Pack it in.

One of the downsides to travelling is the fact that you have to pack and unpack every few days, if not daily. And if you’re like me, you may even find yourself chucking Havaianas into your backpack in a blind panic 10 minutes before your bus to Cambodia leaves. It happens.

So my packing tip of the day is to pick some of these bad boys – cute zip-up pouches.

I picked up these fruity numbers at H&M for £1.50 each. You can’t really go wrong can you? They’re compact and squishy so you can tuck them into the nooks of your backpack, which is exactly what you want. Any solid beauty bags or pouches are so difficult to pack. Sure it’s fine when you do your initial pack at home, but when you decide at the last minute to go to Full Moon and the last bus down from Bangkok is about to leave, you won’t have time to maneuver your cube of a make-up case among your heels and your new elephant ornaments.

I used mine to pack my jewellery and my hair accessories. Not that I took a lot but it makes it easier to keep track of them.

I also used a small floral bag for my medication (asthma pumps, the pill and first aid supplies) that was £1 from Primark.

I definitely think these zip-up bags make a difference in serious packing emergencies. It’s also easier to find something when you’re rummaging through your toploader trying to find a plaster.

The fact that they’re squashy rather than solid also means you’re maximising the space in your backpack. I used to squish my jewellery bag into my heels and chuck my medication bag in a nifty inner pocket of my bag. Sorted. It also means it’s harder to leave something behind when you only have to check you have your ‘hair bag’ rather than your hairbands, kirby grips, headscarves and comb.

And a pound is hardly breaking the budget is it?

So go on, get packing!