I had more time than I actually did, to pack.
I started packing my bags with what I call the "inside-out" method. This means I packed my clothes, toiletries and electronics, from what was directly touching my body first, and worked my way out from there. For the clothing, I began with the underwear, bra's socks, pajamas and head-wraps and systematically worked my way to the clothing I would wear outside.
I took (6) pairs of underwear, (3) pairs of bra's and socks and (2) headwraps. one for bed and the other for outerwear. After putting that away I then grabbed (2) bathing suits, (3) dresses, (2) Pants, (2) skirts and (3) pairs of shoes. That didn't include the pair I was already wearing down there.
After the clothing was placed in the suitcase, I then gathered up my toiletries and spent the next 45 minutes sorting through what I needed and was bringing. I used the checklist as a guide to sort through all of the toiletries I wanted to bring and after collecting them into one big pile; I specifically picked the items that were going to be used immediately and the containers were almost empty. This way I finish using the remainder of the product, and lessen the clutter in my home.
I took what was left of my body scrub, tinted moisturizer, travel size face wash, toner, gel moisturizer, (4) sheet masks, (2) travel size eye shadow palettes, (2) lipsticks, (1) lip gloss and (1) chap stick. Followed by (3) roller-ball perfumes that I needed to finish up. I split the storage of these items between a small makeup case and a small container for the face wash and toner.
The remaining miscellaneous items I brought were travel sized body wash, toothpaste, mouthwash, toothbrush and case for it along with my own towel, towel headband, flush able wipes and washrag.
This was in the same small container as the toner and face wash. This entire process from gathering up what I needed and sorting through what I took and what I put back, lasted two hours and fifty-three minutes.
Despite being in a frenzy since I had to go to bed by a certain time as I was driving down the following morning, I was able to sleep peacefully knowing I packed everything I needed.