With the holidays here and all the heavy traveling, I thought I’d arm everyone with some packing tips that I have gathered during my travels. These have helped me to become a smarter traveler and I hope you’ll find them equally useful!
SPACE SAVING
Rolling beats folding your clothes. Not only do tightly rolled clothes take up less space than folded ones, but it also minimizes wrinkling.
2. Ziplock bags are exceptional for more than storing food!
Place your rolled clothing into Ziplock bags and squeeze out the air before sealing. This is a cheaper alternative to compression packing bags. It also helps keep your luggage organized—especially if you’re traveling with a duffel or backpack. As an added bonus, everything stays dry even if your bag gets soaked! Keep a few spare Ziplocks in your luggage. They’re always handy to have around!
3. Use your shoes as storage.
Shoes take up a lot of room and can get misshapen when you try to squish them into your luggage. So why not save space AND save your shoes by packing things like socks into your shoes? The insides of shoes are also great for transporting fragile items.
4. Travel with travel sizes.
Do you really need those full size bottles of shampoo / conditioner or that full tube of toothpaste? Save space and just pack the amount you really need. To save money, buy travel size storage bottles and fill those up for your trips.
5. Pack layers.
Packing a wardrobe that can be layered allows you to travel through various climates without running out of room in your luggage. Plus you’ll have the variety of clothing to stay in style on your trip.
PROTECTIVE PACKING
1. Rolling for wrinkle prevention.
Rolling helps to minimize wrinkling, but the innermost pieces of clothing will likely have a few creases. To prevent this, roll your clothes around things like socks, underwear, or even bottles.
2. Ziplocks to keep things clean!
Yes. I love the Ziplock bags! If you’re traveling with toiletries or other liquid items be sure to store them in a Ziplock bag in case of spillage. That way, any yuckiness will be confined to the insides of the Ziplock rather than all over the insides of your baggage.
3. Wrap and secure delicate items.
Place fragile items such as wine bottles or glass souvenirs into plastic bags. That way if breakage does occur you won’t find your luggage flooded with red wine or glass shards. Then place the item in the center of your bag surrounding it with a buffer of other items.
4. Coil belts around the perimeter of your suitcase.
This will protect the belt from deformity and save space!
BONUS TIPS
1. Pack spare clothing in your carry on.
Let’s face it. Airlines lose bags. You don’t want to land at your destination to discover that your baggage is lost and that you have to wear the same outfit for a few days. Be sure to keep at least a spare shirt, pants, and underwear in your carry on.
2. Make your bag stand out.
A lot of people own very similar looking luggage. Other travelers may mistakenly take your black suitcase thinking it’s theirs. Invest in a unique looking bag or mark your bag with a distinctive tag, ribbon, or even a small stuffed animal so it’s easily identifiable.
3. If you forget something you can usually buy it at your destination.
Don’t give in to over-packing. You probably won’t use half of the items you think you “might” need. Better to pack less and have room for to buy souvenirs. Plus if you do forget something it’ll give you more reason to go shopping!
4. Pack some travel size laundry detergent.
You never know when you’ll need to do a quick wash on the road. Hotels charge an arm and a leg for laundry so having your own detergent makes a quick wash in the sink cheap and easy.
5. Keep your essentials in your carry on.
It sounds like common sense, but not everyone follows this simple rule. Do not check things like your passport, ID, money, credit cards, chargers, and other valuables. It’ll be a bad experience if the airline loses your luggage or if someone from TSA goes through your bag and something happens to go missing (like that expensive diamond necklace).
Don't check a bag if you can help it! It's not that hard to live out of a big backpack for 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteBring smaller backpacks to put things in to for carrying around.
Nylon stuff sacks are good for holding toiletries not in a plastic bag, as well as the things you want to pull out and keep with you at your seat during your flight.
Neutrogena bar soap is a good alternative to bringing my nicer face wash - and it doesn't have to go in the plastic baggy with my other liquids.
In hotel shampoos are usually OK, but always bring some small conditioners.
Compression socks do help on long flights (who cares what you look like!)
Totally agree with your tips especially bringing a smaller backpack and travel size conditioners. I always have a small day pack with me. And not all hotels supply conditioner so bringing it is always a good idea. Thanks for the great tips!
Delete