How to Pack for a Long Weekend

Recently I planned and took my daughter for her first weekend getaway just us. She packed everything she could including her hiking boots, every polly pocket she had and an entire caboodle full of nail polish. Obviously she needed an intervention.

I am known for my packing skills. I have gone to Italy for 10 days with a carry on and yes, I even had room for my 5 inch heels. So here are my packing rules and tricks of the trade. Sometimes a week-end trip can feel like you need to pack as much as if you were gone for three weeks but there are a few ways you can plan better and have all you need but not overly pack.

1. Start with shoes – I always start with this. Am I walking a lot or sitting? Is this flip-flops or fashion week? Are there cobblestone streets or Uber? This sets the tone for what kind of trip you are on. If your camping your not bringing heels and you automatically know what type of outfits your packing by the shoes you need for your trip.
2. Proper luggage makes all the difference – I learned this hard way but when traveling, choose our luggage and bags wisely. Travel pieces get knocked around and used harshly. whether by your six year old, the bell hand, or the airport luggage belt they take a beating. I personally like hard cases because they are more protected from the elements and rougher handling. If you spend correctly for quality and know how you like to pack you can get custom insert bags for all sizes of hard cases and suitcases.
3. Make-up/travel size – It takes a little extra planning but I usually have deodorant, shampoo’s, face masks, vitamins and makeup in travel size bottles. This is also when I use face wipes instead of my normal bottle of cleanser for make-up removal. This keeps everything smaller and so I can usually pack a pocket book and or my jewelry in my make-up bag as well. When it is a weekend trip this is easy to do and you don’t run out. I also ver go without my travel Hydration lotion.
4. Lay out outfits by day. Try and stay within a color scheme for the duration of your trip time. This always helps with packing multiple outfits because you can you the same jacket, shoes, purse and jewelry for multiple outfits. Hair clips, glasses, watch and bags can seamlessly match and you can overlap on multiple pieces. Pick red white and black and stick to those three colors for the entire three days ( I sometimes go all out and match my pjs and swim suit colors too. Choose, tan, pink and green, navy, and gold, orange and green, grey and teals. You get the idea. pick no more than three colors.