Hi Reader,

One thing we have probably learnt over the years of travelling is that we have been guilty of overpacking, especially clothes and shoes.

If we take our recent trip to Sri Lanka, for example. We would normally pack way too many clothes and shoes, because we would have an outfit for every day and every eventuality.

Does this sound familiar?

But what we have come to realise in more recent years is that you don’t need to pack as much as you probably think.

It might sound obvious, but when you’re standing in front of the wardrobe trying to decide what to take, it isn’t long before you start thinking:

“What if I need this?”

“I might wear that.”

“I’ll take this just in case.”

And before you know it, your suitcase is full.

So how do we decide what actually goes in our bag?

One thing we’ve started doing is asking ourselves:

“When am I actually going to use this?”

Not might we use it.

Not what if we need it.

But when are we actually going to use it?

If we’re struggling to come up with an answer, then it probably doesn’t need to come with us.

Of course, there are some things that are worth packing even if you hope you won’t need them.

We’ve learnt that the hard way with waterproof clothing.

We’ve forgotten to take waterproof clothing with us before, including on trips to Salobreña and Krakow, and of course, it rained.

And there’s nothing quite like getting caught in the rain to make you wish you had packed that waterproof jacket!

So we’re not saying you should pack as little as possible.

It’s about packing the right things.

Something else we’ve become a big fan of is packing cubes.

They keep everything super tidy, make it easier to find what we’re looking for, and they also help us make better use of the space in our luggage.

We find it much easier to organise our clothes into different packing cubes rather than having everything thrown into the suitcase.

And when we’re travelling for longer, especially when we know we can wash our clothes, we can simply pack less and reuse what we already have.

The biggest thing we’ve learnt is that you don’t need to pack for every possible situation.

Think about where you’re going, what the weather is likely to be like, what you’ll actually be doing, and whether you’ll have the opportunity to wash your clothes.

That can make a surprisingly big difference to how much you end up taking with you.

We’ve put together more of our packing tips, including some of the things we’ve learnt from our own travels, and the rule of threes, you can find this in our detailed guide on….

​What to pack for a trip​

Hopefully, it’ll help you avoid the dreaded “how am I going to fit all of this in my suitcase?” moment before your next trip.

And if you have any packing tips that you swear by, we’d love to hear them.

Just hit reply and let us know.

Happy travelling

Bev & Shams

If you’re travelling abroad, don’t forget to sort your mobile data. We use Saily eSIM recently on our trip to Sri Lanka, it enabled us to stay connected without having to worry about expensive roaming charges, and it’s become one of our travel essentials.

Stay connected with Saily​

Email: bev@bevandshams.com

Website: www.bevandshams.com​

FREE 5 Step trip planning checklist – It has everything you need to plan your next trip from start to finish

​Download it here​

Useful links:​

Resources: www.bevandshams.com/travel-resources/​