Use the ‘5-4-3-2-1 Method’ to Pack for Summer Travel

Packing for a trip can be overwhelming, to say the least. Trying to imagine everything you’ll need when you arrive at your destination is difficult, and while it might be easy to remember things like contact lenses and phone chargers, planning the outfits you’ll wear all week can be a true struggle. If that sounds like you, try using a 5-4-3-2-1 packing method to simplify things the next time you go away.

What is the 5-4-3-2-1 packing method?

The 5-4-3-2-1 packing method is supposed to eliminate the need for pondering your outfits and looks on vacation, but what you actually pack depends on who you ask. Luggage purveyor Carl Friedrik, for instance, suggests following this model for a week-long trip:

Five shirts

Four pants or shorts

Three accessories (like hats or sunglasses)

Two pairs of shoes (one comfy and one for going out)

One swimsuit

Over at Apartment Therapy, however, they believe in a framework like this:

Five tops

Four bottoms

Three dresses or rompers and three pairs of shoes

Two swimsuits and two bags

One of each kind of accessory

So the idea varies from person to person and situation to situation. Personally, when I’m going on vacation, I pack a swimsuit for every day I’ll be there. If I were the kind of person who, say, hiked or did outdoor activities on vacation, I’d need more tops and shorts, but fewer accessories.

How to make your perfect 5-4-3-2-1 packing list

The goal here isn’t to stick to the exact same plan as someone else, but to think about what you have planned for the trip and how you can minimize what you pack. Jot down all the activities you have on your itinerary. If you have three fancy dinners, you’ll need three nice outfits, but if you have three days of sightseeing, you’ll need three comfortable and functional ones.

Prioritize packing the highest number of things related to what you’ll do the most of. There’s your “five.” What you’ll do the least of obviously requires fewer clothing items, so pack less of those. You want to set hard limits on how much of each category you pack so you’re not over-packing, which will waste space and make you less organized when you get there. Sticking to a 5-4-3-2-1 methodology that matches your itinerary will put you in a more organized headspace.

Once you’ve created your list and set your guidelines, stick to them by using bag organizers. A set like this features organizers of different sizes, so you can put your “five” items in the larger one and so on:

Again, the goal here isn’t to follow the rules exactly how someone else does, but to create rules for yourself when packing so you stay organized and have everything you need (and nothing you don’t need) when you get where you’re going.