A Quick Travel Packing Hack

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Tide. The opinions expressed here represent my own, which I take great pride in providing pure honesty…because I’m OBSESSED with sharing the Good!

I have a few tricks up my sleeve on how I coordinate laundry and packing with back to back trips! So today as I’m unpacking from our mid-week adventure, and preparing for the next, I thought I’d share my super quick travel packing hack!

I know some may deem this extreme, but it’s the only way I can keep chaos to a minimum and be as efficient as possible.

I ALWAYS unpack the day of or day after I return from a trip. But there’s a strategy.

First, I take out the dirty clothes, which I store in a small trash bag on top of my clean clothes (so they are easy to remove). I add 1-2 small trash bags to every suitcase to keep my clean/dirty clothes separated during travel. Tip: Avoid scented trash bags to keep the rest of your wardrobe fresh and safe from irritants.

Second, do ALL of the laundry. It creates a clean slate for the week, and makes sure wet swimsuits or sandy towels don’t get stuck at the bottom of the basket.

My favorite detergent to use is Tide purclean, a new plant-based detergent.

It has the same cleaning power of Tide Original Laundry Detergent, providing stain removal, whiteness and color protection but with 70% plant-based ingredients.

Tide purclean is free of dyes, chlorine, phosphates, ethanolamine and optical brighteners, providing a safe wash for sensitive skin. Both Mila and I struggle with excema and switching to a natural detergent has made a world of difference.

Tide purclean is available in Unscented and Honey Lavender at Target. Pick up in-store to try my hack at home using this exclusive Cartwheel (app) offer.

Onto the next part of my strategy…

There are two scenarios here. One, if you have a trip within the next 30 days, let’s get it packed. If you don’t, but anticipate you’ll travel in the near future…hold on, I’ll get there.

Okay, so you’re traveling soon:

All of your laundry is done (but not put away!) and you’re standing in front of an empty suitcase. Coordinate outfits from the clean laundry or mix in a few different tops/bottoms from your closet. I urge you not to pack an entire new wardrobe for the next trip. This will take too long.

Here’s the easy part, figure out what you’re going to bring, roll the outfits together and pack. Done. This saves so much time. If you wait until you put all of the laundry away and THEN pack in a few weeks, it feels redundant. Just keep a revolving suitcase going. Plus, this leaves room for spontaneity! For example – my girlfriends and I jetted off to a cabin this week and I already had a bag packed – swimsuit and all! No mess, no fuss.

Okay so you don’t have a trip planned:

Still keep a revolving suitcase but with just a few items – like a swimsuit, sandals, travel toiletries, etc. The days before I traveled multiple times a month, I just keep the basics – things I only use when I travel in there. It’s a simple hack, but efficient and saves you time. I promise.

The key to my entire strategy is the laundry. Keep it controlled, organized and at bay. We all know it can quickly get out of hand. It seems simple, and it really is.