As a travel expert, I receive many requests to share my travel packing tips and tricks. So I put together a list of the BEST packing tips and tricks that I learnt over the years with 3 objectives in mind:
- To pack more things in a confined space
- To have your stuff arrive to its destination in an acceptable condition (clean, intact, minimally wrinkled)
- To avoid embarrassment at the airport security checkpoint (where applicable)
So without any further delay here are my best travel packing tips and tricks:
Travel packing tip # 1
Start with a detailed packing checklist. I have created a detailed printable packing checklist specifically for road trips which has two sections: what you need to pack in your luggage and what you need to always keep in your car. All my Newsletter subscribers get access to a PDF file of my road trip packing checklist which they can easily print out and re-use as many times as they want. If you would like to get my printable packing checklist absolutely FREE of charge, please, subscribe to my Newsletter below and you will be immediately receiving the PDF and many FREE unique printouts and guides monthly, only available to subscribers.
Travel packing tip # 2
Stuff smaller things into empty bigger things, for instance, socks into shoes. If you still have empty space left in your shoes you can roll in your underwear there as well (but I prefer to put the underwear in a Ziploc bag first to preserve its cleanliness)
Travel packing tip # 3
Pack each shoe separately and cover the sole either with a plastic bag or a shower cap which achieves 2 things: 1) when you pack shoes separately you can stuff them into smaller spaces; 2) covering of the soles protects other things in your bag from dirt.
Travel packing tip # 4
Roll your clothes instead of folding them. The only things that I do not roll are business attire, such as dress shirts and suits, and fancy dresses (I don’t usually pack fancy stuff for regular vacation travel but sometimes you will need 1 outfit for a special occasion). I gently fold these items in half and put them flat on top of everything else.
Travel packing tip # 5
Any and all cosmetics and make up products should be packed in a Ziploc bag so that if their container is damaged their contents do not soil your clothes. This also ties in well with the travel packing tip #6 below.
Travel packing tip # 6
For air travel, you need to remember 3-1-1 rule. You are allowed to bring a quart-sized bag of liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes through the checkpoint (pack them in the appropriate sized Ziploc bag before leaving for the airport). These are limited to 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) or less per item. People often think that it applies to liquids only but as you can see from the description above (exact quote from TSA website) it also applies to aerosols and pastes as well as many other things. In Montreal airport we learnt the hard way that this rule applies to maple syrup caramel and jam too ($20 worth of delicious goodness went into trash at the security checkpoint). In San Diego airport we learnt that this rule would not apply to olives in brine.
Travel packing tip # 7
Pack heavy things close to the wheels of your wheeled luggage so that when you roll the bag heavy things stay on the bottom and don’t mess up lighter things.
Travel packing tip # 8
When travelling with my family I pack by “themes”. For instance, I packing all swim stuff together, and all sleep stuff together so that when it’s time to hit the beach or a snooze button all the things that you need for the occasion are all together.
Travel packing tip # 9
Color coordinate so that it is easy to mix and match clothes (tops and bottoms), shoes and accessories.
Travel packing tip # 10
When air travel, pack an expensive swimsuit in your hand luggage, it does not take much space. If your luggage gets lost it is easy to replace t-shirts and flip-flops but that special favorite swimsuit that makes you look so good – not so much (and they are typically way too expensive at beach resorts) Other things I pack only in my hand luggage: expensive jewelry, expensive cosmetics, camera and its accessories, phone charger. I usually make a separate packing checklist just for the hand luggage.
Travel packing tip # 11
Pack an empty light cloth bag for souvenirs that you can use as carry-on luggage if needed. No matter how well I pack we always buy more souvenirs for friends and family than our original luggage can fit in and sometimes such souvenirs should not be crammed in the main luggage because they are fragile and breakable.
Travel packing tip # 12
Once you have packed all the bags go back to step # 1 and double-check your packing checklist to make sure you have not forgotten anything. After that give a critical look to everything you packed. People tend to over-pack so see if you can leave something behind, especially if your luggage is in danger of being over the allowed weight limit when you travel by airplane.
Now that you are all packed, are you thinking about what else you need to do before you leave on vacation? Check out this comprehensive list of things to do before travelling.
Do you have your own cool travel packing tips and tricks? Please, share them with me in the comments below – the more the merrier!
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