Short Trip Packing

By Connie Marianacci You can travel on a short vacation or a long vacation, on business, to visit friends and family, or to study abroad. Depending on which type of travel you do, you pack different things and in different ways. When traveling for a short period of time either to just one location or many locations, my IDEAL way to pack is by using "cloth envelopes" as I call them. Believe me, this method was not easy to find but once I decided this was the way I was going to travel, it made it so much easier! And don't get me wrong, these are not paper envelopes I am talking about. Rather, cloth envelopes of many shapes, colors and sizes made by various manufacturers. You may find some great ones at our Get Ready page. You have an envelope for the shirts, an envelope for the pants, a smaller envelope for the socks and an envelope for the underwear plus the toiletry bag, everything neatly packed into your bag or suitcase. Now each time you have to dress for a different occasion, you have all the options to wear available at your fingertips without any hassle of taking all the clothes out of the suitcase because "the shirt you need to wear for the dinner is all the way at the bottom!". My most hectic experience was traveling through Germany for about 3 months. I spent 1 week in London & Brighton, 2 weeks in Berlin, 2 weeks in Hamburg, 4 days in Cologne, then I went Canada for 4 days(don't ask why..J ). After than, I went to Frankfurt for 2 weeks, then to Bamberg for 2 weeks and back to Berlin for 1 week. At each German location, I took a German language course but at the same time had to work in England and Canada on other days, which meant I also had to pack my office clothes, and they couldn't get wrinkled! The "envelope packing technique" saved me from stressing out each time I changed location and also saved my job by allowing me to be ready quickly! (Specially if I hate to iron as much as I do). Try it!