I find packing for holidays very stressful. Perhaps it is because I am always under time pressure, having spent so long packing for my kids that I am throwing my own few items into the suitcase five minutes before we are due to leave. Or maybe it is the fear of leaving something important behind. I once accidentally removed my entire toiletry bag from my suitcase just before heading to the airport, and subsequently spent the first day of my holiday walking round various opticians in Tuscany trying to request a contact lens prescription in Italian.
As a result of my packing fear, I am instantly drawn to any guidance that promises to make the process easier. The latest tip to be doing the rounds on social media is the Sudoku Packing Method, which is less of a brain-teaser than it sounds. Although it is not a brand new concept, the Sudoku Packing Method has been all the rage recently. I first became aware of it when fashion stylist and consultant Gemma Breger shared it on her account (@gemmarosebreger), which happened to coincide with packing for a week-long trip to Dorset and Devon with my family.
The beauty of the Sudoku Packing Method is that it involves packing only nine items of clothing, which should result in you having 27 possible outfit combinations. To achieve this, you lay the nine items out in a square grid on the floor. You need three tops, three bottoms, and three layering pieces, set up in the following arrangement:
- Top, bottom, layer
- Bottom, layer, top
- Layer, top, bottom
From this arrangement, you should in theory have a variety of mix-and-match outfits that you can style in different ways: for example three items horizontally across the grid, vertically down the grid, diagonally from top left to bottom right, and round various corners. Take a photo once you have laid everything out so you can remember what you have got.
My own version of this was not very Instagrammable, but it was very quick to do. In many ways, it follows the same mindset that I always give myself for packing, which is to pack within a palette (i.e. I normally choose two neutral colours and one accent colour, and only pack items that fit within that). However, while this method involved a bit more consideration of how various layers would work together, it did ensure I would not make the same error I often commit: accidentally going away with eight tops and only one pair of trousers (then one of my children will inevitably be sick on them on day one).
The great thing about the Sudoku Packing Method was it meant I knew I had enough outfits to last me a week (admittedly I packed a few extra plain tops because I cannot stand re-wearing a sweaty T-shirt). It does of course mean there is an element of samey-ness to a lot of your looks. That is not a problem for me because I have given up on my holidays being the ultimate fashion show, but for others it might feel a bit too rigid. There is also the matter of dresses, which for many people are a holiday favourite. I think you could swap these in for the bottom element of the outfit and it would still work, with the option to layer the other pieces on top.
In terms of accessories, I just packed a pair of sandals and trainers to go with all my looks, plus one bag and a small jewellery box of gold jewellery. Again, this was more than enough for me going to the south coast with kids; it might not cut it for a girls' trip to Ibiza.
Would I recommend the Sudoku Packing Method? Yes, if you are the type of person who finds packing a headache and does not mind simple (rather than statement) outfits when on holiday. It certainly served me well on my week away; I did not have any days where I ran out of clothes, and I was not re-wearing the same outfit solidly for a week. My main tip is not to overthink it: when I was looking at the grid of clothes and trying to imagine every single of the 27 looks it started to make my brain-fry, but essentially all you need to think about is whether they work vertically and horizontally as outfits, because if they do, everything else will probably fall into place.
