Things I Never Pack For Vacation

so you want to pack clothes that are you not clothes that are the you that you want to be when you're on vacation hello everybody it's Jen welcome back I'm getting ready for another trip kind of starting to organize my bags figuring out what I'm taking and more importantly figuring out what I am not taking and that is what we're going to talk about today things I never pack and I'm really glad that you're here so as we are aware I like to film videos about packing and travel if you're into that kind of thing you have come to the right place I talk about it some would say Ed nauseum but I find it very helpful to be packed in a way that helps me to have a better vacation and I have a lot of fun sharing those tips and tricks with you guys so we spend a fair bit amount of time on this channel talking about traveling well to me packing light means I travel better it means I feel feel a little more organized I feel a little more in control when situations are uncontrollable and it just I don't know it's like a comfort thing for me to know that I have packed well that I have packed things that I actually need and also that I can carry everything myself I travel by myself quite a bit including the trip I'm getting ready to go to I'm meeting a friend once I get on board the ship but I'll be traveling to my destination solo and I don't have you know like a crew carrying my stuff around so it's important that I only pack what I absolutely need number one thing that I don't pack and that is too many shoes now Samantha Brown literally just talked about this on Instagram today I promise I am not copying her with this video I had this video planned out for like a month so you know maybe she copied me I don't think so I love Samantha Brown adore her but she talks about this a lot I used to pack too many shoes now I pack two or three pairs of shoes and that's it the only time I would make an exception is like if I were traveling to like a wedding or something that required really formal shoes but by and large I am only taking two to three pairs my favorites right now are my kumas the reason I love these is they're cute with skirts they're cute with dresses I can wear them on the airplane and they just wear really really well they're super comfortable kumas is a fantastic brand their sustainability rating is off the chart ethical sourcing checks all of the boxes they plant trees every time you buy a pair of their shoes they're amazing so there you go my kumas I this is my third pair I believe they wear great great arch support inside and I absolutely love them so I will pack one pair of tennis shoes by the way I also these double for my exercise shoes if you're like a runner you probably want to pack separate running shoes um but I'm just a walker on vacation especially so these work great for both everyday and then also for exercising the other pair of shoes that I will always take is a pair of either flats or sandals of some sort that will be good for things that are a little more elevated where maybe tennis shoes isn't appropriate for this upcoming Cruise I'll be taking these little black LIF stride strappy sandals um I don't ever wear heels so that's another thing I never pack when I travel I never pack heels it's really important to me that shoes when I travel will be super comfortable these are fantastic I bought these on Amazon I will definitely link them below I think they were all of $60 actually have them in two colors I have them in kind of a um like a nude color and also I have them in Black so these are really great uh for cruises for wearing with nicer dresses or whatever also bonus they pack up really flat like that so these are really cute and then I always pack a pair of flipflops now I neglected to take these on my last trip I only took my Tory Birch flipflops and the spa on the ship we were on did not have flip-flops so you really want these like if you're in a thermal Suite or the rainforest room or whatever so I always take my little javanas as well and then these also double for the beach so you may have some other strappy sandals that you like or whatever but I really like to stick to two to three pairs of shoes and one of those pairs is my flip-flops and one of those pairs are the ones that I'm wearing on the airplane which means I'm really only packing one additional pair of shoes in my suitcase do I have to really plan in advance to make sure I have appropriate Footwear for everything I'm taking absolutely is it worth it to me 100% so I never pack too many shoes okay another thing I never pack when I go on vacation is to I don't know why I have my sunglasses out I I'll put those on my head they keep my hair back anyway um is too many valuables anything that is really really precious to me I am leaving at home that includes things like really really high-end handbags really expensive jewelry unless I'm physically wearing it on my person I'll usually take like my nice watch or you know a few of my nicer pieces but I'm actually wearing them I never pack that stuff in my luggage for a couple of different reasons number one I don't want to lose it because it's if it's really valuable to me and I would be devastated and I couldn't replace it I really don't want to travel with it um also you don't want to be a Target so if you are someone who owns really really high designer bags you might want to consider leaving those at home there has been a lot of theft of late in various places um I know a lot of people I know that live in big cities people I know people I watch on YouTube um that have really expensive handbags have started sticking them inside of like a little page or something when they're out and about so is not to make themselves a Target and I just feel like really valuable items are best left at home so you know you're you may have your own little feeling on that that maybe you love your expensive items you want to travel with them for me personally it is one more thing for me to worry about and I just really don't want to bother with that having said that um this little bag I just got okay so if you watch my last weekly Vlog you heard me talking about my Gucci bag that my dad bought me in the 1980s that had gone missing I found it on Poshmark so this bag may or may not come with me this is not hugely expensive um it it is very old um it is from the 1980s for those of you that asked um I showed it on Instagram if I got it authenticated I didn't it was less than $400 um it it does check all the boxes of authentication by the way this has nothing to do with this video so if you're like why is she talking about a Gucci bag when she just said to leave your really high-end handbags at home because I wanted to show off that I found this on Posh Park and it's my YouTube channel so there you go t okay so um it passed all the check marks there was a really couple of really great videos that I watched about like Gucci handbag authentication also remember I owned this bag in the 80s so I knew what it was supposed to look like and guess what this one looks just like that um even down to you ready velcro has little Gucci made in Italy it has the old school serial number they don't do the serial numbers like this now but they did in the 1980s your girl did her homework um and I'm just so happy with it it's just a little clutch um a couple people online had added like little Brads and then the d-rings to make this AC crossbody but one of the things I love about it is that it's an old school clutch so I may take this but you know I don't think my beat up 1980s vintage Gucci bag really counts as like super high-end bag if you've got a like a Birkin a lady Dior whatever I if it were me I would not be taking that stuff on vacation that's just me but yeah leave your really really valuables safely at home okay the next thing that I never pack on vacation trying to grab got a back I can get it is too many toiletries now here's the thing with this whether you are checking a bag or whether you are not everything you take you have to keep track of when you're on your trip so like if you're on a cruise and you only have a little bit of counter space in a tiny little Cruise bathroom you don't want to have a huge huge toiletry kit it's just it's to me I I I keep saying you you should do whatever you want for me I don't like to have a ton of toiletries in The State Room in the hotel room whatever I like to keep things really simple so everything that I am taking for this next trip in terms of toiletries is in this liquids bag this Cosmetics bag and then this little emergency medicine bag now the little emergency medicine bag um is separate because I like to be able to throw this like in inside a day bag or whatever this just has my Advil my lactate um it has some Alka-Seltzer it has Band-Aids it has things like that um so just tiny little tiny doesn't need to be like an entire medical store usually anywhere you travel is going to have medicine all over the world um also this is my liquids bag I get so much grief about this liquids bag because yes it is a little large I do have TSA pre-check so I never have to take my liquids bag out in the US when I travel overseas it depends on the airport anymore a lot of the big airports have the scanners that are scanning for the amount of liquid so they don't necessarily need you to take your bag out having said that I always put it in this bag anyway this bag I have never been questioned about it is is about like 2 in Too Tall I've had it in Japan I've had it in Mexico I've had it in Greece I've had it in Italy I've had it all over the United States have never ever ever ever had a problem I will link it below it says on their thing that is TSA pre-check approved there really is no such thing I don't know if y'all know this but the TSA doesn't actually like give a stamp of approval to various bags they just don't also except for Heath thr don't get me started the agents are not measuring your bag so if you're in the ballpark you're usually going to be safe having said that they're also not going to like throw you in jail if you have packed something that does not isn't compliant with the liquids rule they just take it from you like it it isn't like you know you get in in massive trouble or it's an international incident or something so anyway I love this particular liquids bag it probably needs a little clean out but I love it because of the way that it unzips and I just feel like it's super convenient to get stuff in and out of and I love the shape of it um so yeah your experience may vary is this like officially one liter no it's slightly over have I ever had an issue no so that's all I have to say okay another thing I never pack when I go on vacation is too much makeup um I am not a huge makeup girly anyway if you are and that's something that makes you feel more comfortable by all mains you know as I've said multiple times already in this video pack whatever you want to make you feel more comfortable for me um this is all I need and this is basically all of my um I've got my pill case in here I have my little foldable hairbrush in here um and then all of like my mascara and things like that technically yes mascara is a liquid but you know whatever um and then also I have this little um subtle Stacks I love this brand um it has everything that you need you can actually customize your own little set and then let me show you they just like the top has a little mirror and then it just has lip and cheek lip balm and eyes Shadow so this is much more convenient than taking all of the bigger sizes of things super happy with this not sponsored not affiliate but it really has helped me cut down on what I need to take Cosmetics wise and again just just take the basics don't feel like you have to take every you know eyes Shadow color you have every lipstick color you have take some neutral colors some neutral things you can wear every day and for me it just makes things feel more streamlined more just cohesive I'm not having to think too much cuz I really want my focus to be on the vacation not on you know which eyeshadow goes with this dress that I brought or whatever so yeah that's really all I'm taking for a week-long trip in terms of cosmetics and you know the one thing that I will say I generally tend to buy when I get to my destination is sunscreen uh because I generally don't check a bag I never say never sometimes I check a bag and I need a lot of sunscreen if I'm going to a beach destination generally I find like if we're going to Hawaii I like to wait until we get there so I can buy the reef safe stuff tends to be less expensive there than it is here in the US so yeah sunscreen is one of those things I'm very happy to buy once I get to my destination so the other thing that I never pack when I go on vacation is uh anything uncomfortable and we need to have a conversation about this I realize that a lot of you get very excited you buy new outfits for vacation and all of the things and I actually think that is fabulous you should do that you should feel your best self you you've saved a lot of money you've taken time off work to go on vacation or go on the adventure or whatever it is but just make sure that you feel really comfortable in the clothes that you're wearing I never pack anything that I'm having to pull at or tug at anything that requires a great deal of shapewear to make me look good I want to be able to move in my clothes to fully enjoy the trip you need to figure out what style works for you and go with that and let me give you an example maybe you are someone who rocks a strapless miniskirt black dress and that is something that you really feel your true authentic self in by all means take that on vacation I would feel extremely uncomfortable in a dress like that here at home on vacation wherever I don't become a different person just because I'm on vacation and no matter what you're wearing if you're constantly pulling at it tugging at it if it doesn't fit you well if you don't feel confident in it it's not the outfit for you so I never pack clothes that make me feel uncomfortable um I have talked about this before I have a lot of anxiety I have a lot of anxiety in general and I have a lot of anxiety as a traveler so having comfortable clothes on just from a sensory point of view really helps me travel better um this outfit that I'm wearing today a couple of you mentioned it in my last weekly Vlog when I say I've worn it like six times since I got it two weeks ago I keep pulling for it over and over again it's from Spanx it's the air Essentials I have the sleeveless um one piece in this and I bought the two-piece set So Soft so cozy so put together I wor it to the dentist a few days ago and the woman told me I looked very chic um and yet I just feel really really myself so you want to pack clothes that are you not clothes that are the you that you want to be when you're on vacation okay if you don't know what that is if you do not know your personal style we're going to be talking about that more in the upcoming weeks not because I feel like I'm such an expert on fashion I'm not but I have developed my own personal style and I think everyone deserves to have clothes in their closet that represent who they really are and that they feel really comfortable in and the only person that needs to feel good about what you're wearing on your body is you and I don't think we talk about that a lot especially for women that are you know over 40 we talk a lot about what's um and when I say we I don't mean me but people talk a lot about what's in style and is this in or is that in or is that out or is whatever out you're the one that has to walk around in your clothes so you're the one that has to feel great about what you're wearing and if you try to wear clothes that are somebody else's personal style it just never works it doesn't matter how in style it is you have to develop that own sense of personal style so anyway that video will be coming in the coming weeks but I especially think that attitude is super important when you're picking your clothes for vacation so okay that's all I have to say about that those are the things I never travel with I hope you found this helpful my next trip is coming up in just over a week I cannot wait I will bring you the Vlogs from that trip whatever you're doing today I hope you're finding Joy oh and as always this video is being brought to you by my amazing patrons as you've probably noticed don't do a lot of sponsored videos don't talk about a lot of Brands around here that's because of my patrons so if you enjoyed this video today you can thank a patron and if you'd like to join us for exclusive videos live streams all kinds of fun go to patreon.com Jen leforge and I'll see you over there all right I'll see you next Friday bye

Channel: Joyful Living with Jen Lefforge

Views: 11,812

Keywords: packing tips, travel tips, travel essentials, how to pack, packing in a carry-on, joyful living with jen lefforge, pack with me, how to pack light, what not to pack, travel hacks, how to pack a suitcase

Id: 090XzpId_Bk

Length: 17min 26sec (1046 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 23 2024