Hi there! I’m so excited to share what and how I packed for my upcoming trip to Belize! Actually, I think I might be more excited to say that I didn’t wait until the last minute to pack and wow it feels great! I think I’m going to start doing this more often. Is this what that guy felt like when he discovered penicillin? This is crazy! I’ve always left my packing to the last minute, and when I say last minute I actually mean, left my packing until the final hour. Yep, there I was at 11:30pm wondering where I even left my suitcase last, a pile of dirty laundry on my floor, and a Maroon 5 album playing in the background to enhance my self-pity mood.

Packing in advance has me feeling so relieved, all I need to do now is gather a few things here or there over the next few days, and that’s about as stress free as you can get when it comes to packing. Yay me! So now that I’ve revealed all the dirty secrets about myself (with regards to packing, that is), it’s kind of obvious that I’m in no way a professional packer. But  with that being said, I think I’ve gotten a few things figured out over the past few years of doing lots of little trips.

My upcoming trip to Belize is definitely a large trip in my book. My typical getaway is a weekend trips or long weekend trip, so this week-long international trip is definitely requiring strategy and thoughtfulness with regards to packing. I figured it out though- two words: capsule wardrobe. I have my wardrobe staples to take me through my week-long trip and then obviously, as you can see below, threw in some necessities (that aren’t necessarily wardrobe staples) to be fully prepared for my tropical getaway.

Tip 1: Use colors to your advantage

• I love bright colors, but since I only have so much space to pack a week’s worth of clothing I need to use colors to my advantage. In this case neutrals are my best friend. I can pair all my t-shirts and tanks with any of my shorts/pants, and that’s huge! Look at all the outfit combinations I can come up with…for those folks at home I’ll do the math for you right now- 20 outfits! Wow, now it seems like I’ve overpacked. So my neutrals are doing all the heavy lifting I don’t have to feel bad about throwing in a few pieces that probably won’t make more than 1 appearance during the trip.

Tip 2: Only roll it if it makes sense to…

• So many people swear by rolling their clothes, and I agree that it saves space, but only to a certain extent. I’ll roll most of my clothes (athletic clothing, stretchy jeans, t-shirts, anything that doesn’t wrinkle easily), but there are certain things I just won’t roll. In this case specifically, I didn’t roll my linen shorts because well, linen, and laid them onto of everything to hopefully prevent wrinkles.

Tip 3: Lay it all out

• If you’re waiting to the last minute to pack then you might not feel like it’s worth your time to lay everything out on your bed to get the big picture. But in the long run this time is totally worth it! Below I’m able to see what I need to pack more of, what I have plenty of, and if there’s anything else I can think of. If you just pile everything into a suitcase changes are you’ll forget something important (like underwear), or you’ll arrive at your destination with 6 long sleeve t-shirts and no tank tops. Yep that’s happened to me too.

Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to buy it.

• My mom is 100% my compass when it comes to shopping/packing/everything, but she definitely hit the nail on the head last year when she was packing for Sicily. She said something along the lines of, “you never know all the wardrobe staples you’re missing until you’re packing for a trip!” So true! Sometimes in our everyday life it’s easy to get around holes in our wardrobe, but then you need to pack strategically and you realize that wardrobe staple you desperately need is nowhere to be found! At the end of the day you want to enjoy your vacation and you want to be dressed appropriately, not just to look good, but you need to be dressed for the climate, culture, and activities you’ll be doing! Below I bought a pair of athletic/travel pants that I know will be great in the jungle to keep mosquitoes away, but are also sweat wicking material. And these flowy pants are going to be perfect for nights on the beach. Ah, I’m so excited!

Shop what I packed here (and some other vacation wardrobe inspiration)…

I might not roll everything, but I always roll t-shirts.

These beach shorts can double as pajama shorts, which is great when space is limited!

You can never have too many linen shorts though…

I’ll be wearing the greenish grey pants on the plane, and wearing these flowy pants nonstop during the trip!

My family always makes fun of me because I’ve literally gone a whole weekend wearing nothing but this grey romper (pictured below). Can you blame me though? Rompers are so comfortable, the easiest thing to throw on in the morning, and they’re so versatile! 

Swimsuits might be the most important staple to this vacation wardrobe, which is why I packed 4! Never too many!

My Away luggage is more amazing than I imagined! I love how the right side compresses everything down with the divider and adjustable straps! Make room for my shoes! 

I might be heading somewhere warm, but I love this Gray Malin skier print!

Bonus tip: Work with your luggage, not against it. I found that my flip-flops fit perfectly in these awkward nooks, so they actually save space instead of wasting it! 

Time to play Tetris…am I right? 

Did you find my packing tips helpful? How do you pack for your vacations? I’d love to know!