If you’ve been anywhere in Europe, more than likely you’ve come across the Ryanair brand. They’re an economy airline, equivalent to Spirit Airlines or JetBlue. And similar to those airlines, there are some hefty baggage fees when checking in luggage or carry-on.
Nonetheless, TikToker and organization expert Sophie Liard aka “The Folding Lady” shares some tips on how to pack everything you need for a 7-day trip without having to pay extra baggage fees. 4.3 Million followers tuned in on TikTok to learn more about her travel hack.
She said: “I’ve been challenged by @onthebeachholidays to ‘pack-hack’ the system and fit a specially curated week’s holiday wardrobe into Ryanair’s free hand-luggage allowance. I’m using a cheeky neck pillow trick to pack in enough bikinis to switch up your wardrobe every day of the week – and save you up to £70.”
Viral on TikTok
TikTok fans watched Sophie fold up shorts, beachwear, tops, dresses, flip flops, make-up, skincare, all into a tiny carry on with her packing strategy.
She explained: “Less is more. Planning outfits beforehand will give you a big leg up in making sure you don’t overpack. Start to think about what you want to wear, outfits you can mix and match and events you’re going to attend two or three months before the trip to allow for any holiday essentials shopping.”
“Accessories are key, and a simple belt can give an outfit a whole new lease of life. Be savvy with what you leave behind – packing the essentials first will allow you to see what space you really have left for those bonus items.”
Travel hacks
In her TikTok video she starts by rolling her clothes up and putting them in the suitcase. She goes, “Starting with the main case I’m going to bar fold everything in. This way I can see it all and I don’t even need to unpack when I get there.”
Eventually she fills up the main case with clothing, and then proceeds to also stuff the zip pockets on her bag. “I’ve swapped from a roll to a fold so I can use every single pocket available and fill every little nook and cranny.” said Liard.
Age-old debate:
There’s a debate among hardcore travelers about whether the rolling or folding method makes more use of luggage space, according to Liard both methods can work for you depending on what you’re packing. She explained: “Truth be told there is not much in it when it comes to folding versus rolling – trust me, we tested it at The Folding Lady HQ! A mixture works well, depending on the material of the clothing and what is actually going in the suitcase.”
Solving packing woes
“As a general rule of thumb we’d advise folding the following items; blazers, t-shirts, underwear, jackets, anything delicate or with embellishment and rolling the following; thicker knits, dresses, tights.”
The Folding Lady also shows us some tricks on how to take a few more items on the plane, for moments when your carry-on is “full to the brim”. “’I’m going to show you a super handy pack hack using this cheeky travel pillow meaning you can take a bikini for every day of the week, for free, even when your bag is totally full to the brim,” said Liard.
Things to remember:
Liard immediately begins to remove the pillow from inside of a travel neck pillow and then stuffed it with underwear and bikinis. Then the travel pillow can come on board, since its not considered to be any kind of hand luggage. “Packing for holiday can often feel like the most stressful part of traveling – especially if you’re an over-packer,” said Liard.
“But it doesn’t need to be – now, more than ever, with spiking luggage allowance costs and widespread checked baggage chaos, is the time to minimize packing by taking hand luggage only. It may seem next to impossible to pack all your clothing for a week-long trip into hand luggage, but I’ve shown that this doesn’t have to be the case.”