How To: Pack for Short Trips (Advice from my Mother)

Tomorrow I am headed on a short trip to Connecticut and New York. I mentioned this is a previous post (actually possibly several), that I am terribly at the concept of "packing light." It's so bad that it has gotten to the point that when I go home during the school year, I just throw clothes into bins and stuff them into the car. Fortunately my mother is a packing expert, and always manages to find the time to help me the night before (or minutes hours before I leave). Here are some of the tips she offered me that hopefully you can apply to any upcoming weekend trip this summer. 




Reduce Everything to 2 Bags • Minimum. Believe me, there is nothing worse than trying to navigate your way around a city looking like a fool with multiple heavy bags and running into people (Thanksgiving in Philly 2013). 

Double Up • Try to bring clothes that can be used for multiple things (ex: running shorts can be worn as pjs one night and then used to run in the next morning). 

Pack by Outfit • There is no point in brining tons of clothes with no outfit to wear them with (these are my mother's words, not mine because I find this really difficult but it works and makes sense). 

Get Rid of Shoes • Really think carefully about each pair you are packing because they are heavy and take up a lot of bulk. There is nothing worse than packing a pair of clunky shoes that you don't wear the whole trip but have to carry around. 

Always Pack More Socks • This is one of my tips, but it's true- you can never have enough socks. 

When in Doubt, Repack • You know that saying to take one thing off before leaving the house? This can kind of be applied to packing. If you are getting to the point where you cannot close any of your bags, try unpacking and narrowing down to the nitty gritty. 

Happy Sunday! Hope you have a great start to the week and happy June!