Preparing well for a trip allows you to relax and enjoy your travels. Packing your clothing correctly ensures you'll have clean, wrinkle-free clothes to wear as needed. Deciding how to pack your clothes in your luggage depends in part on how long you will be traveling, whether you will have access to laundry and ironing equipment while traveling, and how much luggage you want to carry. If possible, pack toiletries and food in a separate bag to maximize space and prevent items from leaking and damaging your clothing.
Determining Types of Clothing to Pack
For a short trip, you need an outfit for each day, including undergarments and socks. But for a longer trip, you may want to pack only a week's worth of clothing and plan to do laundry while traveling. Lightweight garments, such as cotton or polyester knits, take up the least amount of room and can easily be layered. They can also be rolled or folded to make more space in your luggage. When you reach your destination, they can be ironed or quickly steamed in your shower or by using your hotel's blowdryer.
Set Out Your Clothing
Get all the clothing you intend to pack and fold it neatly on your bed or floor. This will give you a sense of how much space your clothing will take up. Use a garment bag if you have numerous suits, dresses or other hanging garments. Lay your clothes flat in a regular suitcase if you have just a few items. Planning to wear certain articles of clothing more than once can save precious room in your suitcase. Choose one spare outfit to pack in your carry-on luggage in case your checked luggage goes missing.
Prepare Your Clothing and Luggage For Packing
Arrange similarly styled clothing together: t-shirts with t-shirts, and socks with socks. Roll t-shirts into tubes to reduce wrinkles and make for more space. When using a garment bag, hang several pieces of clothing on each hanger to increase storage space. Most garment bags hold up to a week's worth of clothing, but you can fit more if you double or triple items placed on hangers. Use thin wire hangers to increase space. When you do not use a garment bag, lay jackets, skirts and blouses flat. Place sheets of tissue or a dry-cleaning bag between each jacket, skirt and blouse to reduce wrinkles. Place socks, hose or undergarments inside shoes to save space. Cover each individual shoe with a shoe bag or plastic bag to prevent them from dirtying your clothing. To fit extra clothing in your suitcase, place them in a bag that works with a vacuum seal to compress your clothing. Travel vacuum bags do not require extra equipment as the bag seals when you apply pressure to it.
Pack Your Luggage
Hang your clothing on the bag's hook if you are using a garment bag. Place socks, jewelry and other items inside your shoes. Place shoes at the bottom of the garment bag. Fold or roll loose items of clothing such as t-shirts and pajamas and place them above your shoes. Zip the garment bag closed and fold and fasten it shut. Pack more folded items of clothing in the bag's outer pockets.
To pack a regular suitcase, place items like jackets, slacks and blouses flat along the bottom of the bag. You can also lay pants or dresses halfway along the bottom of the suitcase, with half of the garment hanging out of the suitcase. Pack the rest of your clothing and then fold the pants or dress back on top. This reduces wrinkles. Pack shoes around the perimeter of the suitcase, and place rolled t-shirts or knit garments on top of them.
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