Packing Tips & Tricks

Tips & Tricks  For Packing

 

Packing – especially for an entire family – can take the thrill off the beginning of any trip.  Here are some tips (gathered from other travelers, websites, magazine and newspaper articles & personal experience) that may help inspire you.

 

General Hints:

 

  • Put a fabric softener sheet in your luggage to keep your clothes smelling fresh.
  • Bag in a bag – pack a soft sided duffel bag in your suitcase and use it as a laundry hamper for dirty clothes or to carry home souvenirs.
  • Ziplock bags – pack several sizes, you’ll use them for everything from receipts to cosmetics to wet bathing suits.
  • When traveling with a partner put half your items in their suitcase and half of their in yours, if one bag gets lost you still have fresh clothes!
  • A small roll of duct tape has untold uses -  fix hems in an emergency, patch suitcases, repair glasses, make a bandage with a piece of tissue,  hold blackout curtains closed, and lots more!
  • Print out a map of a city you’ll be visiting and put it in your bag – it’s a lot easier to carry than a bulky guide book and you can find maps on line that feature all the major attractions.
  • Take along an extra pair of glasses – there’s nothing worse than a vacation where you can’t see very well!
  • Place heavier items at the end of the suitcase that’s on the bottom when the suitcase is standing on end, it helps keeps the bag from tipping over.
  • Tape a copy of your itinerary to the inside of your suitcase so you can refer to it when packing and deciding what to wear along the way.   It can also help lost luggage find it’s way to your hotel.


Space Savers:

  • Stay with one main color – navy or black with white, ivory or khaki are good choices, mix and match and use accessories to differentiate outfits for various occasions.
  • Look for reversible outfits – skirts, bathing suits, jackets – twice the wardrobe in half the space!
  • An old hotel shampoo bottle filled with liquid detergent will let you hand wash at least two sinks full of clothing -  and you’ll save lots of space by packing only half the amount of underwear, socks, hosiery, gym shorts, etc. that you need.  (To dry most clothing overnight, roll it up in a towel and step on the towel a few times to wick out excess water, then hang items up separately.)
  • Pashmina shawls are a great travel item.  They go with everything from jeans to evening wear and fold down to almost nothing.  Perfect in drafty dining rooms, on planes, in museums, etc.
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Security:

  • Print your name and address on index cards and tape one (see duct tape above) to the inside of each suitcase to help lost luggage find it’s way home.
  • Tie a colorful ribbon to the handle of your suitcase to help identify it. 
  • Make a photocopy of the fronts and backs of your credit cards, driver’s license, and the first two pages of your passport.  Leave it in a sealed envelope with a trusted friend or relative – if your wallet gets stolen they can fax the information to your hotel so you have card numbers, emergency notification numbers and proof of ID. 
  • Never carry jewelry, medicines or other valuables in your luggage.  Keep these items with you in a carry aboard tote.
  • Photographing the contents of your suitcase will help you with claims in the event of lost luggage.
  • If you’ll be staying in a hotel that may not have the latest deadbolt locks pack a small rubber door stop to increase your security (or stuff the toe of a sneaker under the door).

 

Shoes:

  • Stuff shoes with socks or pantyhose, saves space and helps keep their shape. 
  • Don’t throw out stockings that have gotten a run while traveling.  Use them as shoe covers in your luggage to keep other garments clean.  The bags used to deliver newspapers also make great shoe bags.
  • Pack smaller women’s shoes inside larger men’s shoes – helps save space and keeps shoes from losing their shape.



Children’s Clothes:

  • Pack children’s clothes by the outfit, roll up one complete outfit for each day (or put separate outfits in ziplock bags)  to help keep suitcases from being ransacked by the kids.
  • Lay out all the items in your children’s suitcases on their beds or a table and take a digital photo.  Even children too young to read can check off each item against the photo so nothing gets left behind when packing to go home.  (If you don’t have a digital camera, putting a list in each suitcase will help children who have learned to read).

 

Have a packing tip to share?  Send it to dorothy@topsailjourneys.com!