I hate packing my suitcase – I’m lazy, and have to admit that I dump everything in the suitcase without any thought, and I’d probably fit much more in if I actually folded up my clothes neatly.

I get paranoid that my suitcase is going to be overweight, and that I am going to be held to ransom by the airline, so whose best qualified to provide you with tips on what not to do when packing your bag – yours truly:

Don’t just dump the items in your suitcase.

Make a list of the items you are putting in your suitcase – the number of times that I have packed by suitcase to return back home and found that I have left my best pair of jeans in the hotel wardrobe, or £70 aftershave in the hotel bathroom. Write each item down and put it in the suitcase, then when you are leaving your accommodation, you can tick each item off.

Don’t put everything but the kitchen sink in your suitcase

I’ve only recently started to think about what I am actually putting in the suitcase – usually, I put everything but the kitchen sink in. On my last trip to Prague I put in my iPod in to the suitcase, then I thought – do I REALLY need this. The answer on most occasions will be no, and you don’t want to loose a valuable item that your not going to use.

Don’t just throw in your clothes

In the past I have just literally thrown in my clothes in to the suitcase, then someone told me to roll up the clothes – not only do you save space, but you also keep your clothes from getting creased, whoever thought of this idea is a genius.

Don’t throw in the toiletries with the rest of your suitcase items

If you want to get to your destination, and take out your clothes without finding the contents of a bottle of aftershave on them, or worse still the contents of a tube of toothpaste on your best pair of jeans then buy a toiletry bag – you won’t believe how many times this has happened to me – you’d think someone at 33 years old would have common sense, but well I don’t.

Don’t take dodgy items in your suitcase

Can you imagine having to take out your underwear in the full view of the airline check-in staff – believe me it’s happened to me – and why? Simply because I took a corkscrew and put it at the bottom of the suitcase, and when they asked me if I had any sharp objects in the bag, I said yes. So I had to open the bag, take out my clothes and then take out the corkscrew.

What did I learn from this 1) don’t be so stupid to take a corkscrew and 2) don’t put any items which could be dodgy at the bottom of the suitcase. A good website to visit to find out what items are not allowed is the Civil Aviation Authorities website.

I hope my tips on not what to do help you out – a lot of it is common sense.

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