The Best Travel Packing Tips, According To Former SQ Girls

Can we all admit one thing? Holidays are fun, but packing is not.

Firstly, there’s the nightmare of having to hope and pray everything fits into your suitcase while coming in under the baggage limit. Then, when you’ve reached your destination, searching for that specific floral skirt becomes a monumental task of overturning your entire luggage.

Perhaps you underestimated the weather in Rome, and you’re running low on clean, sweat-free tops. Or maybe at the end of that dream Maldives trip, you’re kicking yourself because you could’ve saved three kilos of luggage space for your souvenirs, because you brought one too many shoes that never saw the light of day.

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Here’s the good news, it’s not just a ‘you’ problem. As this writer will attest, having travelled several times in a year for the better half of my adult life, I still struggle with packing smart. So, who better to turn to for advice than the frequently-flying cabin crew?

Ahead, three ex-Singapore Airlines stewardesses—Cheryl, Alicia and Olivia*—share their top packing tips and must-have packing tools, so you can skip to the good part (read: enjoy your holiday in bliss).

*Names have been changed

1. Roll your clothing

While most people tend to fold (and stuff) their clothing, Cheryl opts to roll her clothing instead. “It helps to keep each article of clothing as compact as it possibly can be,” she says. “Also, when you open up your luggage, it’s nice when everything is rolled up and neatly stowed, because you can easily find your items.”

2. Use packing cubes

In theory, packing cubes may seem counterintuitive to some, because we’re so used to stuffing the free spaces with socks and intimatewear. But for Alicia, she swears by them because “they just help to keep everything neatly compartmentalised, easy to locate and it really helps to optimise the space”. Sure, she admits that often, this involves some amount of Tetris-ing your cubes, but she assures us that it’s easy once you’re accustomed to them.

Packing cubs, $35.30, Bagail at Amazon

Meet your new travel MVPs. Bagail’s minimalist cubes are roomy, well-structured, and come in a creamy neutral that looks good even if your packing style leans towards “organised mess.” No more digging through your luggage for that one tee—everything has a home.

Packing cubs, $43, Samsonite at Lazada

Streamlined, sleek, and durable, these Samsonite cubes are ideal for frequent flyers. They’re soft yet structured, so they keep their shape without taking up unnecessary space. Basically, they do the hard work so you don’t have to.

Packing cubes, $29.99, Typo

Affordable, colourful, and ridiculously easy to pack with—this set from Typo is perfect if you love a little order in your suitcase chaos. Three sizes mean your outfits, undies, and odds and ends all get their own space. Bonus: they’re super lightweight, so you can squeeze in one more pair of shoes.

3. Swap your Ziploc bags for a clear wash bag

How many times have your sandwich bags given way due to being overstuffed with toiletries? If your answer is “one too many”, then swapping to a see-through wash bag might help, as told to us by Cheryl.

The first pro of this is that a wash bag is far more durable and less likely to split. Secondly, it restricts you with space so you’re forced to be more disciplined in choosing what to bring on the plane. Lastly, having it see-through ensures that you won’t get stopped by border security.

Toiletries bag, $46, Rains

Minimalists, this one’s for you. With that signature Rains aesthetic—clean lines and a water-resistant build—it looks like a tiny Scandi spaceship for your skincare. It’s chic, wipeable, and surprisingly roomy for its size.

Toiletries bag, $31, Auseibeely at Amazon

TSA-approved and spill-proof, this clear case is a no-brainer for anyone who hates digging through a black hole of products mid-security line. It’s roomy enough for all your minis, and the zip’s satisfyingly sturdy. Cute? Not really. Practical? Absolutely.

Toiletries bag, $22.99, Popvibe at Amazon

A creamy pastel shade, see-through panels, and a roomy shape that lets you squeeze your awkwardly-sized products in—this one’s practical with personality.

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4. Plan your outfits in advance

One thing that both Alicia and Olivia agree on is that planning saves you so much hassle when packing.

“I usually try to have a loose idea of what I want to do, so I can pack the outfits I want to wear to these things,” says Alicia. “This way, there’s no guesswork needed.”

Olivia goes a step beyond, as she directs me to the hundreds of packing planner templates available on Google. “Find one that works for you,” she shares. “Essentially, it lets you jot down the activities and itinerary, and then allocate clothing to them in a systematic way so you’re not over or under-packing.”

5. Opt for non-liquid toiletries

Often, toiletries take up plenty of weight even though they may look deceptively small. Thankfully, there are plenty of brands in the market today that offer liquidless alternatives, and these can shave off some baggage weight.

“I try to use bar soaps rather than liquid body wash, and I’ll use a powder exfoliator or even a silicone exfoliating glove rather than lug around a tub of face scrub. I’ve also seen some brands create powdered serums that emulsify when you add water, and these can be very effective in trimming down the suitcase weight,” Cheryl tells us.

Refresh Body Cleansing Slab, $45, Aesop at Lazada

The name says “slab” and honestly, it is a unit. Aesop’s bar soap is luxe, long-lasting, and laced with citrusy goodness. Toss it in a soap case and you’re sorted for weeks. Looks chic in your hotel shower, too.

Cleansing Bar Nº GREEN, $33, Corpus at Lazada

This all-natural bar looks fancy (and smells even better). It’s free of nasties and packed with plant-based goodness, so it’s kind to your skin and your luggage—no spills, no drama. Plus, the verdant scent is giving spa-in-the-forest energy.

2-in-1 shampoo & body wash bar, $24.70, Kitsch at Amazon

Two-in-one? Yes please. This little bar multitasks like a pro, cleansing your hair and body without needing multiple bottles. It’s plastic-free, lathers like a dream, and smells subtly sweet. Ideal for carry-on-only travel (or saving suitcase real estate for shopping).

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6. Try the ‘333’ method

“This was something TikTok taught me,” Olivia reveals, “and it was super helpful, especially for short weekend trips where you don’t have plenty of baggage allowance!”

Essentially, the ‘333’ Method asks you to bring 3 items from the 3 main categories: tops, bottoms and shoes. From there, you can find a multitude of different ways to mix and match these items—think of it as a capsule wardrobe.

7. Have a grab-and-go toiletries kit

One of the things that many cabin crew are familiar with is the case of last-minute schedule changes. In these instances, they have to be ready to up and hit the airport to fill in for another colleague, and it always helps to have a toiletries kit you can already throw into your luggage when you’re in a rush.

“Basically, I keep miniatures of the skincare and makeup products I love in this kit, and post-flight, it just goes straight into the vanity drawer,” Olivia says. “I don’t even unpack anything in it unless there’s something that needs to be thrown out. It just helps having one less bag to pack, especially when you’ve got a last-minute plane to catch.”

Toiletry kit, $85, Bellroy

Sleek, structured, and water-resistant, this one’s for the travellers who want their grooming game to look as good as their wardrobe. The internal mesh pockets and toothbrush sleeve? Surprisingly useful. It’s small but mighty.

Toiletry kit, $128, Seletti at Farfetch

If your vibe is more “statement” than “subtle,” this wild little number is it. Seletti’s snake print pouch is eye-catching, fun, and roomy enough for your go-to skincare lineup. Not the most discreet, but when has travel ever been boring?

Toiletry dopp kit, $30.41, Samsonite at Amazon

It’s compact, it hangs, and it fits way more than it should. Samsonite’s unisex toiletry bag makes organizing your beauty bits weirdly satisfying. Great for hotel stays, hostels, or anywhere with questionable counter space.

8. Skip the guessing of your luggage weight

How many times have you tried to guess-timate the weight of your luggage while in the hotel and tell yourself it’s fine, only to get a nasty surprise when you’ve placed it on the weighing scale at the airport? Alicia recommends keeping a small luggage scale on you at all times, so “you already know if you need to repack your suitcase to bring down the weight.”

“Also, you can then make better plans to buy extra baggage allowance ahead of time, so you don’t have to worry about the nasty overweight charges you’d typically get when you’re at the airport counter,” she points out.

Electronic luggage scale, $31.20, Samsonite at Amazon

Trust Samsonite to deliver a no-fuss, durable travel tool. This luggage scale is sleek, accurate, and slips easily into any pouch or pocket. One-button operation means even pre-coffee packing is doable.

Digital LCD handheld luggage weight, $19.40, OriGlam at Amazon

Cute, compact, and loaded with features—including a built-in thermometer. (Why? No idea, but it’s fun.) The digital display is super clear and it’s accurate enough to save you from overweight bag drama. A solid travel sidekick.

Digital scale, $62.39, Fuzion at Amazon

Avoid the dreaded airport repack with this sleek, easy-to-use scale. Just hook, lift, and read. The backlit screen’s great for late-night packing sessions and it’s light enough to toss in your bag for the return trip.

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