I am sure many of you are looking forward to jetting off on your holidays, although with the weather we are having at home at the moment in my opinion there is no better place to be than Fermanagh. Packing for holidays can be a nightmare as you don’t want to overload your suitcase but at the same time you need to be sure you have enough with you for all eventualities.
This year rather than jetting off to a resort somewhere I have decided to go on a city break, take in some scenery, soak up a bit of culture and of course do as much shopping as I can. The problem is however that when I go on a city break I always take a small suitcase, which then leads to the problem of having to drastically reduce what I take away with me and also having enough room to bring new things home.
I don’t know about everyone else but I always find packing for a weekend or a few days away a lot more difficult than for a week or a fortnight’s holiday. At least with a longer break you can pack in as much as your weight restrictions will allow. With a City break it just doesn’t make sense to lug a massive suitcase away with you when you are only away for a short time. Therefore you need to limit yourself and make the best use of the little space you have in your suitcase.
The trick for successful packing is to opt for day to night outfits. Start off with your basics like one or two dressy tops and one or two casual tops, one dressy and one more casual cardigan in case the weather isn’t what you expect or cooler in the evenings. As I write this I am thinking about my own packing and by the time this article has been published I will be in Barcelona.
When you have the basics worked out then think about items of clothing that you can wear day to night and also bear in mind that you may want to get really dressed up one or two nights. I always pack a maxi dress, which can be dressed down during the day with flat sandals and sunglasses and even a hat and then glammed up in the evening with a pair of wedge sandals some nice jewellery and your hair and makeup done.
Try packing items that don’t take up too much room in the suitcase such as skirts and shorts. These can also be worn day to night if you team them with flats and a casual top during the day and change the look with a dressy top and heels for the evening. You don’t have to wear the same outfit the whole day but instead rotate and mix and match. So for example if you wear the skirt with a casual top during the day and the maxi dress in the evening, then the next day wear the shorts with a casual top during the day and the skirt again that evening with a dressy top and heels.
Packing in this way will give you at least six different outfit options simply by mixing and matching and you will always have your outfits planned for each day and evening, which saves time running around your hotel room trying to decide what to wear.
I always make sure to pack a few pieces of statement jewellery as it really helps to bling up an otherwise plain outfit. I will always pack two pairs of flat sandals as with city breaks you tend to do a lot of walking around and usually just one pair of heels or wedge sandals to suit all outfits for the evening.
Whatever your plans this summer don’t go overboard with your packing, keep it simple by bringing along day to night and mix and match options. This will save a lot of time, give you extra space and give you more time to enjoy your evenings rather than fuss around choosing an outfit.
