This Simple Packing Hack Saves Me Every Time
- Planning outfits in advance and taking photos of them on your phone can help prevent overpacking and disorganization when traveling.
This Simple Packing Hack Saves Me Every Time originally appeared on Parade .
When packing for a trip , people usually have two main problems. For starters, the process of planning exactly what clothing items you need can be overwhelming and leave you feeling totally disorganized. And secondly, you'll most likely overestimate the amount of clothes you need, leaving you with an unnecessarily full suitcase. Without a plan in place, you'll likely throw in way too many t-shirts or pairs of pants–overcrowding your suitcase when you could be leaving space for souvenirs!
As a travel writer and touring performer, I'm constantly packing bags and jetting off somewhere and used to experience this problem all the time myself. I'd arrive at my destination, open up my over-stuffed suitcase, and still feel like I had absolutely nothing to wear. Having too much made me feel like I actually had nothing at all.
After booking a big Broadway touring show one year that would take me all over the U.S., I realized I needed to get more strategic when it came to packing, so I took to TikTok to see what other people were doing. While there are thousands of videos out there that give useful packing hacks, like different folding methods and types of packing cubes that work best, there was one video that truly transformed my entire packing experience. Read on to find out what finally helped me pack for work trips and vacations with ease.
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The Smart Phone Trick That Will Stop You From Overpacking
In a video by @two_scoops_of_style, twins Sarah and Leah share their simple packing hack they use for every trip. They first take the time to plan every outfit that they want to wear on the trip, top to bottom, including layers, accessories and shoes. Once they have each outfit prepared, they take a selfie in the mirror of the full outfit. After they complete this step for every outfit that will cover each day of their trip, the hack truly comes into play.
On the iPhone, you can place your finger on a specific part of a photo. The phone is able to highlight the object that you're holding down. In this instance, it's the outline of yourself. Then, you should see a little pop-up menu that lets you copy the isolated image of yourself in the outfit.
Next, open up your notes app on your phone. Create a list, like each day you'll be away for your trip, and paste each photo outline of yourself under each headline. You could also label the photos "outfit #1" and so-on, to keep your planning a bit more loose, and not tie the outfits to a specific day. If you don't have an iPhone–don't worry! You can still use this hack. For Androids, you can simply upload each photo into the Google Keep app. From there, you can organize your outfits.
Many people don't plan specific outfits for each day of their trip, but doing so can help in many ways. Especially by organizing the outfits on your phone in one place, this will be a hack that you'll never stop doing. It'll leave you with a clear, organized visual representation of your outfits for your trip. The days of throwing in excess clothing that you'll end up not needing will be well behind you. It'll also help you remember exactly what you planned, so you know which clothing items you intended on putting together.
Related: 'I Traveled the World for Two Years With This Backpack and It Still Looks Brand New'
Taking The Packing Hack Even Further
capsule wardrobeGetty Images
To really capitalize on this hack, I love to try to see how many items I can reuse to make multiple outfits. By doing this, I have even more room in my suitcase for toiletries, accessories and space to do a little shopping on my trips as well. The truth is, you don't need seven different bottoms for a week-long trip. Instead, try taking three different bottoms–ones that have different styles or purposes. From there, you can mix and match different tops that will go with each bottom for the ultimate capsule wardrobe. Tops tend to take up less space in a suitcase, so I always opt to bring less bottoms and more tops.
When I do this, I really depend on my iPhone note to help me remember exactly what outfits I put together in my planning. This way, it takes away the stress of trying to come up with different combinations while I'm on vacation. Instead, I have the plan perfectly laid out in my phone, and can just throw the outfit on in the morning without a single thought. Overall, this simple packing hack saves me from overpacking, feeling like I don't have enough clothing options, and ultimately, stress. It's a foolproof way to pack in an organized and strategic way. You'll never go back!
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This Simple Packing Hack Saves Me Every Time first appeared on Parade on Jun 3, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
