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Home » Interesting Discussions » Travel Tip: Unpack as soon as you get home

Travel Tip: Unpack as soon as you get home

June 12, 2010 Paris B 32 Comments

Here’s a travel tip I’ve learnt the hard way – and you don’t have to because I’m here to share!

When you return from a trip, all you want to do is to dump your bags on the floor and fall straight into bed. I know I do. But you should not.

What you should do instead is use the last vestiges of your energy supply to unpack your  bags to the best of your ability and keep everything away.

Yes, start your unpacking immediately when you get home (or the next morning if you arrive late at night).

  • Toss your dirty clothes into your laundry basket and if you can, put them straight into the wash.
  • Separate out your gifts and purchases and if possible, group all your gifts together in a paper bag or bags, ready to be gifted the next time you see your family or friends.
  • Put your souvenirs on display and keep away your purchases (unless you are a blogger, then take your pictures then keep them away 😉 )
  • Empty your travel bag – toss out scraps of paper and tear off airline stickers and identification tags. Wipe down your travel bag

And before you know it, you’ll be done with your unpacking!

If you leave it too long, you will find yourself tripping over your unpacked suitcase for days or even weeks. And you’ll get lazy about unpacking. Trust me – I experienced this as a student when I actually left my unpacking so long during the summer holidays I had to unpack just so I could pack to return to university! Mom was NOT amused 😛

So, don’t do that. Unpack the moment you get home, and then shower and relax. It feels a lot better and you will feel less stressed 🙂

Now, hands up who’s guilty of leaving their unpacking for later and then taking your sweet time getting it done or never getting it done at all till your next trip? 😉

Paris B

32 Insightful comments ... Read or JOIN THE DISCUSSION

About Paris B

Paris B is a 40-something beauty and skincare enthusiast with a practical and very critical view of beauty products and the world of beauty. Her mission on My Women Stuff is to deliver clear, honest reviews and facilitate discussions about beauty trends and life, tempered with a healthy dose of humour. When not blogging about beauty or life beyond 40 find her talking about feeding dogs real, wholesome food. Connect with us on social media at Instagram.

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32 comments ... Read or JOIN THE DISCUSSION

  1. Amanda says

    June 12, 2010 at 9:11 am

    One tip that people forget to share. and yes, i believe so. u’ll get lazier, and u’ll start to unpack ur things when u wanna pack ur things back – been there!

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:03 pm

      Haha its comforting to know I’m not alone 😛

      Reply
    • gypsy-on-the-move says

      June 14, 2010 at 11:07 am

      It is 2 weeks after my long holiday and I still have not unpack!
      Feeling guilty now… =(

      Reply
  2. Isabel says

    June 12, 2010 at 9:14 am

    I “unpack” as soon as I get back and by “unpack”, I mean taking everything out of my travel suitcase (especially the laundry! otherwise…yuck!). I don’t really put the stuff away properly – e.g. finding space in my cupboard for clothes and in the shelves for make up – until the next couple of days.

    Unpacking is a great way to force myself to stay awake until bedtime. So nice to look at all the goodies I bought on my trips! I force myself to keep to normal bedtimes to avoid the jetlag and I’m pleased to say that works pretty well for me.

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:04 pm

      Yes! When I travel across time zones I force myself to stay awake (or go to sleep) depending on the time I arrive so I don’t get jet lagged and you’re right. It works! I always put clothes (old and new) to wash first so that takes care of the sorting out for a few days 😉

      Reply
  3. Mei Ping says

    June 12, 2010 at 9:15 am

    No matter how tired I am, I always unpack all the things in the luggage before I start relaxing. What I do is, all my dirty clothes will be packed in a laundry bag. So, when I come back home I just unload them into the washing machine and put away all my clean clothes and toiletries. Only thing I do not do is to tear the airline sticker /tag.

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:04 pm

      Haha! I leave my airline tag on too till the next trip. Not sure why – just a reminder of what fun it is to fly perhaps? 😉

      Reply
  4. Lee says

    June 12, 2010 at 9:27 am

    Hello Paris,
    Well I only do one part of it…to take out the dirty laundry and wash them. I can’t stand dirtiness but messiness is okay lol
    Last time I came back for summer holiday I literally lived out of my suitcase * shrug*…for 3 months yes, mum was amused.
    Have a great w/e 🙂 xxx

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:05 pm

      Hope you had a great weekend Lee! Dirty laundry is a must clear! I actually really enjoyed a trip where I had access to a washing machine – came home with clean laundry for once – bliss!

      Reply
  5. Affy says

    June 12, 2010 at 9:36 am

    Guilty as charged…. 😛

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:06 pm

      Haha! No problems – been there done that!

      Reply
  6. Nikki says

    June 12, 2010 at 10:28 am

    Wonderful tip! I unpack IMMEDIATELY too! I hate having old clothes enclosed in one luggage..I just don’t like the idea of that! 🙂

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:06 pm

      Yup! I learnt this the hard way – tripping over luggage and finding old clothes weeks later is no fun 😛

      Reply
  7. geekchic says

    June 12, 2010 at 10:34 am

    Oh. My idea of unpacking is tipping my suitcase out and putting it away. Keeping away the stuff – that could take weeks :p

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:06 pm

      Spending time ogling first? 😉

      Reply
  8. Natalie says

    June 12, 2010 at 11:57 am

    I only unpack immediately, so that I could enjoy all my shopping goodies! 🙂

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:07 pm

      Yes that too! 😀 And I always realize I bought less than I thought I would.

      Reply
  9. Eli says

    June 12, 2010 at 11:57 am

    I do this whenever I get back from long holidays and have large suitcases with me. But for short work trips? Nope, hardly ever. I do take out my toiletries and dirty clothes but usually leave my camping gear attached to the bag since I’ll usually be sent out again within a week or two.

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:07 pm

      Golly! camping gear! Well if you’re going to get use out of it again might as well leave it semi packed 😀

      Reply
  10. Sam says

    June 12, 2010 at 12:07 pm

    Always do this now- especially important if you are buying liquid body washes etc. If you unpack ASAP, then hopefully it will minimise damage if they leak!

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:08 pm

      Oh that’s a good point! I do always wrap liquids in plastic bags before packing to minimize damage but you’re right it can be a right mess

      Reply
  11. Sarah says

    June 12, 2010 at 12:12 pm

    I always unpack immediately after my trip. One thing I can’t stand is dirty laundry packed in a suitcase. Another thing is that I have to use the toiletries that I’ve packed so unpacking after a trip is a must for me.

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:08 pm

      I do have a separate toiletry bag which makes things less “urgent” but I do want to dig into new goodies too 🙂

      Reply
  12. AnT says

    June 12, 2010 at 12:49 pm

    Hey my humble Paris!!

    LOL nice post here on a Saturday 😛

    i have to unpack everything becoz i have been nagged to do so and for the sake of not wanting more nags from my mom 😀

    reduce backlogs kinda feeling sometimes LOL 😛

    xoxo

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:09 pm

      Yeah I remember my mom nagging me. These days, if I don’t unpack, I’d be tripping over it all the time which isn’t fun too!

      Reply
  13. Stella says

    June 12, 2010 at 6:55 pm

    Guilty as charged, I’m afraid! 😀 I’m such a procrastinator when it comes to unpacking! I’ll take out my dirty laundry, but everything else just stays in the suitcase, and I’ll be living out of my suitcase for months 😛

    I must’ve established a world record for how long one can go without unpacking… after my trip in December, I only fully unpacked when it came time to repack my suitcase for my June trip!

    Terrible habit, I know. I’ve stubbed my poor toes on my suitcase in the dark one too many times…

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:10 pm

      Oh boy! That is certainly some kind of record! 😀 I do like having some semblance of order hence the quick unpacking (or I’d be living out of the suitcase too)

      Reply
  14. Shay says

    June 12, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    Hehehehe….I have not fully unpack since my last trip in Mar this year. But I get used to it already. So much so that I left the things I usually travel with unpacked. 😛

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      June 13, 2010 at 12:10 pm

      Har har! I only do that with toiletries. I have a toiletry bag all packed and ready to go … anywhere! 😀

      Reply
  15. Syen says

    June 13, 2010 at 3:48 pm

    LOL. I loooove travelling but unfortunately I hate the packing, and even more the unpacking. I usually leave it lying there for a few days until I can’t stand it myself, then the unpacking gets done. Laundry gets done before that though, thankfully. =P

    Reply
  16. Connie says

    June 14, 2010 at 11:50 am

    Guilty!!

    I’ll put the dirty clothes to wash la but everything else stays in there until they’re needed

    Reply
  17. Nellz says

    June 14, 2010 at 8:25 pm

    Heeeee u caught me there! I usually just take out the dirty clothes and let the rest of stuffs hibernate for a while..:P

    Ok mid year resolution… unpack asap..

    Reply

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Welcome to My Women Stuff, a beauty blog based in Malaysia, written by veteran blogger, Paris B. We now write for women of 40 and above because that's how old I am! What you can expect is honesty, critical views & a healthy dose of shared life lessons sprinkled amongst beauty product reviews. Settle in for a read. Read More about us

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