Travel Tips from Messy Jess C

While I'm out of town, I asked a few other bloggers to step in for me.  Jess from Messy Jess C graciously agreed and then wrote a really awesome post about how to pack for a trip.  She sent this to me before I had started packing, and I definitely used some of these tips.  Read her advice and then go check out her blog.  She's got killer style, great recipes, and she runs marathons, which is pretty awesome.   

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Hello Just Another Smith readers! My name is Jess and I blog over at Messy Jess C. Andi is traveling, so as someone who appreciates fashion and traveling as much as Andi, I am here to share some of my traveling tips with you to help you have a stress-free trip AND look like a million bucks.

First things first - before you begin throwing clothes into a bag, make a list. When you go grocery shopping, do you just go into the store and hope for the best? No, of course not, because you would end up buying some things you didn't need and forget some things you did need. Same goes for traveling. Making a list ensures that you are going to pack everything you need without going overboard.

As far as what to pack, I tend to follow one of two approaches to choosing clothing to pack. I either write out outfits for each day I will be traveling on my list (see list below) and try to create outfits that mix and match the maximum number of items as possible to reduce the amount of clothes that get packed. For instance, you will see on the right-hand side of the list below that I mixed and matched my black shorts, white t-shirt, and wedges a couple of times for this trip.

The other approach to packing that helps reduce the amount of clothing being packed, while still ensuring you don't look like Punky Brewster is to pack using one color scheme to make it easier to mix and match items. This time of year, blue and white tend to be my go-to colors.

The one exception to the color approach is if you have a red dress ladies, pack it. It shows up lovely in photos.

Another trick is to pack just a few items of clothing along with lots of fun accessories. This saves room and changes the look of your items just by mixing up what accessories are worn with them.

Once you have your list, I recommend gathering everything on your list and placing it in one location so nothing gets forgotten and if anything on your list is missing or needs to be purchased, you will know prior to skipping town, eliminating unwanted stress when you arrive at your destination.

Once all of your stuff is gathered and any outstanding items are washed, purchased, or crossed off the list, you are ready to start packing. Now if you are like me, even with a list, I still seem to have a lot of stuff to fit in small spaces, so to fit more into your suitcase, I recommend rolling your clothes (see below). 

As you can see, rolling saves room for toiletry bags, shoes, and other misc. items. It also helps eliminate deep creases and wrinkles for many items (depending on the fabric).

Now, you are almost ready to jet away, but there are just a few more tips that can make your traveling experience more enjoyable.

First, make sure you carry all valuables or any items that you could not imagine losing in your carry-on. I am a marathon runner, which translates to a lot of traveling to marathons. On each of my marathon trips, my shoes are always with me because, while most of my other running items are replaceable, my shoes, perfectly broken in to run 26.2 miles, are not. Same goes for jewelry, identification, cash, etc.

Also, I highly recommend investing in a Brita water bottle, especially for trips where you are flying somewhere. This fabulous invention makes it easy to stay hydrated without shelling out lots of money on over-priced bottles of water and no matter where you fill up, the water tastes good because of the small filter inside.

Because airplane air can be pretty dry, staying hydrated is key, with water, but I also recommend bringing along lip gloss and lotion that isn't contained in a bottle or tube (unless you want a mid-flight mess) for dry lips and hands.

Now my friends, you are ready to travel. Sit back, relax, and once you reach cruising altitude, listen to your favorite song on your untangled headphones using this nifty trick.

Thanks to Andi for allowing me to guest-post today and thanks to you all for reading today's post. Hope to see you around at Just Another Smith and Messy Jess C.