Ok, so I have mentioned maximizing your suitcase for the summer in an older blog post, see here. But when you’re going out of town for a shorter time, sometimes packing (at least for me) is harder, because I only need 3 and it’s hard to decide!

So, I thought I would share what I do when packing for a mini trip. For reference, we are heading to Charleston for a long weekend. This is a joint bachelorette/bachelor party that my husband and I are attending. We will be spending some time jointly and other times seperate so I’ll be with the girls.

Consider the Activities

When packing, I try and consider what I will be doing. For example when going to the beach, I know I will mostly be in a bathing suit and I will need more “cover up” type clothes that are easy to throw on over a bathing suit. For this trip, our itinerary is flexible and I know some key activities we will be doing.

We are going to a concert one night and I don’t know about you, but concerts tend to be a little gross and I want to make sure I pack clothes/shoes that don’t easily show dirt and aren’t fragile.

Us girls are going to be doing a lot of Charleston exploring (eeek)! So I know I want to pack comfortable shoes as well. I also know we will be attending some semi-dressy restaurants.

Consider the Weather

I mentioned this in my How to Maximize Your Suitcase this Summer post last summer. Considering the weather is one of the most important things when packing. I’m sure you already knew that! So I know that in Charleston, it will be in the 50s/60s and mostly sunny on the days we will be there! Therefore I want to pack layers, we will be walking quite a bit and while it may start out chilly it can quickly get warmer with all that movement (at least for me haha).

Consider how You’re Styling Your Hair

What? Haha, yeah I say this, because a straightener or curler will take up room in your bag and if you aren’t planning on styling your hair much, it will probably be an unnecessary space taker.

Consider Your Accessories

I tend to not wear a ton of accessories anyway, but when I travel I especially don’t. This is in part due to the fact that I don’t like the carry the extra things and also in part due to the fact that I don’t want to lose things that I care about! So I may pack a cheap necklace or pair of earrings, but not much.

I also consider my purses. Am I going to need a huge purse or would a belt bag be better? Or maybe I need both? These are questions I ask myself.

All things Considered…

Now it’s time to plan out your wardrobe for your trip! I sometimes jot down a few notes about what I need or want. This is just an organizational tool I use, but it isn’t for everyone!

So, here are the key things I wrote down for this trip:

I need shoes of some sort that won’t get ruined at an outdoor concert.
I need comfortable shoes
I may need semi-dressy clothes for dinner one night.
I will be styling my hair so I will need my styling tools
I need to pack layers for the weather.

And with that here is my Mini Packing Capsule:

Outfit 1 (travel day)

Screen Shot 2020-03-05 at 12.10.00 PM.png

Outfit 2

Day Time Outfit

Screen Shot 2020-03-05 at 12.26.47 PM.png

Night Time Outfit

Screen Shot 2020-03-05 at 12.35.46 PM.png

Outfit 3

Day Time Outfit

Screen Shot 2020-03-05 at 1.45.39 PM.png

Night Time Outfit

Screen Shot 2020-03-05 at 1.52.56 PM.png

Outfit 4 (travel day): Outfit Repeat!

Screen Shot 2020-03-05 at 12.10.00 PM.png

Links:

Hope this helps!

How to Maximize Your Suitcase this Summer

Ok, raise your hand if you’re an over-packer 🙋🏻. I mean yeah…I tend to over pack ok? It’s something I am actively working on. With that being said, I have tried a few different tips and tricks that I have found to be very helpful. I decided to condense these for you into one post!

Number 1:

Research the climate. This is probably something you already do, but when you’re packing for vacation, you should definitely research what the weather will be like, temperature, humidity, that sort of thing.

I am going Holden Beach soon and it looks like the weather is going to be in the 80s with humidity at about 45%. Now, this is in NC and it is HOT. In my suitcase, I have packed three pair of pants. This is because I typically find myself getting chilly when going out to eat or going in to stores. If you do not get chilly easily, your suitcase may look a little different. Also, if I am on the beach, I won’t be wearing anything but a bathing suit and sunscreen 😎.

Number 2:

Make a list. What? Make a list? Are you kidding? Nope, it actually REALLY helps me to make a list. Now, you may be thinking what a time consuming thing to do when packing for vacation. But I decided that if I made a realistic list of items I wanted to pack, it would save me time in the long run.

I literally used to just grab stuff off of hangers and throw it in my suitcase…big mistake. I rarely wore ANY of it and ended up washing it all when I got home and taking up too much time to unpack.

Ok, with that being said here was my list:

Basic tops (tee shirt, button downs, tanks)
Shorts
Pants
Bathing suits
Shoes (limit 5 pair-this was a personal preference, you can limit this even more if you want)
Accessories (a good rule to follow with accessories is to pick some that will go with MULTIPLE outfits. I also limit myself to two purse options)

I am a visual person so I layed out all the pieces I wanted to bring:

P.S. I packed two other swim suits, but wasn’t able to find a picture of them! The leopard swim suit can be found here. My other swimsuit is by Kortni Jeane!

The pink and green earrings are by Jules Co.

(FYI, you can find the linkable items here)

Number 3:

Make sure you select items that can be mixed and matched. I treated this like a capsule. Making sure my pants worked with multiple tops and vice versa. With that being said I came up with, drumroll please,

44 outfit options!

I know…probably overkill, but hey, I told you this gal likes options! See below all the outfits I put together!

Everlane Jeans styled 8 ways!