About packing

Want to look stylish with a limited wardrobe, while keeping space in your luggage for everything you are planning to bring back? Holiday packing is all about optimising.

It’s only May but I’m already making packing lists for the summer holiday. I know it’s early, but I also know I’m not alone. It’s a first word problem and yet a lot of us agonise about it.

If you are from team “I don’t care I look like a tourist” you are welcome to stop reading now. Maybe you have the key to happiness in life and the rest of us are missing out. I don’t say that ironically, I’m secretly jealous.

Sadly, I’m from team “I find it uplifting to see myself looking good in my clothes”, and that comes with a certain amount of dedication and effort when you plan your travels.

Choosing what to pack for a holiday is something I absolutely stress about. It means planning many outfits ahead, when on my daily life, I dress depending on the mood. It also means doing it with as little weight and volume as possible.

I want to have space to pack everything I want to bring back to Singapore. My travel purchases end up being some of my most precious possessions, so I will not hold back on holiday shopping.

Packing mindfully is of the essence, and looking acceptable, even stylish, while I’m away from my extended closet actually elevates my holiday.

Who has not ever pictured themselves on a lounger wearing the most giagantic straw hat? That hat that will never be part of any practical packing plan?

Holiday outfits matter, but it doesn’t matter how many times I have done it, I always struggle with packing. I probably end up packing too many “just in cases”, but I think through the years I have kind of optimised my process. So here are some of my tricks, and some that I borrowed, to make this task a little less dreadful.

1/ The travel outfit

Luckily, I don’t agonise about this anymore. I have 3 travel outfits on rotation. I try not to wear anything synthetic on flights. The more breathable the better. This is one of my regulars:

• I wear a dark large top that could hide an accidental spill. I need it to be long to cover my lower back well. To avoid looking too Gen Z I look for sweaters that are narrow on the top and wide at the bottom.

  
  

• Under that, I wear a t-shirt and sometimes an inner too. It can get very hot in the plane before take off and then very cold during the flight.

  
  

• I also carry a small scarf to cover my neck and even my head if it gets baltic. In very cold flights, I have even put my feet inside the plastic bag where the blanket comes. It works. Don’t destroy it and keep it in the pocket. Just in case.

  
  

• These Cotton On linen/cotton leopard palazzo pants on top, have been to many flights with me. They don’t show any wrinkle or stain. They are not too thin so they are ok for winter. They have an elasticated waist band too. Essential.

  
  

• I swell like a balloon on a flight so I need everything to be roomy and I need shoes to be a size bigger. More about the trainers later.

  
  

• I also wear compressions socks and sometimes even socks that go over the knee. That helps to stay warm when arriving to a cold country with a pair of linen trousers and safe form DVT.

  
  

• I fill the shoulder handbag I have chosen for the holidays with things I’m not going to use during the trip, and then I put it inside my backpack. This way I can operate “hands free” with the children. A backpack that has space for my water bottle, a spare outfit, snacks and toiletries. Also my noise cancelling headphones for when my kids reach the point of killing each.

  
  

My backpack doubles up as a foot rest in when placed under the seat in front, because we travel in economy dear readers. Usually Emirates, which is nice, but it’s still economy.

If you are not going to be able to wash any clothing you must absolutely pack one travel outfit for each leg of the journey. Those clothes, after a long flight, you just want to burn them as soon as you arrive to your destination. Well, maybe just fold them and put them in a plastic bag with a toxic hazard sticker on it, ready to be forgotten until you get back.

A friend of mine swears by the Scrubba travel wash bag. She takes laundry sheets and uses 1/4 of a sheet to wash essentials in this great gadget. Next time I travel somewhere I don’t have easy access to a washing machine I’ll get one. Because the cost of washing clothes in a hotel is just daylight robbery. I would never.

2/ The emergency kit

My husband changes his clothes in flight connections. How posh of him, but I just bring a change of clothes in my hand luggage for me and the kids, in case there’s any accidents, missed flight connections or delays of suitcases arriving at destination.

All of these scenarios have happened before and my emergency kit saved me.

This is a non negotiable. I have to travel with my emergency clothing at reach, other emergency items like snacks and chargers, and I also carry a tiny set of toiletries.

You need a carry on suitcase for all of this. There’s no other way. I prefer a soft one so I can really optimise it (read stuff it) on the way back with items that would break if checked in. Like those Costa Nova ceramics that cost an arm and a leg in House of Anli and you can get in Europe for 1/3 of the price.

I like an outside pocket in my cabin suitcase to take electronics and toiletries in and out easily, and I want my suitcase to be very very light when empty. I use it to put my legs up in flight connections too so it needs to be sturdy.

I like this one from Primark because you can easily open just the top zip and take your coat out without having to do the whole show of bringing your suitcase (and yourself) down to the floor to open it fully.

When I travel back home in winter I only carry a squeezable dawn coat because I have all my coats there. In summer I carry a compact raincoat. This little hack makes me feel like I’m the most efficient traveler. Like a black belt six sigma of packing. You are left to disembark the plane in the middle of the tarmac and it’s raining? No problem. Open the zip a bit, pull out, shake shake and there’s your coat in the blink of an eye.

Yes. It has happened too.

Here’s what goes in my mini toiletries bag:

• A good thick ultra moisturising face cream. I apply SKII generously in Changi Airport Duty free, but then I need to re-apply often or my skin literally will peal off my face.

• A facial mist, for the same purpose . It gives a nice refreshing feeling.

• A small tub of body lotion. My forearms and shins flake too, even if I moisturise before leaving.

• Eye drops for dry itchy tired eyes from too much screen time.

• You get it: it’s very dry on the plane.

• I use a miniature Eucerin Aquaphor tub as lipbalm because it serves for lips, burns, rashes, cuts any lots more.

• An essential oil roll on. For those times when you have someone really stinky nearby. I use Axe oil. It helps for headaches too.

• My own little perfume bottle. Samples work. Jo Malone minis.

• Ibuprofen, Rennie, a cold medication and and an antihistamine. Nothing worse than getting sick on a plane.

• Period products in a separate pouch.

• Loop earplugs. Much more comfortable than foam ones.

• Hand sanitiser, for the hands… and to remove bacteria that causes smell in the underarms.

• Spray travel size deodorant (glass one is too heavy).

• Travel toothbrush and toothpaste. As compact as possible.

• Shower gel for emergencies. Having to use cheap soap bar form a transit hotel to wash my body will definitely make all my skin fall off. Molton Brown gives miniatures with every purchase and I save them for this. This little luxury brightens my existence if I get stranded.

2/ Pack 4 times more tops than bottoms

Now that the basics for survival are covered let’s tackle the most important part. The reason I’m actually writing this: The clothes.

For a holiday in spring/fall/winter weather, I would pack two trousers only. A pair of dark jeans and a pair of white jeans. That’s it.

For a summer one I would take a pair of light denim jeans and 2 pairs of shorts. A dark one that could be denim, black or dark brown, and a light one that could be beige or white. I’m doing dark brown and white this year because it’s the trend and the Zara mom shorts won me over.

I don’t believe in the “oh so hyped about” Sudoku packing method. Tops get dirty with one use and bottoms don’t. You can reuse them several times so you can carry more tops and less bottoms and have more outfits. So I pack 4 times more tops and bottoms.

What I do believe in is in the Konmari folding method, for small items, and in rolling bigger items. I also pack kids clothes by outfit and use Ikea SKUBB drawer organisers. They go from the suitcase to the closet and back to the suitcase.

If I’m going to travel in a car, I would never use suitcases. I would always use Ikea bags. Yes, the old FRAKTA blue ones. Zero glam but 100% practical and sturdy. I have even checked them into planes. But when they released the classier (yet not exactly as practical) GÖRSNYGG, I upgraded.

After choosing my 2 bottoms, then I would pack 8 tops that would go with any of those. You can also layer tops if it’s colder, and in winter you can alternate two outfits for 4 days just changing the inner layer.

More tops will give you more outfits using the same bottoms.

In summer it would be 8 tops and I would also add 3 dresses. Summer clothing take less space so there’s no need to be so spartan.

It’s also wise to take those tops, socks, even sandals you are not sure you want to keep anymore when you finish your trip. In developing countries I have given these items to the room service staff. In Cuba I exchanged them for paintings in the local market.

An absolute essential for holiday packing for me is a clothes refreshing spray

Think of it as an equivalent for clothes to dry shampoo for your hair. It’s not going to replace a good wash but it is going to give you one more day of semi decent hair, or wear.

At the end of the day my travel style is quite minimalistic and nearly everything is monochrome. Monochrome is always stylish, nevertheless, that would be a bit too boring for me that’s why I add…

3/ “The one print”

I love prints. I’m also not that good a putting together outfits (or interiors) just using texture, so I end up using prints to dress things up.

But when it comes to matching prints I’m quite conservative, so I limit my print to one per outfit. When you have limited items, the holiday capsule wardrobe gets defined by “the one print”.

“The one print” can be a pair of trousers or a top of a scarf, It an also be a heavy texture instead of a print.

I just have one “difficult” item in my selection and that goes with every other “easy” block or plain item.

For example I made a capsule of clothes to keep at my parents’ house. We’ve had our luggage lost several times and I wanted to have some winter basis and summer basics there.

“The one print” I chose was my “homeless” checkered oversized H&M coat. It’s grey and black. Everything else I put in that capsule was plain. I chose mustard and a few pinks to break the monochrome look. I know nobody wants to look at a wool coat in May (or in the tropics) but you get the point.

4/The sacrificial trainers and other shoes

I bought a pair of traveling trainers that turned out to be one of my best purchases ever. The was no need to sacrifice them after the holiday because they are as sturdy as can be. They cost me S$48. If that’s not a bargain I don’t know what else is.

The idea was that they had to be wide and well cushioned. I wanted an Adidas classic design, and at least half a size bigger than my usual to accommodate swelling on the flight.

To be honest, I went to Queenstown shopping centre looking for a pair of discounted or last season Adidas Samba but I found something even better (and cheaper). A pair of Adidas Barreda.

Wider, roomy, more sturdy and most importantly: synthetic. That means they are waterproof and you can clean them with a wet wipe. I read somewhere that Sambas are so 2024 and Barredas are the new thing. I really don’t know about that but I do know they are not sacrificial trainers.

They are my dressy trainers.

The kind of trainers you can wear at night with a simple black dress and a chunky necklace and look like you are cool and interesting.

Of course it would not be me if I didn’t carry a pair of Birkenstocks in my holiday packing. They serve as sandals, walking shoes for sightseeing and flip flops for the beach or pool. Even as home slippers with, dare I say it, socks. If it’s cold. Indoors only and among family.

They would be my everyday shoe in the summer holidays, but I also carry one pair one of dressy flats. Pretty Ballerinas or Maryjanes. My favourite at the moment are the Flabelus Theresa in pink, so I will be bringing those with me this time around. You can always brighten up a monochrome outfit with a pair of colourful shoes.

Red flats are in this season but I would usually prefer a soft shade of berry pink to red.

5/ Accessories = Minimal

Shoes and handbags take a lot of space in the suitcase so I keep those very minimal. I bring a white smaller shoulder bag inside my travel backpack and one big black Longchamp Le Pliage tote bag.

If you don’t have one of these it’s one of those items I recommend 100%. Because it’s light, it doesn’t take space folded and it’s classy and weather proof. I carry this in my cabin luggage in case there’s some irresistible duty free shopping. I have to confess I have 3 of these in different colours. I have collected them over the years.

You can buy yours here, or make it your next irresistible duty free shopping purchase.

I’m not a big accessories person beyond handbags. I actually have the tendency to wear the same jewellery for weeks. Maybe I change it once a month, unless I have a special occasion.

I know jewellery doesn’t take space in your luggage, but whenever I have bothered to curate a selection of earrings, necklaces and bracelets to wear during my holidays they have remained untouched. Always. So I don’t bother anymore. I keep my jewellery minimal too. What I would wear on the flight is what I wear that for the whole trip.

But I will bring a selection of glasses and sunglasses. I give myself that luxury.

Finally, we have reached the end of this VERY long article that I hope you have found useful. If you have any other optimising suggestions please send them over. I’m Kaizen, constantly improving my efficiency.

I know it’s a lot of information but who doesn’t like some good hacks? Also, did you know you can actually listen to posts on Substack? Look for the play sign on the top right corner in the mobile app. One day I might record myself narrating them, but for now, this is it.

Wether you are going near or far or nowhere at all, I hope you have an enjoyable summer break.

Until next time.

XoXo.