Five tips to making packing up from your holiday a breeze!
No one likes reaching the end of their holiday. The post-holiday blues kicks in before you’ve even checked out. Packing up your belongings is the last thing on your mind, and chances are, you’ll leave it to the last minute. It can be a mad rush particularly if you’re keen to get on the road and make it home in good time. Whether you’re caravanning, camping or staying in another type of accommodation, we’ve put together a few tips to make this side of the holiday just that bit easier.
Velcro is your new best friend
This could be life changing if you’re caravanning. Stick everything you can down on a bench or wall with Velcro. That way, it stays in place. Anything from sticking hand soap or television remote controls to the bench, to wrapping Velcro around paper towels to prevent them from rolling or keeping all your power cords together. These might seem small, but it’s a few less things you need to worry about putting away come time to depart.
Fabric Laundry Bag
A dirty laundry bag is a must have, regardless of how you’re travelling. Instead of worrying about finding every piece of clothing you’ve packed (and possibly leaving a thing or two behind) that are probably sprawled out everywhere, once you’ve finished wearing them, throw them in one of these handy travel laundry bags. These soft drawstring bags are perfect if you don’t have a lot of space and can fit perfectly in a bag as small as a backpack.
If you’re not space limited, particularly if you’re caravanning or staying in a cabin, a pop-up laundry bag might be your go to. With all of your dirty laundry in one place, once home, it’s just a matter of taking the pop-up laundry bag out of the caravan or car for washing.
Use a checklist
Many of us create a checklist for the beginning of our holiday, so why not create one for the end?! If you’re rushing to pack everything last minute, this is likely when you’ll leave something behind. Phone chargers and swimming bathers are common items that don’t make the final baggage cut. Or you might find yourself repeating the same thing as you mentally check items off your ‘list’. Something as simple as a paper checklist or a list on your phone, might save you heaps of time and headaches. It’ll no doubt prevent you from being ‘that car’ that drives off with its phone sitting on the bonnet just waiting to fall off.
Garbage Solutions
The last thing you want to be thinking about, is cleaning up rubbish at the end of your holiday. Repacking everything is stressful enough without adding rubbish collection to the list. Be it, collecting food wrappers from clothing pockets or any rubbish left in your caravan, campsite or other accommodation you might be staying in. It’s always a good idea to make sure you pack a few garbage bags. It keeps rubbish in one spot and once full, can be disposed of in one of the bins in our parks. If you don’t like the idea of a smelly garbage bag hanging around (especially in summer), there are some great portable solutions such as these collapsible garbage bins.
Categorise!
Create totes for each category. A camping tote might include items such as tarps, ropes and bungee cords, sunscreen and other camping items you see fit. Another idea for a tote is keeping all kitchen supplies in one spot. This might include cutlery, cups, chopping boards or items such as condiments. You want quick access to these items and don’t want them sprawled throughout the rest of your holiday gear. Just remember to put items back once you’ve finished using them, otherwise it defeats the purpose of creating a tote in the first place.
Creating a tote will not only simplify the packing process, but it will make packing up to head home much easier as everything will be in the one place, ready to grab and go.