Tips for Packing the Perfect Suitcase

Figuring out how to pack everything you want on a trip can be difficult. There are probably so many things you want to bring and very little suitcase space. Believe me, I know the struggle. I’ve traveled quite a bit in my life, so I think I’ve finally figured out how to make it all work. If you’re interested to find out how I do it, check out this post!

Optimize Suitcase Space

I have been lucky enough to travel a lot in my young life, but what’s always been hard is trying to fit everything I want to bring on my trip into a suitcase. Over the years, I’ve tried various techniques to stuff my bag to the brim. A couple of years ago however, I stumbled upon the perfect packing trick that helps me fit WAY more clothes into my small suitcase than I ever could in the past. Want to know what it was?

ROLLING! Yes, by rolling my clothes instead of folding them I am able to fit twice as many outfit options for my trip. This is incredibly helpful because I always want to bring more clothes than I know I could ever wear. All you have to do is fold your shirts in half and then roll from the top going down into a tight cylindrical shape then place it into the corner of your bag. Repeat this all the way across your suitcase and then add more levels as you begin to stack the clothes on top of one another. It’s also great because it doesn’t really wrinkle your clothes the way folding them does.

For shoes, I like to make them fit in like a puzzle which mostly means placing them at opposite angles from each other. For longer boots, try tucking one of the boots inside the other so that once its in, it looks like one boot with heels at each end. For sneakers, if you places them shoelace size down, you won’t get your clothes dirty.

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Toiletries

When packing toiletries like shampoo, conditioner, face wash, makeup, lotion etc. you don’t have to splurge on buying new travel size products. Instead, head over to your local dollar store or Amazon and pick up a couple small travel size bottles. Then you can fill them up with the products you already have at home. Some bottles even come with a suction on the side so that you can stick it to the wall of your shower. They’re useful not only because you don’t have to buy a bunch of new products, but you can also reuse the bottles for any and all trips in the future, making them a sound investment.

Jewelry

We all know the struggle of tangled jewelry on trips, so instead of putting all of your necklaces and bracelets together, put them in plastic wrap to avoid them moving around. This is easy and you probably have plastic wrap in your home anyways. You can also use tissue paper, putting a piece around each piece of jewelry.

You can also put rings inside of old pill boxes. In fact, pill boxes are great for a lot of things, like any generic medicine (ibuprofen) or actual medications you take, as well as pairs of earrings, hair ties, and any other small necessities you want to bring.

Carry-On

My carry-on is my life-line when I travel, and I usually use something like a Longchamp bag because it is big enough to fit my belongings but small enough to put under my seat. I pack what I think I’ll need if my suitcase is lost or doesn’t arrive for some reason. So, with this in mind, I always make sure to pack an extra pair of underwear, socks, and some leggings. Along with these necessities I like to have a book, my chargers, a notebook and pen, some face wipes, a bit of travel sized makeup (mascara, lip balm, and BB Cream), and an empty water bottle.

Because this is a bunch of stuff, I like to use some different things to organize my bag. For the clothing items, I try to pick a cute little makeup bag because the clothing items are small enough that they’ll fit and they will be discreet in a bag seemingly for makeup. Chargers can go into either a plastic bag or another makeup type bag depending on how big they are. The face wipes and travel size makeup I like to put into a smaller makeup bag that can fit in the pocket of my carry on. This gives me easy access to lip balm and moisturizer when the flight dries out my skin. The empty water bottle is useful because, as most people know, you’re not allowed to bring liquids more than 3 fluid ounces through security. But, if you have an empty water bottle, you can fill it up in the water fountains once past security and won’t have to buy the pricey airport plastic water bottles.

I hope these tips helped, and if you have any other suggestions please leave them in the comment section. I’m always looking for new travel hacks!

Ciao for now!

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