Travel | Packing for an Away Game

I am literally the world’s worst packer. If there was an award given out, I would have two of them. Packing for vacation and packing for an away game during the football season require two very different methods. Away games are essentially only about 36 hours of travel. We arrive to the state we are playing in on Friday afternoon and head straight to the airport once the game is over on Saturday and immediately fly home to Baton Rouge. Since I only have a minimal timeframe to pack for, I feel like this is a much easier packing task to tackle. Here is what goes into packing for an away game.

The only piece of luggage I pack for an away game is my LSU-issued Nike carryon suitcase. I love this suitcase because it is durable, has multiple pockets and can wheel right on to the plane with me. When I travel with the team, all of our luggage is taken straight from the busses to the plane for us, so we don’t have to deal with it. For other trips I like to use this suitcase because I can keep it with me and don’t have to check any luggage. It might not be the most hip and stylish option (I really want this suitcase for other trips), but it gets the job done and I don’t care if it gets scuffed. Also, my luggage will never get lost with our custom bag tags. I have so many from the past six years that are customized for each season and bowl game we go to.

CLOTHES

CHECKLIST: LSU travel windsuit | LSU-issued tennis shoes | Pajamas | Gameday outfit (top/dress, pants, shoes) | Raincoat | Jewelry

Packing clothes for an away trip is pretty basic. I wear what I wore on the plane to team dinner on Friday night, put on an LSU windsuit while we are at the hotel on Saturday and then switch into my gameday outfit for the game and plane ride home. I like to try on my gameday outfit before I leave Baton Rouge as well as check the weather of where we are going. I don’t want to be stuck with something uncomfortable that doesn’t fit right or an outfit that is not right for the elements. I also have a light Nike raincoat that easily packs, because you never know when you might need it, especially in the South!

I wrote about how I pick out my outfit for the sidelines and each gameday here!

TOILETRIES

CHECKLIST: Toiletries Bag | Makeup Bag | Straightener | Curling iron | Brush | Medicine

I always keep my toiletry bag packed and ready to go. I am a hoarder of Sephora samples, so instead of packing miniature bottles of my everyday beauty products, I travel with samples because they take up less space and I have boxes FULL of them. I also have a toothbrush, toothpaste, bandaids, bobby pins, makeup wipes and everything else I might need for an overnight trip in there so  I don’t need to pack this each time I travel. I also carry a little box that has different compartments for different medicines, like Advil, Motrin PM, heartburn medicine, etc., so I am never without something that I might need.

PURSE

CHECKLIST: Small wallet | Compact | Lipgloss | Sunglasses | Phones | Small notepad + pen | Pocket schedule of the weekend | Gum | Travel perfume | Hand sanitzer

I downsize my purse so it doesn’t feel like I am carrying around another piece of luggage. I switch to a card case wallet, because I don’t need frequent buyer cards, stamps and everything else that is in my everyday wallet. I keep minimal makeup in there and a small notepad and pen incase I need to take notes while I’m on the sidelines. I recently purchased my Louis Vuitton for this season, but last year I traveled with the Henri Bendel mini Jetsetter backpack and I love it too!

BACKPACK

CHECKLIST: Computer | Chargers (computer, phone, Apple Watch) | Headphones | Game notes | Notepad | Pens | Visiting stadium credential

A backpack is the ultimate carry on. I love a cute tote bag, but a backpack is practical, organized and doesn’t get in the way. I use my backpack everyday at work, so I take out things that can weigh it down, like my planner, that I don’t need on gameday to make it as light as possible. Travel is so much easier when you use a backpack. If there is only one travel tip I do know, it’s this. Trust me.

Even though I feel like I have this little bit of packing down, I still find myself sometimes doing laundry the night (or morning) before leaving and still rushing around a little bit and throwing things together. I hold out hope that if I can get down to packing for an away game that I will get better when it comes to packing for longer vacations and trips. Maybe one day… Do you have any travel tips that I could use? I’m in need of quite a few!

If you want to see what it’s like behind the scenes traveling with one of the most popular sports teams in the country, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram. I post pics and tons of videos on stories during each away trip!