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Traveling for a day, a week or longer? Sounds like a few genius packing tips are in order! As much as we love a nice getaway, we don’t so much love the stress that comes with packing and remembering all the essentials—and making said essentials fit into your luggage. If it seems like you’re always over-packing or under-packing, you may just need a few expert-backed packing tricks to get it just right for your next vacation. Keep reading for these pro insights, as well as the essentials you absolutely should pack for your next trip.
How to pack your luggage like a pro
Most of us know that just throwing all of our belongings into our luggage and attempting to get it shut is not the most efficient way to pack. There are a few different ways you can maximize the space in your suitcase or bag to make packing that much easier.
1. Enlist the help of packing cubes
Truthfully, as a chronic overpacker, I don’t know how I ever survived without packing cubes. It sounds almost unbelievable, but I can fit nearly double the amount of things with packing cubes than I can when I don’t use them. They also help keep everything organized: For example, you can put your undergarments in a small packing cube, jeans and pants in another larger one and tops in another. This will help prevent any digging through your entire suitcase for that one shirt you swore you brought.
You can find super affordable packing cubes on Amazon for less than $20. If you want to splurge on some packing cubes, we like Quince Eco Compression Packing Cubes and Calpak Packing Cubes Set.
2. Roll your clothes
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You may have heard of this one before. Rolling your clothes, rather than traditionally folding them, has long been a packing hack. I still prefer packing cubes personally, but rolling is great if you don’t have any packing cubes or are packing last minute.
The rolling method typically works best with thinner clothing. It can save space, allowing you to fit more. However, with thicker clothing like sweaters and jeans, it’s sometimes best to traditionally fold them as rolling can make them extra bulky. Another pro to rolling is that it can help prevent wrinkles in your clothes.
3. Make your packing list early
We tend to overpack the most when we start packing at the last minute. Packing last minute doesn’t give us the proper time to plan outfits out and put things together; Instead, you may find yourself just tossing 15 different options into your bag that don’t go together at all.
Carving out time to sit down and plan out your packing list can help ensure you don’t forget anything, as well as put together actual outfits rather than just a random assortment of clothing which will help prevent you from overpacking.
4. Pack multi-use items
It’s always nice when you can use one item for multiple purposes or wear one article of clothing in different ways. For example, I always like to pack a solid, plain-yet-chic white T-shirt—it goes with just about everything, it can be dressed up or down and it’s not bulky. Wear it with jeans for a casual day outing or dress it up with heels, jewelry and a cute blazer for dinner.
Another example is packing a travel hot tool that can be used as a curling iron and straightener, like BondiBoost Airburst Styler 2-in-1 Curling Iron & Flat Iron.
Expert-recommended packing essentials
One of the worst feelings is realizing you forgot to pack something important. There are also some things you may not have ever thought to pack but may just come in very handy.
Duct tape
Claire Paniccia knows a thing or two about packing light: She once traveled through Europe for five weeks carrying only a backpack and a purse. “Duct tape has saved me in many travel situations,” she says. “I’ve used it to secure a DIY clothesline in a hostel bunk with a shoelace, to patch a piece of torn clothing, to create a makeshift luggage tag and to hang a scarf as a curtain,” says Paniccia, who teaches her secrets to travel newbies. Bonus: Duct tape eliminates the need to pack other tools like a sewing kit and lint roller.
A scarf
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“I find scarves so useful,” says Lisa Perrine Brown, a world traveler. “They’re a great substitute for a bulky sweater, but so much more versatile. I’ve used mine for extra bedding, a picnic blanket, even a skirt.” While traveling in India recently, Brown wadded up a large pashmina and used it as a pillow on flights and long car rides. On longer trips, she lays the scarf flat on the floor of her hotel room, piles dirty laundry in the center, and gathers up the corners to create a laundry bag to haul her clothes to the hotel’s laundry room.
A do-it-all cream
The one thing Cathy Decker, president of a travel-related public relations company, won’t leave home without: a tube of Boroleum, the petroleum-based drugstore ointment that her grandmother swore by. “For travelers, there’s nothing a small tube of this petroleum-based ointment can’t cure,” says Decker. Packing a single tube of the ointment means she doesn’t have to bring other toiletries like petroleum jelly, lotion and lip balm. She has relied on the cream to soothe pollen-aggravated dry nasal passages, heal chapped lips, moisturize ragged cuticles and relieve sunburn and razor burn on the road.
Castile soap
“Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Liquid Soap is the perfect multitasker,” shares Katie Leavitt, founder of a travel platform and former cruise ship dancer who has been to 55 countries. “It can be used as shampoo, body wash and laundry soap,” she says of the cheap drugstore find. “The 2 oz. size is perfect for air travel because it fits with the security requirements for liquids in carry-on bags.” It’s also great if you make a spill staying at an Airbnb or somewhere you don’t have room service. Use it as a surface cleaner. Plus, a little goes a long way.
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