Hand luggage accompanies all passengers onboard a plane, with some fliers choosing to avoid hold baggage altogether. Budget airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet have very strict rules that can make packing carry on baggage quite tricky. It’s important for holidayers to be careful when assembling their holiday luggage. One needs to pack exactly what is needed and no more, given the size limits of airline hand luggage.
Packing expert Julia Hudson, author of The Epic Adventurer, has revealed one of her top tips for reducing the number of belongings you take away.
The trick is to be “ruthless” when packing, the travel expert told MailOnline.
“I leave my suitcase out two or three days before I travel and make a pile of things beside it,” said Hudson.
“If, after a dress has been sitting out for a few days, you find yourself sick of looking at it, then you’re not going to wear it on holiday.”
She also emphasises the importance of making a packing list of what you’ll need.
It can be helpful to divide the list into categories, say, days and night, to make sure you’ll need everything from swimwear to sightseeing garb.
If there are items that you’ll continue using up until you jet off, make a note of them on a post-it so you don’t forget them last minute.
Husdon recommends choosing your travelling outfit when you pack, and it should be layered and loose-fitting.
“It’s a good idea to wear the bulkiest items in your bag — high heels, jacket, a hat — so you don’t have to worry about packing them,” she told MailOnline.
There is another unlikely advantage to packing your suitcase in advance of travel.
“Studies have shown that your clothes are filled with eight per cent or more of Oxygen, Nitrogen, Argon and Carbon Dioxide,” Lois Robertson, Brand Manager at London Stansted Airport, told Express.co.uk.
“If you pack and leave your clothes to ‘settle’ overnight the mixture of gravity and compression will push this out and leave you with a little more wiggle room.”
The next morning you may well find you can include that little bit more than you could before.
Another top tip is to consider packing and then packing again to prevent yourself from popping things in your case you don’t really need.
If you struggle to whittle your holiday packing down and are concerned about your bulging luggage on arrival at the airport, there is a sneaky trick you can use.
Travel company Contiki explained the trick is to put your bag into the size cage upside down if asked to check your case. This because it’s likely the bottom of your bag will be bigger than the top.
