10 Things you should do to pack a Perfect Travel Wardrobe

You want to arrive at your destination with a set of clean looking clothes; all creased exactly where you want them. Travel does funny things to luggage and clothes do get tossed about. They don’t look as pristine when you open your luggage, as when you packed it. More travelers are now joining the one-bag-travel culture, carrying only what they need. Here’s how you can plan and pack a travel-efficient wardrobe.

1. Pack Anti-Wrinkle Clothing

When you pack clothes for travel, choose dresses made of slim, anti-wrinkle jersey and shirts and trousers made of anti-wrinkle blended cotton.

2. Pack Clothes That Can Be Hand Or Machine Washed

Hotel laundry bills are exorbitant. You don’t want to carry all your delicates and pay through your nose to have them laundered. Pack clothes that can be machine or hand washed, and don’t need ironing or special maintenance. Leave all your designer studs and embellished clothing behind, as these are high maintenance.

3. Roll Clothes Instead Of Folding Them

When you fold clothes, you invariably create creates where you don’t want them. Instead of folding them, roll your clothes into narrow bundles. If you want, you can roll up a newspaper and roll your pants and dresses around the newspaper. Rolled bundles are easy to pack and you can carry several outfits with you in your carryon, avoiding checkin luggage altogether.

4. Take Only What You Need

Evaluate your clothing needs for the entire trip. Do you have a couple of meetings and one social event to attend? See how best you can reuse parts of your wardrobe for these three events. If you are a man, you can wear the same business suit for both meetings and carry a dinner jacket and a snazzy tie for the evening event. If you are a woman, pack a simple black skirt and jacket and a couple of white blouses and an evening wrap and you’re done.

5. Create A Packing List

Create your own personal packing list. Include all the items you absolutely need, no matter where you are. These can be your prescription medications, a few first aid items and so on. List out the items that you need for various occasions at your destination. When you begin, add whatever comes into your mind and then mentally pack these items into your carryon. When you realize it’s not possible to fit them all, start paring down your list into ‘absolutely need’ and ‘want to carry’ items. Soon you’ll get the hang of it.

6. Check The Weather Forecast

Check the weather forecast of your trip’s destination and pack accordingly. You may also want to look at the local culture and customs and take clothing and accessories that are appropriate to wear. People who follow all the ‘light packing’ travel rules without customizing their clothing choices to the destination find that they’re not able to use what they packed.

7. Take Pieces That Can Be Layered

If it’s cold where you’ll be going, take pieces that can be layered, such as a slim turtleneck sweater, a vest and a warm cardigan on top. Don’t carry bulky sweaters or jackets as these only take up space in your carryon.

8. Avoid Taking Dress Clothes

Dress clothes are high maintenance and don’t travel very well. So unless you’re meeting some high flying people for a business dinner, make do with your regular clothes. Just carry one black outfit that looks neat and expensive. That’ll do for evenings out. For a woman, a black dress that can be worn both during the day and the night would be an excellent bet. You can carry a couple of pieces of lightweight statement jewelry and a lightweight sequin shrug jacket or throw-on for a glamorous evening look. No one will know that you’re wearing the same black dress that wore for the meeting in the morning.

9. Check For Hotel Amenities

Contact the hotel you’re booked at and find out what amenities they provide. Do they provide shampoo, a hair dryer, soap, shaving cream, iron and board? You can safely eliminate those items from your list then.

10. Pack Toiletries In Advance

Buy travel toiletry kits and keep them stocked in a waterproof case before your travel. If you are a frequent traveler, it’s helpful to stock more than one travel kit.  Keeping a ready to pack toiletry kit will save you tons of time when you’re packing for travel. Plus, it will save you all the tensions of finding out you don’t have your hair gel or shaving cream when you arrive at your destination. Be sure you don’t fill in bottles to the top with liquid, or they will expand and overflow due to air pressure on the flight.