It’s time for another packing puzzle.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve loaded up my suitcase this summer, from traveling to three cities for the World Cup to Jersey beach trips and a Vermont wedding weekend.
Might as well keep my bags packed and by the door, right?
Wrong.
Every destination is a chance to be creative and have different fashion moments, and you won’t see me compromise that in the name of convenience.
So come along with me, step-by-step, through my packing process to see everything from my mood board to my outfit math, cuts, and more.
🏖️ Step 1: Destination deep dive
Before getting into the specific details of the trip or deciding outfits, I always get a feel for the destination. For favorite spots, I think back to the aesthetic, ambiance, views, and activities. And for new places, I create a Pinterest board to capture the vibe and understand the assignment.
This trip’s destination:
Folly Beach, South Carolina
🧳 Step 2: Get out my suitcase, packing cubes, and airplane basics
You can’t pack without your suitcase, so I start there. I also grab my airplane necessities like personal item, packing cubes, headphones, sleep mask, reusable water bottle, and neck pillow.
⛰️ Step 3: The dumping ground
I don’t waste time neatly packing just yet. Instead, I use a pile method. I go through each room and grab the items I know I’ll be packing, from bathroom bags, to hats, sunglasses, my book, vitamins, snacks, etc., and put them on the floor of my packing room. This allows me to keep track of what I have and what I’m missing.
📝 Step 4: Think through the itinerary
We don’t willy nilly pack items over here. We curate outfits for occasions.
I walk through each day on the itinerary and type in a doc the days and activities that need outfits. If someone else planned the trip, I see what details they can give me. And when I’m still not sure every day’s plan, I think through potential activities, no matter how general, such as a beach day, walk through downtown, or a nice dinner.
👚 Step 5: Take out all possible outfit options
For me, there’s no sense in packing outfit by outfit. Rather, I hang up all my choices so my brain is surrounded by an abundance of options for creativity. This helps with the inevitable pitfall of feeling like I have nothing to wear when an envisioned outfit doesn’t come to fruition.
👗 Step 6: The try on
The worst mistake I could make is not trying on every outfit. Occasionally, something no longer fits well or it doesn’t match the way I thought it would in my head or look the same as on Pinterest.
Could you imagine finding any of that out on vacation? Absolutely not. I prefer to swap style chaos for confidence.
Which leads me to the next step …
👛 Step 7: Build out the outfit selections
An outfit is simply not complete or at its full potential without all the possible accessories. I’m not the girl who focuses on saving space by just bringing one purse and two pairs of shoes to wear with every look.
I try on every outfit and pair it with jewelry, shoes, a purse, and makeup. This ensures I don’t forget the correct earrings or lipstick or detail that pulls the whole vision together.
Best of all, it keeps me from mourning not having my full closet at my disposal while away from home.
Here’s what I packed this time:
The Bathing Suits
The Airplane Outfit
The Taco Night Outfit
The Boat Day Outfit
The Remote Work Outfit
The Out-to-Dinner Outfit
The Sunset Outfit
The Game Night Outfit
The Beach Photos Outfit
The Downtown Outfit
The Church Outfit
The Back Deck Outfit
✂️ Step 8: Assign outfits to days and make cuts
After building my options, I pick which one I’ll wear what day. If an outfit isn’t matched with a day, it’s cut (with the exception of an extra outfit or two that are usually safe to have).
For this reason, this gorgeous Francesca’s dress was cut this time:
Or it’s cut for a space-saving decision. Since I’m not willing compromise how an outfit is styled, if its accessories aren’t being reworn with other outfits or are too bulky, sometimes they have to stay at home for another occasion.
This option was cut because it required shoes for only this outfit, a boxy purse that was also only for this outfit, and two dresses to layer:
🧖🏻♀️ Step 9: Hang the outfits and steam them
We don’t need packing wrinkles to ruin an outfit. When I can’t bring a steamer, I minimize the damage by hanging my clothes until the day before I depart. Then, I steam them and let them fully cool before packing them up. The less time they’re squished into a packing cube, the better.
💄 Step 10: Pack other necessities
This is where I get my bathroom and makeup bags together and make sure I have undergarments (and try not to forget that strapless bra like always).
🔌 Step 12: Charge everything
The thought of my headphones dying mid flight, my UV water bottle not turning on after I filled it at the airport fountain, or my Fitbit dying on Day One, is enough nightmare fuel to motivate me to do the very annoying task of charging everything.
This also ensures I bring all the right cables.
🎒 Step 13: Finally pack
I bet you were wondering when I was actually going to pack everything up in my suitcase and backpack. The answer is: the day before. Now that I have a head count of everything and my clothes have been steamed, I can make sure everything fits and zips — and I will always make it zip.
✈️ Step 14: Lay out airplane clothes
I save myself time the next day with this two-second routine. It’s especially great for those early morning flights.
⏰ Step 15: Leave reminders
I have learned the hard way that my brain typically doesn’t have the capacity to remember all the details I swear I won’t forget. To mitigate this, I write sticky notes or text myself reminders of everything I need to pack in the morning.
🧳 🏖️ ☀️👗 And with that final step, my packing process is complete. Time for some sun, sand, and style!
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