Packing Tips From The Frequent Traveler

A few weeks ago, Julie, Lori and I were in Redondo Beach to participate in the first annual gathering of the Fierce 50 Revolution.  If you missed the post on the fabulous weekend we had, click here to read all about it.

Julie and I got to the hotel a bit earlier than Lori, so we checked into the room and started to unpack.   I pulled my clothes out of my suitcase,  hung them up and I was basically done.   Julie said, (I’m paraphrasing) “Wow! You are done?  You have everything on hangers and in dry cleaning bags.  What’s that about?”    I told her my tip on why I hang everything in dry cleaning bags and she said, “I had no idea, you need to blog about that!”

The Frequent Traveler

For those of you who don’t know, I travel every other week to Los Angles for my job.   I don’t mind the travel, but constant packing, repacking and living out of my carry-on luggage is the worst part. I hate the time-consuming process on Sunday of figuring out what to take and the realization that those five pairs of shoes I must bring take up my entire carry-on.  LOL!    The constant airport-airplane-hotel-repeat routine over the years has resulted in some tips I would like to share.

My 5 Tips

Pack efficiently.  I pick a color pallet and depending how long I’m going to be gone I pack 3 tops for every bottom. Tops take up less space, and people are generally more comfortable repeating bottoms than tops.  I always pack a white t-shirt for any “plan b” that might come up.   In fact, it happened about a month ago when I had to stay in LA an extra day and wore everything I brought.  Thank god  I had  the white t-shirt I could throw  on with some jeans and the jacket I wore on the plane traveling out and had a new outfit.  Note:   My favorite white t-shirt is from the Old Navy for $8!   Boyfriend Pocket Tee for Women • Old Navy • $8

Everyone says “roll, don’t fold”.   I keep clothes on hangers and put in dry cleaning bags and then fold as normal. The plastic will prevent creases/wrinkles from setting in.   My mother taught me this trick years ago because I hate to iron and this really works!

For best results, you can hang each item in its own bag.   The bags then slip around one another and each item stays virtually wrinkle free even while packed for hours.  Plus, it takes minutes to unpack.  Pull out of your suite case and hang in closet. That said, for things like T-shirts & leggings to lounge in, I will roll them instead of folding to take up less space.

I use my straightening iron on collars of my shirts if they got unexpected creases

I wear my biggest shoes and heaviest layers on the plane.    It goes without saying, but keep your biggest stuff out of your bag if possible.

Have a separate toiletry bag.  Every time I packed for a trip, I had to go through my daily toiletries and pick out the necessities for my trip.  Then every time I came back, I had to put these items back in the bathroom so I could use them at home.  I finally got smart and now have a totally separate bag of travel size toiletries so I don’t have to pack and repack every time.  I even have a dedicated electric travel toothbrush.

Some of my favorite travel products
 

So, there you have it – all my tips and tricks for packing!  Do you have any packing tips to ease the packing and unpacking woes of frequent traveling? I’d love to hear yours!