Packing for a vacation

I have just returned from a great trip to Europe and wanted to share with you some tips on packing and getting ready for your vacation.

Visual packing: place all your clothes that you want to take with you, on the bed, side by side. This will help you notice several things:

• You probably have too many "like" items (4 white shirts for instance)
• You have selected clothes that you simply won't be able to match with the rest of your wardrobe
• You simply picked too much clothes to begin with

What you need to do:

• Start taking the items off the bed and putting them back into the closet right away
• Select items that match with everything, neutral colors, jeans ... think mix and match!
• Think about what you will be doing on your trip and pack accordingly - look at the items on the bed and imagine your typical day on vacation and what you think you will need
• Inform yourself of what the weather is like at your destination at the time of the year that you are travelling there and plan to be prepared accordingly (but keep in mind to keep the extra items of clothing to a minimum)
• Cosmetics: almost everything these days comes in the small travel sizes, so pick a mini shampoo, toothpaste, body cream from your local drugstore and you can dispose of these by the time you come back from your trip

And now, with the light suitcase and all your favourite items of clothing packed and ready to go, have yourselves a great trip! Bon Voyage!