Top 5 tips to fit your life into your tiny suitcase
Pack lightly
by creatocrat
This article was written by Elena Cresci, published on 8th October 2010 and has been read 30013 times.
Elena Cresci gives us her top tips for travelling lightly - great advice on what to take on your year abroad, with some great ideas about what to get out there...Possibly the hardest part for me on my year abroad was the luggage allowance. A meagre 20kg (15kg on some airlines!) is so not enough for 9 months of my life. Not to mention that you can accumulate a lot of stuff in that time. So how do you keep the weight and the luggage costs down?
1. Clothes and shoes
Do you really need that many clothes? Ladies, this one’s a difficult one. Do you really need ALL your party dresses? There are shopping opportunities abroad you know!2. Gadgets
While a laptop is a bit of a must-take, perhaps you can forgo the printer. Ebay is a wonderful place; think about what you can pick up second hand, and best of all, if you do it this way, you can save on the amount of adaptors you need to take. What do you do with your new electronic goods at the end of the year? Just sell them on!
3. Paperwork and books
You’re likely to have a fair bit of this. The grammar and vocab books could be handy, but prepare to make some cuts with your leisure reading is concerned. You can always join a library when you get to your destination, so it’s best to leave fun reads at home. As for paperwork? Sort out the bare minimum into a folder that you can easily pop into your hand luggage; at least that way, it won’t be taking up any space in your suitcase!
4. Toiletries
Is there a certain product you really can’t face 9 months without? It’s worth checking if they sell your favourite shampoo/cleanser/hair gel abroad. It’s more than likely they will. It’s also worth noting that you can’t take bottles bigger than 100ml on the plane, so any liquid toiletries you do have will be eating into that 15kg allowance.
5. The last resort!
If you just can’t face 9 months without your stuff, then your best bet is to post the luggage to yourself using a baggage handling company – lucky for you, ThirdYearAbroad has done the work of finding a great company in Send My Bag.
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