Professional organiser Haw-San Au-Yong from Edit Inc knows a thing or two about packing for a holiday. You must resist the temptation to cram in all the things you can’t live without – just in case! San shows us it’s all in the planning, oh and folding like a Samurai! Here’s how to pack like a pro.
PLAN
Just as you would for your itinerary, planning ahead is important. Have a travel checklist of the things you’ll like to take with you on your trip, so you won’t risk over-packing or leaving anything important behind. Muji has this neat little checklist notebook that’s perfect for this task.
CATEGORISE
Do this step while you’re making your checklist, and not after you’ve grabbed everything from everywhere in the house to throw into your luggage. According to our master packer San, we should have three main categories – Activity, Habits and Entertainment/Food.
Under Activity, you should have Clothing (which can be further broken down to tops, bottoms, and outerwear), Shoes, Accessories, Travel Documents, and Money on your list.
For the “Habits” group, you’ll want to note down Electronics, Toiletries (soap and shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, skincare, contact lens, makeup), Undergarments, and – if you’re travelling with little ones – your kids’ items.
Entertainment/Food essentially refers to your reading materials – books and magazines – and munchies, if you’re bringing any.
DO THE SAMURAI FOLD
This simple, nifty trick will have you folding your shirts and tees in seconds. It’ll take a little bit of practice, but using this method will cut your packing time dramatically.
1. First, lay the clothing on a flat surface.
2. Visualise a line running from the middle point of the left shoulder to the bottom of the shirt. Imagine another line that cuts the clothing in half, horizontally.
3. Pinch the point where the two imaginary lines meet with your left hand, and pinch the midpoint of the shoulder with your right hand.
4. Move your right hand over your left, horizontally, to the bottom of the clothing and pinch it, while keeping your left hand in place. Your hands should be crossed.
5. Uncross your hands and pick up the shirt with both hands.
6. Finish the fold by lowering the shirt over the loose sleeve. If you’re folding a shirt, you might want to insert a paper at the back to minimise crinkling. Tuck in the sleeve, and then fold the shirt in half.
Watch this video to have a better idea!
COMPARTMENTALISE
Remember these words: pack to repack. The same categorising strategy you used to plan your packing applies here. If you don’t already have travel assortment cases to organise your luggage contents, pick up a handful of them from MUJI.
In the workshop, San used the nylon foldable assortment cases in medium and small for apparel (each holds about 8 pieces), foldable drawstring bags for shoes, nylon hanging box case for toiletries, a clear case for makeup and skincare, a nylon mesh bag for electronics and accessories. Bring along a spare for your worn clothes, which in turn makes repacking quick and easy.
Nylon foldable assortment case in medium, from Muji
Once everything’s properly sorted and packed into the individual compartments according to their categories, it’s time to throw – or rather, layer – them all into your luggage. Start with the heaviest items at the bottom with the first layer, as illustrated below.
Then, top the first layer with your remaining cases of clothing, electronics, accessories, towel and outerwear. Accessories like gloves, socks, scarves and jewellery (here’s looking at you fashionistas!) can go into the mesh compartment, alongside undergarments.
Zip up, and voila – you’re ready to fly!
Thanks San of Edits Inc for the tips, and Muji for organising the workshop!
All items featured are available at Muji, including #04-36 to 38 Paragon Shopping Centre, 290 Orchard Road, Singapore 238859, p. 6735 0123. Open daily 10am-9:30pm.