What I Do Between Trips to Make Packing Easier

Plus, a few fall and winter staples I'm eyeing for upcoming trips to Tanzania, Switzerland, and Wyoming.

Nov 03, 2025

∙ Paid

Back in the summer, I promised myself I would spend more time at home in the fall. June, July, August, and September were filled with back-to-back trips—Montana, Jackson Hole, Western North Carolina, Nevis, Lanai, Wrightsville Beach, Switzerland, Alaska, and Vail (story coming to Travel + Leisure soon)—and I deemed October my official “no travel” month. No planes, no packed suitcases (hence the radio silence over here).

Along with much-needed sleep and a solid routine, the break gave me the bandwidth to do a full audit of my closet. Over the years, I’ve accumulated more clothes, bags, suitcases, and travel accessories than necessary—and when I’m constantly on the go, quickly packing and unpacking, the organization can get out of hand. Translation: piles of clothes in my room, things shoved into the very back of my closet. That leads to not knowing what I actually have, which then results in buying doubles, last-minute purchases, and more stressful packing.

So a few weeks ago, on the heels of the furniture brand Thuma kindly gifting me a life-changing new dresser, I went to work organizing my evergreen and winter clothes. I knew late fall and winter were going to be packed with flights, and I wanted to make sure the process of trip preparation would be as seamless as possible.

The newest addition to my packing must-haves: a spacious dresser

Now, everything has a place—white T-shirts, black tank tops, my favorite base layers, leggings, sweaters, etc. As I was packing for a friend’s wedding in Chicago last weekend, which would be followed by a quick trip down to St. Kitts (where I’m writing this from), I felt less hectic. I knew what I needed to grab and didn’t have to dig through a mess to find it.

All that to say, this inspired me to share other ways I prepare for travel in between trips.

Organize clothes: I’m a stickler for immediately throwing my dirty clothes (always shoved in a packing cube) into the laundry when I get home. Putting them away, however, is my weakness. Still, I try to place them in their proper home after the wash and before my next trip. Otherwise, I’ll inevitably have a guest bed overflowing with items that either didn’t quite make the final cut or things that I think I’ll need on my next trip.
Clean suitcases: I always try to give my most-used suitcases a solid wipedown every month or so. Sure, there are probably proper ways to clean them, but I stick to a two-prong method: multi-purpose cleaning spray on the shell, bed bug spray on the zippers. Just in case.
Take stock of toiletries: I will drone on and on about how organizing my travel-sized products into these clear plastic drawers solved so many of my packing issues. Last month, I was able to go through them, figure out which items needed to be tossed, and refill them with my go-tos: TSA-compliant toothpaste, face wash, and bottles of contact solution.

With all of my clothes neatly folded away and toiletries restocked, I’m now approaching shopping for trips in a more mindful way. I know exactly what I need, what I don’t need, and what I have room for in my closet. Here’s what’s currently in my shopping cart (or on the way to my house).