How to Ensure You Are Organised While Travelling

Travelling, particularly on vacation, can surprisingly be stressful, mainly if you aren’t organised. What was supposed to be a time of fun and relaxation can quickly transform into a nightmare if your luggage, items and documents are all over the place. Staying organised even while on holiday goes a long way to ensure a stress-free vacation. Here are a few valuable tips on how to ensure you stay organised while travelling.

Have a packing list

A packing list is vital. Some love it, others dread it. Irrespective of which category you fall into, make a list. It will come in handy and help you sort out what you want to take and what you feel can be left behind. Your list should be a reflection of your vacation destination and itinerary. Are you heading to the beach or the hills, hot or cold weather? Is your itinerary spaced out or jam-packed? Keeping these in mind will help you fine-tune your packing list according to your destination.

Additionally, irrespective of whether your stay is at one of the many bungalows in Sri Lanka or a Sri Lankan beach resort such as those offered by Theme Resorts, it is vital to know what facilities/services are provided at your accommodation. This helps to streamline your packing and avoid over or under packing.

Pay attention to your clothing

Choosing appropriate clothing items is key to staying organised during your travels. This will help you steer clear of packing too much clothing or not taking enough. Think light when choosing your clothes and work your way from there based on your itinerary. You can grab a few shirts/tops and some durable, reusable pants/jeans to match them, or select a few items and combine them to make outfits for each day of your trip. The same applies when selecting shoes. Try not to throw in your entire shoe rack. Instead, pick 1-3 pairs that go with most of your outfits. This way, you will save space and have fewer things to unpack and re-pack.

Use luggage organisers

How you store your items in your luggage is another step to staying organised during your travels. You can neatly roll or fold your clothes to save space or go one step further and get packing organisers, also known as packing cubes. These handy items are storage savers; they save space and time and are convenient stress relievers. They also help you avoid untidily rummaging through your luggage to find clothes. How you pack clothing into them is entirely up to you and should be based on a system that works for you. For example, you can pack pants in one cube, underwear in another and dresses in one. Alternatively, you can pack them based on an outfit per day. Ensure you also have a few laundry bags to store dirty/wet clothing items.

Have organisers for accessories and documents

The last thing you want is leaking lotions or shampoos, creating an absolute mess in your luggage. Consider investing in a toiletries bag to store all your toiletries. It’s convenient, protects your clothing from potential leaks/spills and makes it easier to find things. Similarly, have separate bags/cases for your makeup and jewellery.

It is also helpful to organise your gadgets/devices and their chargers. A technology case will be beneficial for this purpose. You can even have one for your carry-on to avoid emptying all the contents of your bag to locate a particular device. A critical component of staying organised during your travels is to ensure all your travel and other crucial documents are organised and kept in one place. Invest in a travel case or document organiser for this purpose. A travel case can store your passport, tickets, visa, insurance, and other documents in one convenient location.

Prepare to be one step ahead

When travelling, it is absolutely vital that you plan for unexpected circumstances such as delays, lost luggage, and stolen documents. Have digital/printed backups of your passport, insurance, ticket, hotel and tour bookings. You can also download some handy travel apps to store your travel-related details.

As a precautionary measure, run over your itinerary and travel details one more time before departure. Ensure your hotel reservations and flight bookings are confirmed to avoid disheartening surprises or mishaps.

Unpack at your destination

Since all your items and documents are now neatly organised and stored, unpacking becomes a breeze. If your trip is very brief, you could opt to live off your suitcase. If not, unpack the clothing cubes, toiletries bag and other organisers into their appropriate locations. For example, clothing cubes can be placed in the room drawers or closet.