Hiii,

I cannot express how long I’ve waited to write this exact blog!!! I literally have pictures on my google photos from 2015 of me packing a suitcase to take pictures and write about it on my original blog ‘perfectly pink’. Anyone else get a sense of nostalgia looking at some of them products?

To give some background to 14 year old me taking them pictures on my iPhone 4: I watched Ingrid Nelsin and Bethany Mota pack with my YouTube videos every single day, I literally would save pictures of outfits I would wear on different trips and save them on a word document and I would pretend pack a suitcase just to get that buzz of doing it myself because traveling wasn’t an option for me at that time. As you can imagine I’m very excited that 8 years later I am traveling, packing my suitcase for real and getting to give my own tips and tricks this time around!

In terms of long haul trips I’ve done 3 in my life, Florida twice and Australia once. I am still learning but I definitely have a few essentials that make long haul traveling that little bit easier and more enjoyable for me.

Get organised:

I know this is such a basic tip but so many people dismiss it! I have shared my packing list template on here a few times and you love it as much as I do hahaha so I’ve linked it again. I made my list up about 4 weeks before we left and I ended up adding things to it every week until we left. Once you have your list done, pack everything that you won’t use in the mean time, again this just saves you the stress of forgetting. Another list but a very important one. That week that you’re leaving make a ‘final check list’, basically write everything you used that day, again avoiding the stress of leaving something essential behind. Lastly, download 5/6 hours of shows that you know you can binge or absolutely love! I watched an entire season of my favourite show at the minute ‘Big Sky’ on Disney+, this killed 8ish hours for me in a blink.

Invest in comfort:

Invest not only some money but time into thinking about what is going to make you as comfortable as possible while traveling. I opted for NG Fitness leggings as always, an oversized t-shirt, a big thick hoodie because the planes get cold quick, comfy trainers (I swear by the New Balance 452’s) is a must for running around the airport and standing in queues. For my girls this one is for you: wear comfy underwear… you’re going to be sitting for hours upon hours, you don’t need an underwired bra sticking into you. Go for a comfy sports bra or ribbed wireless bra! Another thing that brings me mega comfort is bringing a change of clothes. When we were on our second flight from Dubai to Perth, I changed my pants, socks and my outfit to shorts and a light top. This way I got off the plane feeling fresh and no discomfort of feeling smelly. 

Entertainment essentials:

I mentioned in my February favourites blog about my new found love for Air-fly, it’s basically an adapter that allows you to sync your wireless earphones to the onboard entertainment! If you want to know more about it you can read about it in that blog… next up is comfy earphones. I love my AirPods by all means, however they hurt the inside of my ears after using them for a while. I spend most of the flight wearing my Beats headphones, because for me they are more comfortable for longer periods of time! This is personal preference but just make sure you know what is comfy for you before getting on that flight! Lastly, if you’re a reader obvs bring a book but for me I love taking travel time as opportunity to do things I usually don’t have time for like playing my DS (hahahah yes I still use the same one since 2007). It kills time easily and you get to do something different from your day to day!

Day before prep:

Use your lists, to check you haven’t forgotten anything. Make sure your airport outfit is washed and set out ready for travel the next day. Have your bags packed and set somewhere handy for when you’re leaving. If you’re like me, put on a nice fresh layer of tan because it always make me feel good and pre travel day nerves is always a thing for me. Check your paper work and put your passport and other important documents like visa’s etc into a folder and into your carry on bag. Take a scoot to the shop, get yourself topped up with chewing gum, paracetamol or anything else that might bring you a bit of comfort. Lastly, surround yourself with positive energies. If your like me and feel the pressure of forgetting things the day before travelling, I always find it helps lift my stressed mood to a more calm version of myself. Making that period of travel a little bit more of a positive experience than dreading it! 

If you want to see how I packed up my life into 30kg, feel free to subscribe to get notified when that blog goes live! Travel and lifestyle content every Tuesday and Saturday, so again if you’re a bit like me and enjoy that kind of thing stick around, there’s lots more coming.

CYA x