By Hannah Moss | September 17, 2012

How to Pack 20kg for 12 Months

When blogger and PR whizz Suzie Watts decided to pack her bags and head for sunny Australia she was faced with a dilemma – how to pack for 12 months with a luggage allowance of just 20kg?! Here the lovely Suzie shares her tips with SalesGossip…

Are you trying to plan your luggage for a 12 month trip abroad and stressed out by the thought of only being able to take a mere fraction of your wardrobe?! This is what we call a dilemma! There is so much to consider… tops, skirts, shorts, boots, sandals, dresses, jumpers, jeans, accessories – and the list continues. Where do you start? How do you identify what’s going to be hot and what’s not?

After some time, consideration and personal experience it’s possible to offer some guidance and tips on how to plan your luggage for the trip of a lifetime.

Things to consider:

• The climate over the 12 months that you are away: research the seasons in the location/s you’re heading to. There’s no point in having just summer wear if winter is on its way - it can be costly building up a winter wardrobe and you’ll be doubling up on items you already own. Plus you may be pushing your 20kg space into excess on your return.

• The jobs you’ll be applying for: what type of attire will be required i.e. office, hospitality, farming work?

• Are you taking a suitcase or back pack? Obviously each of these ways to carry your items has its pros and cons.

• Are you taking other important items such as a hairdryer, straighteners, cans and bottles of lotions and potions? They take up space AND weight…can you live without these???

• Airlines can be strict so to avoid disappointment and any additional cost check airline luggage specifications.

With these things in mind it’s clear to see a 20kg space needs some planning! The lighter the suitcase or back pack the better – and if it means having a slightly unattractive luggage look then so be it, it’s the contents the counts! Debenhams are having a good luggage sale and cater to different budgets and styles, so it’s worth seeing what they have to offer.

A key tip for clothing is to take your most versatile items the things that can be used to make up of lots of outfits even work wear. It’s important to think about how often you might wear something and how often realistically certain types of events may take place… the Saturday nights you have back home in high end cocktail bars maybe traded for casual, flip flop type places. Maybe just one light weight cocktail dress will do?

Floral Blazer, £25 Boohoo.com; Animal Swimsuit, £7 Miss Selfridge

A tip for shoes is wear the heaviest on your way, so if you’re a DM fan you know what youneed to do! There are lots of shoes good for jazzing an outfit up a popular style are espadrilles they’re light, comfy and stylish also fairly cheap. Aldo, Miss Selfridge and Boohoo.com also have some great bargain brogues on offer…

Gold Brogues, £12 Miss Selfridge; Pink Soled Brogues, £12 Boohoo.com

Accessories are a must and a great way to style up especially if your ‘versatiles’ seem a little on the plain side. A fair amount of jewellery can be worn whilst making your way, the annoyance of jingling and having very large wrists to fit through sleeves can be worth it. Time to jazz up…

Red Cuff £12 and Blue Bracelet £15, French Connection; Silver,Gold & Gunmetal Bracelet £8 and Silver Bangles £5, Oasis; Bright Earrings £8 and Owl Bracelet £3, ASOS; Feather Earrings £3.15, Forever 21

When it comes to jewellery it’s safe to have something gold, something silver and something colourful.

This maroon and beige scarf (£6.25, ASOS) is a great ‘versatile’ as not only can it be worn as a hair piece, it can be used as a scarf, an accessory for a handbag or a wrist piece.

How do you wear your scarfs? Tweet us your pictures @SalesGossip

The key is to be as versatile as possible and remember accessories are a plain Jane outfits best friend! I hope the tips are useful and good luck on your travels.

You can read Suzie’s blog at prswooz.com