Hours ago, I purposely locked myself in my room, back hunched and brows knit--in thorough organization of my highly anticipated Manila trip. (Saying the word Manila alone makes me smile a triple-word-score smile in my head). I've been wanting this break for a long time, picturing details in my head about all the good company, good fun, and of course, good FOOD that await my return after a year of being away! :)
But then like most of us, when our head's all up in that "vacation" cloud, we don't immediately realize that speed bump called "packing"--and we all approach it differently. Some prepare weeks before, while some are just master packing experts who wing it overnight. My case however, is a cross between the two. I usually tend to start preparing for my big trips weeks before, but realize the night before my flight that I still have A LOT to manage at the last minute, therefore cramming everything into the picture. (Hassle sa muscle, right?!)
So, with this trip I tried to brush up on my organizational skillzzz and attempt to personalize my own style of packing. (Which, I should say, was defintely not a-mutha-packing-piece-of-cake! HAH, CORNY!)
Here are some tips I came up with for myself--also for future reference and backtracking (haha):
1) CHECK THE WEATHER.
Oo na, Manila, ikaw na nga ang may severe thunderstorms, we get it.
Alright. allow me to explain why I kind of sort of digressed from my own tip of checking the weather. This premise has a negligible fine print, actuallym because weather changes WILL ALWAYS DEPEND ON THE COUNTRY you're visiting. In my case, Philippine weather can be ERRATIC. Much like Hawaiian weather could, it has a very tropical climate that pretty much bitches like your mother one minute and is a super sweet first-time girlfriend the next. So, me? I decided to play it a little on both edges. (Ang haba ng excuse just to say wala akong nilabhan na jeans to bring to Manila) Haha.
2) START WITH THE BASICS. (Yes, you learned this in Kindergarten, friends.)
Start with what is NECESSARY, that basic thing you wish to never ever not have on a trip (obviously not the 12th style of a swimsuit you wish to have brought) This cuts the packing frenzy by a quarter of your time.
Gadgets are best to tackle first just because it's a lot quicker to determine which of them you really need as opposed to clothing and accessories. It's important to know what you have to round up according to need versus what you THINK you need but end up not using. For instance, you can bring an underwater camera that can take fabulous shots even on land, which saves you space, convenience and portability, if you're not really as finicky as the next girl who has to have DSLR shots of her painted toes on the beach. As for me, I have yet to purchase an underwater camera, but since I also have a heavy lust for photography which I pretty much put a premium on more than sunscreen or clothes, I opted to pack my regular camera. Siguro nga, kanya-kanya lang yan. :-)
As seen here, I have my gadgets narrowed down to my Nikon D3100 DSLR, (price available at Cosco), my Kindle ($114, Amazon.com) to help with the 10-hr flight, my Seagate FreeAgent Go Flex external hard drive ($79.99 Staples.com), my ACER Aspire 4810T which holds all my plane movies, a 14" laptop bag ($30, Betseyville by Betsey Johnson), my global roaming phone which doubles as my phone out of the country (Blackberry.com), and my regular, local phone for when I get back to this airport (Blackberry.com) so I can save on not having to use airport phone rates, and instead just have it nipped out of my regular phone plan.
Passport & Flight Itineraries are pretty much your core responsibility. Have them in an accessible place in your purse or tote, but protect them well with a case or a plastic pouch so they're spill and tear-proof. (Hot pink plastic passport cover, 100 php, Greenhills Shopping Center)
Gentle skin care and maintenance must be easy-does-it for you at all times. The most gentle, basic care starts with a good, effective cleanser that's safe enough for sensitive skin, as well as sunscreen (yay if it doubles for both face and body) that moisturizes without the studge (sticky smudge) Ha-ha. (Cetaphil Antibacterial Gentle Cleansing Bar, $4.59, CVS) and (Philosophy Shelter Sunscreen for Face and Body SPF 30, $25, Sephora) should be able to do that for you. In line with this, make sure you have enough sun (and rain) protection. Bring a durable umbrella for stormy possibilities, and a simple fedora for beach trips. (Umbrella, $64, Victoria's Secret; Woven floral fedora, $20, Nine West). Again, keep it simple, pimple! Easy-does-it is the way to go. :-)
Good storage space is very important when going on long trips. You go to the beach, buy souvenirs, go to interesting marketplaces, buy more souvenirs, shop for shoes or whathaveyou, or sometimes just need an extra hand with wet towels from your overnight trip! GOOD, DURABLE TOTE BAGS are as essential to your trip as shrimp fry bagoong is to Kare-Kare! You can even have it customized if you want to! (Longchamp.com) I got mine way back when Longchamp totes weren't just trendy bags you limit to using for window shopping at the mall (aka nowadays) Ha-ha! (Dark navy Aviary Woven Long handle Le Pliage tote bag, $220, and Praline Long Handle Le Pliage tote bag, $150, Longchamp.com)
3) LIQUIDS
To adhere to common airport facility protocol, (in short, kung ayaw mong magpahuli or masungitan ng airport guards haha) we pretty much know all know that like our secrets, we keep our scents, lotions, liquid bath soaps, and all things that trickle (haha) in a clean, secure self-sealing...plastic bag. Haha! (Ziplock bags, sizes and prices available at CVS, starting at $1.99)
I usually like starting with a theme. Soaps together, perfumes with the like, and bath essentials following the same pattern (shower gels, shampoo and conditioner and shower scrubs all in the same bag). You know what they say--"Birds with the same feather...slack out on creativity!" Ha-ha! Laboo! So don't be too creative and waste space! Here I have my plastic bags, and a little extra box where I like to keep the miscellaneous which don't really fit exactly in any one category that I've set.
Since I'd like to keep more space for pasalubong than toiletries, I limited my bath essentials and toiletries to two bags and one miscellaneous box.
4) ACCESSORIES
See, if you're female, you would know pretty well that it can be relatively difficult to pack and segregate accessories without ending up having your earrings tangled with the beads of other necklaces, or even worse, pendants tangled with their own straps! Ugh, caramba! This is where the genius of snack-sized Ziplock bags come in to the rescue. Pretty much the idea is to separate your accessories in thin, filmy, individual bags from each other but not losing your goal to use the minimal amount of storage for the maximum amount of space available for yourself. And of course, there's no harm in theme-ing them together to make dress-up easier for you.
6) YOUR CLOTHING CHOICE
This is the part where it gets a little bit tricky. But if you keep some of these considerations into your clothing equation, I'm sure you'll be smiling like a master packer:
2) START WITH THE BASICS. (Yes, you learned this in Kindergarten, friends.)
Start with what is NECESSARY, that basic thing you wish to never ever not have on a trip (obviously not the 12th style of a swimsuit you wish to have brought) This cuts the packing frenzy by a quarter of your time.
In the beginning, God said, "Let there be basics." Ha-ha ;-)
Gadgets are best to tackle first just because it's a lot quicker to determine which of them you really need as opposed to clothing and accessories. It's important to know what you have to round up according to need versus what you THINK you need but end up not using. For instance, you can bring an underwater camera that can take fabulous shots even on land, which saves you space, convenience and portability, if you're not really as finicky as the next girl who has to have DSLR shots of her painted toes on the beach. As for me, I have yet to purchase an underwater camera, but since I also have a heavy lust for photography which I pretty much put a premium on more than sunscreen or clothes, I opted to pack my regular camera. Siguro nga, kanya-kanya lang yan. :-)
As seen here, I have my gadgets narrowed down to my Nikon D3100 DSLR, (price available at Cosco), my Kindle ($114, Amazon.com) to help with the 10-hr flight, my Seagate FreeAgent Go Flex external hard drive ($79.99 Staples.com), my ACER Aspire 4810T which holds all my plane movies, a 14" laptop bag ($30, Betseyville by Betsey Johnson), my global roaming phone which doubles as my phone out of the country (Blackberry.com), and my regular, local phone for when I get back to this airport (Blackberry.com) so I can save on not having to use airport phone rates, and instead just have it nipped out of my regular phone plan.
Passport & Flight Itineraries are pretty much your core responsibility. Have them in an accessible place in your purse or tote, but protect them well with a case or a plastic pouch so they're spill and tear-proof. (Hot pink plastic passport cover, 100 php, Greenhills Shopping Center)
Gentle skin care and maintenance must be easy-does-it for you at all times. The most gentle, basic care starts with a good, effective cleanser that's safe enough for sensitive skin, as well as sunscreen (yay if it doubles for both face and body) that moisturizes without the studge (sticky smudge) Ha-ha. (Cetaphil Antibacterial Gentle Cleansing Bar, $4.59, CVS) and (Philosophy Shelter Sunscreen for Face and Body SPF 30, $25, Sephora) should be able to do that for you. In line with this, make sure you have enough sun (and rain) protection. Bring a durable umbrella for stormy possibilities, and a simple fedora for beach trips. (Umbrella, $64, Victoria's Secret; Woven floral fedora, $20, Nine West). Again, keep it simple, pimple! Easy-does-it is the way to go. :-)
Good storage space is very important when going on long trips. You go to the beach, buy souvenirs, go to interesting marketplaces, buy more souvenirs, shop for shoes or whathaveyou, or sometimes just need an extra hand with wet towels from your overnight trip! GOOD, DURABLE TOTE BAGS are as essential to your trip as shrimp fry bagoong is to Kare-Kare! You can even have it customized if you want to! (Longchamp.com) I got mine way back when Longchamp totes weren't just trendy bags you limit to using for window shopping at the mall (aka nowadays) Ha-ha! (Dark navy Aviary Woven Long handle Le Pliage tote bag, $220, and Praline Long Handle Le Pliage tote bag, $150, Longchamp.com)
3) LIQUIDS
To adhere to common airport facility protocol, (in short, kung ayaw mong magpahuli or masungitan ng airport guards haha) we pretty much know all know that like our secrets, we keep our scents, lotions, liquid bath soaps, and all things that trickle (haha) in a clean, secure self-sealing...plastic bag. Haha! (Ziplock bags, sizes and prices available at CVS, starting at $1.99)
A whooole lotta packing paraphernalia!
I usually like starting with a theme. Soaps together, perfumes with the like, and bath essentials following the same pattern (shower gels, shampoo and conditioner and shower scrubs all in the same bag). You know what they say--"Birds with the same feather...slack out on creativity!" Ha-ha! Laboo! So don't be too creative and waste space! Here I have my plastic bags, and a little extra box where I like to keep the miscellaneous which don't really fit exactly in any one category that I've set.
Since I'd like to keep more space for pasalubong than toiletries, I limited my bath essentials and toiletries to two bags and one miscellaneous box.
Arranged by need? Or by hue?
See, if you're female, you would know pretty well that it can be relatively difficult to pack and segregate accessories without ending up having your earrings tangled with the beads of other necklaces, or even worse, pendants tangled with their own straps! Ugh, caramba! This is where the genius of snack-sized Ziplock bags come in to the rescue. Pretty much the idea is to separate your accessories in thin, filmy, individual bags from each other but not losing your goal to use the minimal amount of storage for the maximum amount of space available for yourself. And of course, there's no harm in theme-ing them together to make dress-up easier for you.
Layout your necklaces in a symmetry that should help you classify them as to which other accessories they match. (Keep your planned outfits in mind). Have your snack-sized Ziplock bags at hand.
5) YOUR "OTHER" ACCESSORIES
With the constant threats of global warming, it's inevitable to find yourself the need to feel hot on supposedly cool days, and cool on warm days. As much as you need cardigans and scarves to keep you comfortable, I hold equal merit for keeping sunglasses and headwraps handy for when the weather tilts slightly on the baking side. It's always a good thing to keep yourself fresh.
(Headwraps, $3.50-$8.50, Forever 21; Sunglasses, $200, Tory Burch; Lens cleaning kit, $10, Sunglass Hut)
6) YOUR CLOTHING CHOICE
This is the part where it gets a little bit tricky. But if you keep some of these considerations into your clothing equation, I'm sure you'll be smiling like a master packer:
- Current weather
- Possible Weather Changes
- Trips planned and terrains predicted (research a plus)
- Comfortability
- Clothing ethics vis-a-vis esoteric traditions in your destination
- Luggage bulk factor/space manageability
Roll it like your mother would, baby.
Leather Reva Ballet Flat in Fresh Tan, $195, and Caroline Ballet Flat in Camille Pink, $225, both from Tory Burch (www.toryburch.com)
If you manage your space well, you'll have more to work with for the sudden "bilins" from your mom or your friends and if not, more space for pasalubong, which makes it a win-win for everybody. :)
6) PLANNING AHEAD
Is there anything else that should help you plan as efficiently as a PLAN-ner? Hahahaha! You're right! There's NOTHING to it! So go ahead, plan ahead and anticipate some changes along the way. From trips, to budget, to appointments, to friendly visits, to life's little responsibilities, it's your every right to take it down, for purposes of having pure, successful enjoyment! Make sure you keep your planner within easy reach and remember that you don't always have to strictly jot down future plans alone. You can make daily reminders for things you need keeping track of, as well as PAST events, for retrospection and of course, memories.
2011-2012 Planner, $28, Pink by Victoria's Secret
So there you have it! A little bit of my packing experience shared with you to have hopefully gotten a teeny bit of sense from. Ha-ha. Remember, in any place you go to, always be the traveler, never the TOURIST. (Unless you're Johnny Depp, haha!) and always make FUN a purpose, a goal and a future peg for your memories. HAVE A SAFE TRIP! :)
