Chelsea Dickenson is a bag packing master. The social media savant has been dishing out travel tips on a regular basis, earning her nearly 200,000 followers on Instagram and millions of views across the internet. Dickenson, 33, founded Cheap Holiday Expert to capitalize on her expertise, offering pro packing and traveling tips that are budget friendly.
While packing may feel like a labor, Dickenson said it’s worth taking the time to do it right.
“You can absolutely pack smaller than you think, I promise you, you can,” Dickenson told CNN Travel. “And I’m going to go out there and say that it will make your holiday better.”
One of Dickenson’s quick packing tips has since gone viral. The UK-based traveler said that fishing vests are an easy way to increase your carry-on capacity for your next flight. All of the pockets and other hidey holes common to fishing vests make them great for storage.
“With the fishing vest – it’s a jacket,” she said. “What do you do with your jackets? You put them in a tray. Do you take everything out of your pockets? No, you don’t. Not in a normal jacket – so why would you do it in a fishing vest? It’s completely the same.”
Once you have boarded your flight, you can take off the vest and store it safely in the overhead compartment. It’s just one of the nifty tricks that has made Dickenson such a satisfied frequent flier.
Another great place to increase storage — lightening your travel bags in the process — is the neck pillow. For a flight from London to Vienna, Dickenson replaced the memory foam in her neck pillow with seven pairs of underwear, five pairs of socks, a pair of leggings and two t-shirts.
“The neck pillow was a big win, because not only have I done it – I have had loads of messages from people who have done it as well,” Dickenson said.
“Ultimately, it’s all about having a bit of fun with it,” she said. “It is kind of my goal to highlight how ridiculous it is that we have to pay so much money if we want to take any baggage away with us – that is how cheap airlines operate these days.”
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