Packing for travel is an exact science. It comes with its own set of rules that you must abide by to save adequate storage space in your bag or suitcase. You’ll know this if you’ve ever had to fight to close your suitcase.
Here’s a list of 5 essential storage tips that will guarantee a streamlined travelling experience. In this, we will show you how to pack your suitcase (or travel bag) the right way so that you can cut down on wrinkles and minimize your load all at the same time.
- Use A Garment Bag
There are many types of garment bags to fulfill all your storage needs while you travel. So whether you need to keep an evening dress wrinkle-free, or just want a more convenient way of carrying your best clothes, a garment bag may be just what you need!
Looking at a garment bag and trying to figure out exactly how everything fits inside of it might be a bit overwhelming at first. At least that’s certainly how we felt! But it really doesn’t have to be that complicated!
Provided you learn how to pack a garment bag when travelling, you’ll be on your way to preserving your Sunday best in no time at all!
- Be Strict With Yourself
Figuring out ways to cut down on storage can be difficult at times. The key is to be as cutthroat as possible with your packing. However, if you need a mantra that’ll keep you motivated and will also help to streamline your wardrobe, you should use the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 rule. This works best for shorter trips.
This process involves limiting yourself to a maximum of five sets of underwear and socks, four shirts, three pairs of pants, two pairs of shoes, and then one hat (weather dependent, of course). Throw in exercise gear, a suit jacket, or a swimsuit if you will be needing them at any point during your travels.
Remember that these are just simple guidelines, and your official packing list should be adjusted to suit your needs
- Roll Clothes
The most effective method of making the most of your space and preventing creases is to use a technique simply referred to as the roll method.
- Lay any T-shirts that you have face down, then fold in their sleeves and begin to roll from the bottom up.
- For pants, it’s a little simpler. Put the legs together and then start rolling the material from about the waist down.
- Once you have rolled everything into the correct type of shape, make sure to pack your tops and pants into your suitcase before you begin to add any accessories or your shoes.
- Now you can add in other essential items such as a hairbrush or heated hair tools.
If the above methods haven’t given you the space you need, you can also try out the bundle technique. All you need to do is carefully wrap each article of clothing around a central core, with your pairs of underwear and any T-shirts at the center. To do this, you must ensure that larger tailored items like blazers and dresses are kept as the outer layer.
- Use Packing Cubes
You’ll never know how helpful packing cubes can actually be until you test them out for yourself! Whether you’re going on a weekend trip or a three-week vacation, packing cubes should be high on your priority list. Here are two other benefits:
- You can pack more. Compress as much as you want to into the cubes, then zip them up to seal them. Roll your clothes if you want to completely maximize your storage space.
- Clothes remain wrinkle-free. If your clothes are rolled tightly, they’ll be kept free from wrinkles. This is because they won’t have room to move around, unfold, and then crinkle. This is extremely convenient especially if you don’t know whether your destination will have an iron!
- Use Layers Of Dry Cleaning Bags Between Clothing
This method is perfect if you want to keep your clothes looking pristine. The next time you pick up your dry cleaning, save the plastic bags. They can prove to be very useful when it comes to travel storage!
By layering these bags between your items of clothing, they will work to keep your most delicate and treasured items protected from unwanted pulls, snags, and tears. They might even help to reduce the amount of wrinkling.
Summary
Packing really is an art. If you want to maximize your storage for traveling, you should implement some of the above steps. Not only can you take more with you to your destination, but careful consideration of storage will also keep your clothes as wrinkle-free as possible.