This week’s tip is about one of the most important parts to a successful vacation, packing. It’s vital that you take what you need and the right amount of what you need. Because of this, I’ve put together a list of packing do’s and don’t’s that might help you in the future.

DO’s:

• Pack extra socks. In my experience, socks might be the most important things to have extra pairs of. You never know when something might get spilled on your feet or you might get dirty. Once when my family went to the southwestern part of the country, we went sandboarding in Monahans State Park, Texas. You can probably guess how much sand was in my shoes. Imagine walking through fresh powder snow in socks and sneakers; in no time your shoes would be filled with snow and your socks would be saturated. The same thing happened in Monahans, but instead of getting wet, everything was filled with sand. I spent a considerable amount of time with microscopic rocks grinding against my skin, not very fun. With extra socks, I was able to use two or three clean, sand-free pairs that day and still have plenty for the rest of the trip.
• Swimsuit, pillow, and pajamas. These are three things that I think are some of the easiest items to forget that you may want to bring along with you. You never know where you’ll spend the night, or if they’ll have a swimming pool. It never hurts to bring a bathing suit because there’s always the chance you could be able to go swimming, and it takes up relatively no space in your suitcase. As for the pillow, maybe you don’t need a full-size one if you’re flying, but if you’re driving, definitely grab a pillow before you leave. Inevitably, you will get bored or tired when on the road for extended periods of time. There have been numerous occasions when at least one of the four members of my family has forgotten a pillow and was unable to sleep comfortably on our long drives. Additionally, whether you fly or drive sometimes it’s nice to have your personal pillow in the hotel. Everyone has their own preferences; take your pillow in case the hotel pillows aren’t very good.

DON’T’S

• Leave clothes unrolled. Rolling clothes is the most space-effective way to pack any bag. First, fold the clothes as you normally would, and then roll them up neatly. This will allow you to fit many more items into the same size bag, or even a smaller one. My brother and I have shared suitcases multiple times and rolling our clothes is by far the easiest way to ensure that everything gets in the bag with room to spare. If you don’t need to roll them to fit everything in a suitcase, that’s fine, but rolling clothes could be the difference between a free carry-on bad or a checked suitcase at the airport. Always consider rolling clothes to save space.
• Pack too much. In my experience, this applies mostly to camping trips. I have gone on several weeklong camping trips and for the first coupe I always packed seven or eight shirts. To be honest, by the time I was going on my last camping trip, I might’ve packed three or four shirts for a week. When you’re surrounded by hundreds of other guys (at Scout camp) and taking a shower in the disgusting washroom would probably just make you dirtier, it really didn’t matter how clean you were. Everything will eventually be dirty, and you probably won’t be taking a shower every day anyway if you’re camping. Don’t waste clean clothes when you aren’t clean yourself.

***This tip is not an excuse to not shower or not wear clean clothes. If you have access to a clean bathroom and running water, please shower. This tip mainly applies to places without good showers or where it doesn’t matter what you wear or smell like. The majority of the time you will need to change clothes. However, if you’re going on a long road trip, you don’t need to pack something clean for every day of riding. When my family drives places, we may not change clothes for days. We shower every time we stop, but when you literally do nothing except drive for thirteen hours a day and do not stop anywhere but rest stops and McDonald’s, there’s no need to make yourself do extra laundry when you get back; throw on some sweat pants and a hoodie and you’re good for days of doing nothing. Once we drove from Oregon to PA in two and a half days, I think the only person who changed clothes was my mom. (Maybe this tip only applies to guys?)

Anyway, that was just a quick list of what I feel to be some helpful and maybe not thought of tips to help you pack more efficiently. Maye you won’t need all of them, maybe you will. Whatever the case is always pack smarter, not harder.