Why It’s Important to Unpack on Vacation
While there’s much talk about how to pack for vacation, we rarely discuss how to unpack. Unpacking during your trip allows you to fully immerse yourself, relax and unwind at your destination. When you’re grabbing your clothes directly out of a suitcase each day, it can put a damper on your vacation. Let’s unpack how to unpack:
1. Keep your suitcase away from the bed. I don’t know about you, but my messy suitcase is not the first and last thing I want to see in bed. If you’re only staying at your hotel for a couple of nights, I get it: no need to unpack the whole kit and caboodle. Just keep your open suitcase by the armoire or closet. This division will allow you to truly feel like you’re on vacation, while allowing you to sleep more soundly and peacefully.
2. Unpack only what you need if you’re bouncing around. If you have multiple stops (e.g. island hopping in Greece), it doesn’t make much sense to unpack your whole suitcase each time. Just unpack the clothes and items you need for that location. Toss your cozy PJs on the bed. Drape tomorrow’s outfit on that random sofa chair that seems to exist in every hotel room. Hang your jacket in the coat closet. The end. Instead of rifling through your suitcase, you’ll be able to fully savor each moment of your short stay.
3. Put all your travel essentials on a command center. If your hotel is well designed, it will have a console table close to the door where you can place items like hotel room keys, masks, wallet/Airpods, and receipts. Keep this stuff here! You won’t lose it since it will always be in the same spot, and this stuff doesn’t need to go farther than the foyer area. Who wants crumpled receipts hanging out on their bedside table? Not me! If your hotel doesn’t have one of these nice little tables, commit to creating a zone on the coffee table or armoire.
4. Take advantage of storage space. There’s something quite satisfying about using the dressers, closets, and drawers at your disposal. If you’re staying for five days somewhere, why not use those nice wooden hangers to hang your dresses, pants and jackets. Why not put your underwear and socks in that dresser drawer. By unpacking this way, you’re telling the universe that you’re ready to be fully present on your vacation and fully immerse yourself in the place you’re visiting.
5. Put those dirty clothes in a laundry bag. There’s nothing worse than amassing a pile of laundry that has no home. Your dirty socks end up scattered like confetti in your suitcase and your clean clothes end up all annoyed. Keep your fresh unworn clothes clean and away from your dirty clothes with the help of a laundry bag. I use a dust bag from one of my large purses, but you could also use a canvas tote, or AWAY suitcase’s dustbag if that’s how you roll. Pro-tip: to prevent that mysterious thing that happens to your suitcase when it doubles in volume for no reason, lay your dirty laundry flat in the bag instead of crumpled up. Also: you can sometimes take the laundry bags offered at a hotel, just make sure it’s allowed to avoid a charge.
6. Take your toiletries out of the toiletry bag. You’ll spend less time rifling through your bag for your serum, sunscreen, toothbrush, etc. and more time frolicking around your hotel room or being on vacation. To save even more time, I recommend lining up your skincare/haircare products in the order that you use them (this also goes for home-life, too).
7. Put your passports in a safe. If you’re staying somewhere overseas, save yourself the unnecessary stress by placing your passports somewhere safe: like a safe! When you’re not wearing them, your jewelry and watches can live there too. You can rest easy knowing your valuables are secure, and not hanging out in your purse where they could get lost (or stolen!). Pro tip number two: set a reminder on your phone to make sure you remember to remove them from the safe before checking out.
8. Personalize your bedside table. To help you ease into your space even more, it helps to place any items on your bedside table that help you relax at home. This could be a candle, relaxing oils, hand creams, etc. My routine items are a journal, eye pillow, hand cream, and ear plugs. Having your sleep essentials by your side will help you relax even more in a foreign place.