When travelling, the thought of leaving the comfort of your home is always on your mind. Even if you are going for a vacation, you have to think of the things you will be missing back at home. Subconsciously, most people always translate this into packing as many things as possible. The concept of light packing is not easy, especially when you are travelling for a period more than one week. You need to take care of your clothing, cosmetics, electronics and general tools. To organize all these essentials into a single light pack requires some tricks. Before we get into the tricks, you must realize that light packing requires sacrifice. This is not an emotional process, but rather an essential one. Light packing entails taking with you the necessary stuff and not the stuff you love. Here are the five rules that will help you obtain a light package for your journey.

Rule 1: Determine Your Airline Guidelines
The size and weight of the language you are going to carry have everything to do with your airline guidelines. Some airlines will allow you to use a 30kg suitcase while the smaller ones will not let you have luggage larger than 25kg. Before you start packing, determine the weight and size requirements then plan according to your carrying capacity. If you are planning to pack light for a week’s trip, then a 20kg case is more than enough. All you need to do is get everything right. One thing to be careful of is if you have connecting flights on different airlines as they may have different rules with regards to luggage weights. This is most important if you’re on a tight budget as those fees can really take a bit out of your holiday money.

Rule 2: Pack Ahead of Time
It is advisable to do your packing at least one day prior to your travelling date. Before you embark on your packing, create a checklist. Your checklist should mainly be made up of essentials. Once you are done with the essentials, you can always throw in some extras. Packing early will help you organize your language such that every item goes into the right place. Organizing your items is the key to utilizing space.

Rule 3: Pack Tight
Though it may sound confusing, pack light usually refers to volume rather than weight even though the former tends to dictate the latter either way. So taking that into account, the first rule of pack light is pack tight. Rolling your clothes allows you to compress them much further than you would be able to by simply folding them, so doing this with all applicable clothes, like t-shirts, jeans etc, you will be able to use the space in your bag much more efficiently.

Rule 4: Stick to Neutral Colours
It is wise to stick to neutral colours such as black, white and brown. The benefit being, you could actually wear the same cloth for more than one day without causing a fuss. Bright colours such as yellow create attention and are likely to get dirty easily. If you are travelling for a business trip, black and white colours always work out for an official look.

Rule 5: Avoid Large Incompressible Items
With every item you pack, the first question should be ‘Will I need this?’, which is a question that is even more important to ask if it is a heavy or bulky item. For example, shoes are a big space hog, especially for men. The best possible set up is to have one pair of all day every day shoes, and one pair for going out that can pass as smart casual.  This means, one pair will be on your feet and only one pair in the bag. Other items to avoid include lotions and shampoos. When packing light, you should not pack any liquid substance such as gels and lotions that is larger than 100ml. If anything, you will be back home in a short while. A litre of body lotion is not necessary. Cary your liquid substances in sachets instead of bottles and make sure that they are not kept deep within the bag.

Bottom Line
Packing light is a matter of discipline and forethought. You need to train yourself on restricting the urge to pack everything. Sometimes, your journey is the best time to be innovative and use all your life hacks. For instance, instead of packing several pairs of shorts, you could use your rollover pants as shorts in some cases. Avoid packing food substances together with your clothes. It is advisable to get on board when you have eaten and avoid eating on the way. If you have to carry food substances, pack them in a different language. One thing you always have to remember is that travelling is not the end of your life, you will have to come back home.