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This week’s blog is presented in collaboration with Cotton Traders, and their fabulous new summer collection with Jasmine Harman. 

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my best packing tip for peace of mind

Are you a hand-luggage-only traveller or do you prefer the luxury of outfit options, taking as many toiletries/liquids as you like and almost always opt to check a suitcase into the hold?

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a fairly high maintenance person when it comes to having my ‘things’ around me when I travel. I have perfected my hand-luggage-only packing in the last year or two out of necessity – but I love the freedom of a checked in bag.

However, last summer I kept on hearing about friends whose luggage went missing and they were having to exist with the clothes they were standing in, sometimes for several days. For someone who needs her things, this started to worry me and as I was about to take a short break to Ibiza I started to obsess that my luggage wouldn’t make it and I’d have to spend the entire time in my travel outfit, and try to buy swimwear at the resort which NEVER works for my body shape! With only a few days away, it felt too risky not to be prepared.

So, I packed a ‘just-in-case’ pouch to pop in my hand bag. A capsule collection of ‘essentials’ that would make a couple of days (probably longer) without luggage pretty bearable.

Today, I thought I’d share the contents of this magical pouch, so that if, like me, the thought of missing luggage is too much to bear, you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you have almost everything you’ll need for two or three days of beaching and dining out.

my ‘just-in-case’ pouch

The beginnings of this idea grew out of a fantastic purchase I made after reading and seeing people online using packing cubes. If you haven’t gone down this route yet I say get on with it! It transforms packing in a way you’d never believe. I could write a whole blog post about the joy of these clever little pouches (let me know in the comments if you’d like to know more!).

I took one of the smaller sized packing cubes and started to collate the essentials for my trip. A collection of items that would allow me to relax, feel good and have options if my suitcase didn’t make it.

What I pack in my just-in-case pouch:

• A swimsuit
• A beach cover-up
• Flip flops
• A cap/sunhat
• Clean underwear
• Lightweight wide leg trousers
• A white t-shirt
• Minimal toiletries/make-up (in a clear bag for security)
• A couple of pieces of jewellery

Cotton Traders Printed Pull-On Trousers £32

Everything needs to be lightweight and easy to roll into a small packing cube. I’m always amazed at how much I can fit into one cube. 

Knowing I had these items by my side and instantly available meant that, if the worst happened, I could still enjoy a beach day or two, and have options for the evening. If I had to cope with another day without my luggage, I could mix the items from my travel outfit with the trousers to create another outfit or two.

The hotel we were staying at provided beach towels but if I had to take my own, I’d take one of these pretty Kikoy towels:

Aspiga Baringo Kikoy Towel £45

I invested in one years and years ago and it’s fabulous. They dry quickly in the sunshine being so thin but are still wonderfully absorbent, they don’t take up much space in your case and of course look and feel very stylish to lie on!

choose your travel outfit carefully

And one final piece of advice. Think about what you’ll wear again when you are choosing your travel outfit. I almost always travel in trainers, which are useful for sightseeing and cooler evenings. I wear trousers I’ll wear again in the evenings, a t-shirt or short sleeved top that would work with the just-in-case trousers, a jacket – see this fabulously priced one I’m trying from Cotton Traders which works over every single outfit I’d be wearing on holiday. I got the indigo denim but it also comes in a rose pink.

Cotton Traders The Denim Jacket £39

Finally, I also take a lightweight colourful scarf which is handy on the plane and again on a chillier evening. This could be your sarong too if you prefer having your lower body covered in a swimsuit.

So, there you are. My top tip to make your summer holiday worry free, if like me lost luggage would feel like a disaster! Get yourself some packing cubes, (Let me know if you’d like more on this…), choose a small one to fit inside your travel bag. And sit back and enjoy the journey.

AD: Thank you to Cotton Traders who invited me to try a few pieces from their new Jasmine Harman collection to include in this blog post. Please know I would only ever write about brands that I think you’ll love and have turned down a lot of unsuitable collaboration requests in the past. If you decide to take a look at Cotton Traders, make sure you sign up for a 10% discount if you are a new customer using the pop up box on their website.