Traveling is one of the most fun and exhausting things about the holidays and life itself! Even if it’s a vacation or just going home to see family for the holiday season or for whatever, packing is at the top of the list of things to do! Packing can also be sort of like a self evaluation or questionnaire to ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” or “What do I really need to bring?” there’s no reason to bring your entire house and all of its contents due to impulse, but it is pretty hard not to! Packing every clothing article takes up space, but there are very few essentials that are the most important for any sort of travel

Never forget where you are. If you’re flying to perhaps another country for a vacation, definitely invest in an international plug kit that has every outlet for every country in the world to be used. It can be a hassle to keep them all organized but to be smart about what you’re plugging your phone or other electrical items into is very important to have! It’d stink flying to Italy but going empty handed because the outlets are set up differently than at home!

When flying, the air can get super dry on a plane and the altitude will make your ears pop! It’s as annoying as it is common. Pack a small bag of moisturizer, nasal spray, chapstick and gum and reapply as needed to keep the dry skin hydrated and jaw moving with the gum, a long fight can get ancy but using these items are definitely worthwhile. Keeping yourself busy on a long flight is hard, especially if it is overseas! If every movie option is terribly boring and you feel like you’re on the brink of insanity, bring coloring books! It’s a wonderful way to destress and makes the time fly by when shading in tiny shapes and objects. Adult Coloring books have become super popular due to being a way of letting off steam!

When packing a suitcase, space can easily get taken up by many items of clothing, even the smallest pair of socks may not be able to fit. A great packing hack that I learned once is instead of folding all of them items, it’s best to roll them up and tuck them close to each other! It saves space so you can pack more and is a way to keep the clothes wrinkle free and easy to grab when needed. It’s a hassle to do with dresses, but rolling them as tightly as you can will definitely keep them in tact for bumpy car or plane rides!

It's a total hassle, but all worth it when you're ready to make memories and see the people you love and care about! Packing and unpacking are rough, hut there's high hopes that the vacation will not be.