Summary

The article provides a comprehensive guide on efficiently packing a 10kg suitcase and a small bag for a long holiday in a warm destination, using the author's experience packing for a three-week trip to Sardinia as an example.

Abstract

The author, Claudia M. Zedda, shares her personal strategy for maximizing space in a small 10kg suitcase and a carry-on bag for a lengthy vacation to a warm climate. She emphasizes the importance of planning and making a list, choosing versatile clothing options that fit within one or two color palettes, and utilizing every available space in the suitcase. The guide includes a detailed packing list, tips for mixing and matching outfits, and creative methods for fitting more items, such as using a small handbag to store underwear. The article also encourages readers to share their own packing tips and invites them to engage with the author on various platforms.

Opinions

The author believes that efficient packing is a skill honed through planning, organization, foresight, and creativity.
She suggests that sticking to a limited color palette for clothing makes it easier to create multiple outfits with fewer items.
The author opines that when traveling to warm destinations, the lightweight nature of clothing allows for more items to be packed within the weight limit.
She advises against overpacking, noting from personal experience that one often ends up using less than half of what is brought if not careful.
The author values the use of all available space, including filling small items inside larger ones, to ensure no space is wasted.
She encourages interaction and community building by asking readers to share their own packing tips in the comments.
Claudia M. Zedda also promotes her Medium membership, indicating her belief in the value of the content provided by herself and other Medium writers.

How To Make The Best Out Of Your 10kg Suitcase & Small Bag (Long Holiday — Warm Destination)

Are you struggling to fit in everything you need for your holiday? Here’s how I efficiently pack my stuff for a 3-week holiday to Sardinia

Small Suitcase — All Pictures by the Author (Claudia M. Zedda)

Making everything you need fit into a small suitcase is no easy task.

I learned that the hard way: as a Sardinian living abroad (Ireland), I had to master this skill so that I don’t feel bad about leaving anything behind. It is all about planning, organizing, thinking ahead and a bit of creativity.

Here’s my guide to packing your things like a pro and having everything you need at hand:

1. Plan ahead & Make a list

What do you think you’ll need when you are over there? Is it warm or cold? Will you be staying in a hotel, hostel or resort? Will you need an adaptor? Powerbanks? Will you need space to bring stuff home on your way back?

In my case, for example, being in Sardinia means that half of the time I’ll be half naked on the beach. This means I’ll only need a few bikinis and only 3 to 4 smart casual outfits to use in the evening. Realistically, I will only wear open shoes. I might need one or two dresses for special occasions, but that’s about it.

Here’s my personal list of things I brought with me for my holiday:

CLOTHES (all of these fit in my small 10kg suitcase)

7 tops (1 I was wearing on the flight, 6 in my suitcase)
4 pants (1 I was wearing on the flight, 3 in my suitcase)
3 dresses
1 pair of shoes (which I was wearing) & 1 pair of sandals
1 pair of activewear
3 bikinis
7 pairs of underwear
3 bras
5 pairs of socks

LIQUIDS (they must all be under 100ml and not more than 10 items to fly with Ryanair — I put this in my small handbag so that I can easily take it out during security check)

Small perfume
Mascara
Concealer
Face cream
Eyebrow gel

~Shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen etc will be already there so I don’t worry about these~

OTHERS

In my 10 kg suitcase:

Hair straightener
Jewellery
Chargers for all my devices
Tiny handbag
Skipping rope
Presents for my family

In my small bag:

Laptop
Kindle
Passport
Headphones
1 Book
Notebook
Pencilcase

2. Choosing wisely

The first thing we need to make clear is that you will not be able to bring everything in your closet, of course. You will have to make a decision.

Let’s say you want to have enough clothes to make 7 different outfits. Sticking to one or two colour palettes will make it much easier for you to mix and match, rather than bringing extra clothes with you.

Plus, remember that if you are travelling to a warm country you won’t need any heavy clothing, jackets, boots, scarves or anything like that. This also means that the clothes you’ll bring are light and small enough that you can make the most out of the space you have.

Really think about what you’ll be most likely to wear and stick with it. Don’t get overwhelmed by choice. In the past few years, I would literally throw everything I thought I’d wear without even thinking of what I would actually wear considering the weather and the circumstances. I only used less than 50% of the things I brought. Don’t make my mistake, choose wisely.

3. Making It All Fit

This is the space I started with:

Now, the best way you can use all that space is by filling up every single corner of it with things that fit.

As you can see in that picture, there are two lines in between the suitcase that are part of its structure. That gives us three full rectangular spaces to work with.

My tips to make it all fit are:

Fold your clothes and pile them up so that it becomes a small cube;
Use empty spaces inside things to put small items in (example below);
Work with big things first, and make the small ones fit where you see gaps;
Use small pockets in the suitcase for things such as medicines, jewellery, chargers or anything small you are scared to lose.

Example:

I really wanted to bring with me a small bag for special occasions like going out for dinner. However, I knew it would have taken extra space.

To make the most out of it, I put all my underwear inside that bag so that the space inside the bag is not wasted (see picture below).

Small handbag filled with underwear — Credits: Author

When using all the space you can find (every corner, every empty hole) this is what it looks like when the suitcase is half full:

As you can see, I still had plenty of space for pants, makeup products, shoes and some extra clothes as well as space for things I might want to bring back to Ireland after my trip.

Do you have any other tips for efficient packing before the holidays? If so, let us know in the comments! :)

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