Packing: we hate it or love it. While over a third of New Zealanders said packing was an exciting task, nearly half said it was one of their biggest worries.
Getting a suitcase together for your holiday is necessary – but for 36 percent of Kiwis, it’s also thrilling. We spend an average of 3.33 hours packing our holiday wardrobes, which is almost as much as we do actually finding a place to go on holiday.
Booking.com’s survey revealed that the joy of packing might just be the joy of shopping: a third of global travellers look forward to a cheeky pre-holiday shopping spree. British fashion designer Christian Cowan supports this, suggesting that a holiday is the perfect time to experiment with style. “The environment often allows you to be bold and adventurous with prints, textures, and accessories,” he explained. “It’s the perfect time to try out a new look that you wouldn’t necessarily wear at home, whether that’s due to a different culture or different climate.”
We spend the most time packing for city breaks, followed by beach holidays and then party trips. Spa trips come in last, as all you really need to take is a towel. With 3.33 being the average amount of time spent packing, we’re sure plenty of readers spend much more than that. That’s why we’ve provided some tips and tricks.
- Roll your clothes instead of folding. It prevents creases and takes up less space.
- Keep your clothes smelling nice with a bag of lavender or potpourri. It only takes one rogue item to stink out your suitcase.
- Stop makeup from cracking by placing a cotton wool pad between the powder and the lid.
- Place liquids – shampoo, cleanser, etc. – in plastic bags. Air pressure changes can cause the bottles to open and leak all over your suitcase!
- Take only half of your initial pile. We tend to over-pack – how many times have your worn every item in your luggage? Go ahead and halve it.
- Weigh your luggage before you leave. There’s nothing worse than having to remove heavy items at the airport check-in!
Cowan’s top packing tip is to leave everything on the hanger. “I have all my outfits on thin hangers so they can easily fit right into a suitcase, and then on arrival I just pop them on the rail,” he said.
Oh, and don’t forget your toothbrush and phone charger!
