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MASTER THE ART OF PACKING

Haw-San Au-Yong, founder of Edits Inc. shows you tips on how to stay organised and pack effortlessly for your holiday trip.

Effortlessly fit your holiday must-haves in your cabin luggage, no problem! Professional Organiser Haw-San Au-Yong shows us how. 5 outfits, 5 shoes for a week-long holiday. Sounds perfect, but wait… how do you fit all these into a cabin-sized luggage? Don’t fret, we’ll let you in on a secret so you’ll be packing like a pro in no time.

Take it from home guru San, who’s also the founder of Edits Inc. that provides professional home-organisational services. The former industrial engineer used to spend her days in huge 200,000 sq ft warehouses, building huge warehouses and optimizing operations processes. And now she’s taking her training into homes and offices, to help regular people like you and me declutter our everyday spaces.

Her philosophy is minimalistic – the 3Rs: Retrieve , Replace, Reset. That stress of unpacking, repacking and crazy-running through your hotel room at the last minute to make sure you’ve put everything into the luggage? That’s not good packing and it’s going to be a thing of the past.

“When you go on holiday, the idea is to spend most of your time exploring the city, having fun, and the least time possible on packing. Good packing means you should be able to retrieve an item in under 10 seconds and be able to keep it or return it to its original spot within 10 seconds hassle-free. And when it comes time to check-out, you should be able to reset your luggage to its original condition in three minutes flat.” - quips San at our interview.

It seems like chaos might have just met its match. Hear it from the expert and steal some tips!

Step-by-step guide to packing with San

1. Planning makes everything easier! Before you start packing, make a list to ensure that you won’t leave anything out. San wisely advises, “I love using Evernote. Do it once, and you’ll never need to do it again. Packing without a list is a no-no.”

2. Here’s the fun part – deciding what to wear on vacay for your perfect #OOTD shots. Mix and match your outfits to see what works best. Select double duty pieces to save some luggage space. Fold your clothes using the super simple Samurai fold. “Forget those super complicated folding or packing methods, I can think of better ways to spend my time on a holiday.”

3. Then, compartmentalise your clothing into separate travel storage bags. Depending on your outfits, you should separate them either by day or type of clothing so that you can quickly locate the items when you need them.

4. Decant your toiletries and skin care into travel-friendly bottles so you don’t have to lug so much excess weight. This process is simple and quick, so don’t skip this. San exclaimed “If I ever leave my La Mer moisturiser behind at a hotel, at least I won’t scream since it’s just a small decanted bottle!”

5. Don’t forget the shoes! The right kicks can make or break your outfit, so bring a few pairs with you to switch your looks around. With shoes, we know how frustrating it can be to pack all our favourites into a 22” luggage. With these game-changing foldable flats, why not bring as many as you like? Simply fold these lightweight ballet pumps into their storage pouches, and arrange them into anyempty pockets of space within your luggage so that everything is secure and compact.

6. Voilà – close your luggage and you’re all set! On the trip though, it takes discipline for you to remember the second R – that is, to Replace items that you’ve taken out of your luggage once you’re done with them. That outfit from yesterday? The swimsuit that you no longer need? Pack it back where it came from! That will allow you to Reset and get out of the hotel in under three minutes easy peasy. Now that wasn’t too bad, was it?