Suitcase Packing Tips
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Tips To Help You Take More With Less For Your Travels
Frequent business travelers have known this concept of less bags are less hassles for years. Road Warriors don't even want to check bags on airlines. Most only want to use a carry-on piece of luggage, so they can get on and off the aircraft quickly and move about the city (and not to mention the airport or hotel lobby) nimbly. Therefore, out of necessity they have learned to be very efficient in their packing of a suitcase.
Use a the tips below to get the most out of one's travels bags.
Suitcase Packing Tips
Start With A List
Probably the best of the suitcase packing tips is to make a checklist of the items you plan to take and pack as lightly as possible. The checklist will ensure that you don't walk out the door without your passport, for instance, but also allowing you to pack lightly. Packing as little as possible is a suitcase packing tips greatest hit because you will more than likely be moving your luggage through busy airports, train stations and up and down stairs. Even though this is a great workout, why not save your energy for the vacation itself?
There are absolute necessities that you should take on every trip which include your toothbrush/paste, makeup, razor, soap, deodorant, shampoo and a towel. You will need to be sure to remember those personal care items that you simply cannot do without on a daily basis. Then pack them in ziploc bags that will lay flat on the against the side of your luggage. This will keep them together, protect clothes from spills or leaks, and allow you more packing room by being organized..
Suitcase packing tips where clothing is concerned, a great rule of thumb is to first, take enough underwear to last for one week, or for the length of the trip, in days, whichever is the shortest. If your trip is business in nature, you can take along two suits and several colors of shirts to mix and match with the suit. More underwear, less outerwear.
Be sure to be prepared for rain or cold weather. Expect the unexpected as it is better safe than sorry as you surely do not want to be caught in a sudden downpour without a rain coat or be without a warm sweater when the temperatures dip. Takes space but you will feel proud to have it if such a contingency happens.
Among suitcase packing tips is that it is always a great idea to take along a smaller sized backpack, shoulder bag or a fanny pack. This will come in very handy when out sightseeing. A neck wallet or a money belt is quite important, especially in urban areas or when riding a subway or train. Pick pocketing is very common and having your credit cards and cash stowed away close to your body will all but keep you immune from becoming a victim of thieves.
Suitcase packing tips also include security. If you are traveling by air, keep in mind that the FAA's airport security system bans many carry-on items that include scissor and razors. You can check what is and is not allowed by going to the individual airline's websites. Save yourself the hassle.
Also view a lens on Stop Mail Vacation during your trip.
TSA Suitcase Packing Tips
Use The TSA 3-1-1 Plan
One of the most misunderstood items is the amount of fluids, liquids, or gels that a person can bring in their carry-on. To help people remember the TSA came up with the 3-1-1 mnemonic. 3-1-1 stands for a 3.4 ounce bottle or less, 1 quart sized, clear, plastic, zip top bag, and 1 bag per person. The idea is a person cannot have a single bottle that is greater than 3 ounces, and they all have to fit in the quart size plastic bag. At the security screening travelers are to place the plastic bag in the security bin separate from their luggage. There are inexpensive 3-1-1 kits available for this very purpose, and it will be able to keep one in compliance.
Early in your packing be sure and check for prohibited TSA items. Most travel items can be packed in checked baggage, but there are strict rules for carry-on items. Check for what is allowed and not allowed on carry-on luggage at the TSA website.
TSA prohibited items list- http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm
Suitcase Packing Tips - Get Organized
Packing Cubes
Packing cubes helps a person to categorize the interior of their luggage. Most travel bags are just open spaces with a few slim side pockets. And typically the only thing that travelers compartmentalize is their toiletries. Yet, being efficient in other areas will help one get more out of their travel bags. Keeping one's underwear, casual wear, shoes, formal wear, etc. in their own packing cubes will help in the following ways:- It helps to assure that everything one wants to take is packed. Without having categories when reviewing what is in one's suitcase, a person will have to review the entire list for each item. Having compartmentalized bags one can review fewer items, being assured that each category was packed completely. For example, when one sees that they have their underwear cube packed, they know that they have their socks packed along with their underwear, undershirts, etc. Without a packing cube one has to wonder "did I pack my socks?" among my shoes, belts, shirts, pants, underwear, toiletries, underwear, etc.
- By design packing cubes are designed and meant to help compress clothes. This compression provides more space within the suitcase; where one is already being efficient with space by neatly folding or rolling items already.
- Using packing cubes actually take less time than without because as one packs each cube they are assured that that each category of items are included . This is opposed to what most people do and that is to lay out everything they wish to take and then try to pack it into their travel bags.
eBags Packing Cubes - 3pc Set (Grasshopper)
Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 05/27/2012)
Regardless of how it seems, but a well organized suitcase will hold much more than one that is disorganized. A suitcase of carefully folded or rolled clothes will hold much more than one with scrunched and squished clothes thrown in.
To help with that effort there are packing cubes. Soft-sided packing cubes where one can push in a lot of clothes and then compress to place into the suitcase. The compression will help, as will the organization.
Packing bags like these will work too
My Favorite Suitcase Packing Tip
Save, Then Throw Old Stuff Away
My favorite suitcase packing tip is to take as many disposable items as one can. What this allows is more space when one is returning home to bring home items from their travels. Plus there are less items that one has to worry about bringing home.Obviously, one can start with one-use or disposable travel size toiletries, but a cheaper route would be to save home toiletries when they get near the end of their usefulness. After all, travel size toiletries will only have one to three uses anyway. Saving deodorants sticks, toothpaste tubes, cans of shaving cream, etc. when they get near the end of their life is a great way to add space to travel bag for one's return trip. One can simply use up their toiletries while traveling and throw away the larger size containers. Thus, adding space within one's suitcase.
However, saving space on toiletries is fairly small. One place a person can save an abundant amount of space for return travel items is by disposing of clothes. Using the same concept as saving toiletries at the end of their life, if one was to save clothes at the end of their life for travel, then they can simply throw away those clothes after use while traveling. Giving those old socks, shoes, or T-shirts one last hurrah before disposing of them can be a great way to add space on a person's return trip. Plus, they are just a few more items a person doesn't have to worry about repacking.
A Second Favorite Suitcase Packing Tip
A good but not necessarily cheap suitcase packing tip
This suitcase packing tip is more of a cheat than really a tip, and that is to ship clothes to and from the destination via shippers like UPS, Priority Mail, or FedEx. While it is true that one could risk having clothes lost, the odds of having those clothes lost via a shipper is less than by the airlines. Consider that both UPS and FedEx have fantastic tracking programs to let a person know exactly where their package is at any given time.The idea is to ship a box of clothes or other items before one's arrival to their destination. Most hotels would be glad to hold a package until one arrives. Then a traveler can pick up their package at check-in and simply ship the clothes back at the end of their trip. This is not necessarily a cheap idea, but it is a great way to save space while in transit. It is also a great way to ship an outfit that might only be needed once during a trip like formalwear.
It would probably be best when sending clothes to the destination that one use overnight or other high priority shipping. This is because the shipping services will track it better and take better care of high priority boxes. Plus, one doesn't want to get to their destination and not have their expected attire waiting on them. However, on shipping return items one could ship the slowest and cheapest route.
Suitcase Packing Tips - Clothes Folder
This flipfold will help you properly fold shirts in only three moves. Even when not traveling this is a home piece of equipment you will want to stow clothes after washing.
New Clothes Folder Flip Speed Magic Shirts Fast Folding Board Folders Organizer
Amazon Price: $17.99 (as of 05/27/2012)
Suitcase Packing Tips Concerning Luggage
Start small and then go large, forget the middle
Then as a secondary choice for a suitcase, travelers need to find a very large piece of luggage that can be checked if needed. It will typically always be better to carry one larger bag than a few smaller pieces of luggage. Airports and train stations will have porters they can help with baggage, hotels will have bellman, cruise ships will have stewards, taxi have drivers, so for the price of a few tips one really doesn't have to handle their bag very often. Plus most modern bags have wheels making transport even easier. Therefore it's just easier to choose a quality large bag than having to deal with multiple pieces of a luggage set.
Another consideration is whether to go soft or hard-sided on a suitcase. While hard-sided will offer more protection against rough handling and poor weather conditions, soft-sided will offer more accessible side pockets to put important items, or items that need to be accessed quickly. Most people decide to go with soft-sided for the added accessibility and flexibility that they provide.
In Summation
List of tips for packing your bags
- Use a checklist.
- Being neat and orderly actually winds up saving you a lot of space. So, be as obsessive about order and can while packing.
- Never pack valuable items in checked baggage. Keep them on your person or in your carry-on luggage.
- Airline luggage is handled very roughly and with other heavy bags; therefore, never pack anything fragile in checked baggage.
- Shoes are often relatively light and oddly shaped, therefore ,they take up a lot of space but make great space fillers. Use them in the top of your packed bag to keep items from sliding. Plus, TSA may want to get to them quickly if there's a question in their scanners.
- Refrain from trying to over stuff your luggage because TSA screeners may need to get into it and they too will have a difficult time closing the bag.
- Paper items are dense and add weight to luggage quite quickly. Therefore, spread books, magazines, newspapers, notebooks, throughout your luggage and do not pack them altogether (distribute the weight). Spreading out your paper material also help screeners when their machines scan your luggage.
- Be sure to place name and address information inside bags, do not just rely on name tags on the outside. It is a good idea to print on a single piece of paper, in very large font your name and address information. Pack that paper on the very top on the inside of your luggage.
- When packing gifts to take with you, do not wrap them ahead of time. Screeners maybe to get into and open them, so leave wrapping for your destination.
- When packing one of your first considerations needs to be size and weight limits for your baggage. Check your airlines regulations (usually on the company's website) and make sure you have luggage that meet size limits. Then when packing , keep an eye on the weight of your baggage by using a floor scale. Jeans and books are two categories of items that frequently add weight to luggage that people don't realize.
- People do not realize how much laptops look-alike. Be sure to personalize the outside of your laptop or tablet so you can identify it at security screenings. At the very least tape your name and address to the outside (or your business card). This will help keep you or someone else from picking up the wrong laptop or tablet at the security stations.
- If you have personal items that you do not want TSA screeners to handle, place them in clear plastic bags.
Give Us Your Tips!
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Suitcase Reviews
Jan 16, 2012 @ 5:17 am | delete
- Suitcase Reviews Says :
Most of the time the hotel provides toothbrushes, toothpaste ect, so you dont need to wast space packing these !!
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rt8ca
Jan 24, 2011 @ 9:35 pm | delete
- Good tips on packing, thanks.
I always try to fit everything in a carry on, saves time and you never lose your luggage.
You may find this article interesting at my travel site:
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