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Welcome to Day 23 of 30 Days to Packing a Better Bag.
You’ve gone through the whole shebang so far this month – yes, the packing list prep, the paring down, the multipurpose items, and so forth – now it’s time to finally put it all together into your suitcase.
As all packing lists and trips vary, there is no standard way to pack a suitcase but there are some tips and tricks that we think all suitcase packers should know.
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Suitcase Packing Tips
- Keep items at an equal height dispersed across the entire area of the suitcase. This will better ensure that your items don’t slide and move about during transit. If you can’t fit your items tightly across the area of your suitcase then the suitcase is too big.
- Don’t pack extremely heavy items at one end of the suitcase. Instead, place heavier items in the middle with something soft and sturdy at the bottom end of the suitcase. This will ensure your suitcase doesn’t become top-heavy or get drawn to one end when being tossed around the baggage carousel.
- Never pack breakable and valuable items in your checked suitcases! When a suitcase is out of your sight, you have no real guarantee it will end up with you at your destination. You also have no control over how the bag is treated in transit.
- Don’t overfill. Filling a suitcase too full can put stress on the zippers and often leads to luggage explosions when tossed around the baggage claim section.
- Leave room for souvenirs! If there’s a specific something you are planning on buying on your travels or if you want the option to be able to bring home something, make sure you don’t fill your bag to its maximum capacity. Leave a little bit of room so you can bring home souvenirs.
- Utilize empty spaces. Make sure you are stuffing your shoes with socks or placing clothes between the grooves of your suitcase. When packing light, every inch counts.
- Cover the soles of your shoes. You’re going to want to keep the soles of your shoes covered so that they don’t make your clean clothes dirty. One HPL reader suggests using a disposable shower cap to cover the bottom of your shoes. We light a featherlight pouch. You can also pack them with the soles together so that the dirty sides are touching each other and not your things.
How to Pack a Suitcase
When packing your suitcase, it is always wise to compartmentalize your belongings so no loose bits are floating around. This also helps organization and repacking time.
Let’s Pack ANOTHER Suitcase
Let’s see that example with another pair of shoes! YES, another!
You CAN Pack Light
There are a lot of clothes in this suitcase, and that doesn’t even include the outfit and shoes you are already wearing! With that number of items, you could piece together dozens of different looks.
Just how much clothing is that?
- 1 Jacket
- 1 Pair of Black Quick-Drying Pants
- 1 Pair of Capri Pants
- 1 Pair of Leggings
- 1 Black Pencil Skirt
- 1 Black Silkbody Dress
- 1 Dressy Top
- 1 Light Wool Cardigan
- 1 Light Summer Cardigan
- 1 Quick-Drying Cute Top
- 1 3/4 Sleeve Black Top
- 1 T-shirt
- 3 Tanks (1 Silkbody)
- 1 Belt
- 1 Pashmina
- 1 Pair of Merrell Shoes
- 1 Pair of Tieks
- 1 Pair of Fold-up Flip Flops
- Socks, Underwear, Bra
NOTE: We used the Antler 25 L suitcase/cabin bag for this example. This particular bag is not made anymore but if you’re still searching for your perfect suitcase, take a look at these posts: Backpack Alternatives for Female Travelers and Best Lightweight Carry-on Suitcases at 5lbs and Below.
Take Action: Tame Your Suitcase Beast
If you haven’t done so already, downsize your luggage!
After going through all the previous posts about compartmentalizing and packing versatile pieces, put it all together into your suitcase. Go ahead, give it a go. You might be surprised at how much you can fit into a smaller bag.
Were you surprised by how much we managed to fit in this 25L suitcase?
- PREVIOUS – Day 22: Extra Travel Tools and Other Unnecessarily Necessary Gear
- NEXT – Day 24: How to Pack a Backpack Step by Step
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Never pack shoes without having them inside some kind of protective bag. You can buy stretchy sock-like bags or just use any plastic shopping bag. You don’t want your dirty soles messing up the suitcase or your other items.
Good tip! I normally do put shoes in a bag, but I guess I forgot because these were so clean 😉 Will add that note in somewhere. Cheers!
It might sound a bit OCD but consider taking a photo of your packed bag, so you know where everything goes when packing to come home!
We think that is a great idea Jo!
I use shower caps from hotels to put my shoes in. Just the right size and protects the rest of your gear. I save some every time I travel so I can replace them if needed.
What luggage brand and style did you use for this post?
It’s an Antler 25 L suitcase/ cabin bag. It’s super tiny but packs in a lot. I love when people look at me like, “What in the world – where’s your stuff?!”