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Effective Packing of Luggage

post #1 of 11
5/13/09 at 9:29pm
Thread Starter 
anyone have any tips or suggestions? i'm moving to Europe, but with only 1 checked bag and 1 carry-on. i know how much im bringing, but i was curious if anyone had any tips i.e. folding methods for space....thanks!

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post #2 of 11
5/13/09 at 9:40pm
I have found the most effective way to squeeze things into a suitcase is by tightly rolling clothes. Unfortunately, one down side is the wrinkling the clothes sustain is pretty hefty and can be a pain in the ass to iron afterwards. A good idea would be to fold some clothes in a traditional manner and put them on top of the rolled clothes so you arent stuck with unkempt clothes upon arrival.
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post #3 of 11
5/13/09 at 9:44pm
Those little packaging things that suck the air out of the bag like a foodsaver work really, really well. I know it sounds dorky and looks lame as hell, but it's pretty incredible how much space you can create by packing your clothes in that. They're usually wrinkly as hell afterward, but that can be taken care of pretty easily. I got a week's worth of clothes into a mid-sized gymbag when I went to Europe by using those things.
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post #4 of 11
5/13/09 at 11:05pm
Roll up socks and underwear and stuff them into shoes. Roll ties/belts and use them to fill in corner spaces. Don't pack anything that you can't buy when you get there, e.g., toiletries. Putting plastic or paper between layers will (somewhat) prevent wrinkling.
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post #5 of 11
5/14/09 at 2:01am
Eagle Creek has packing items that are great. If you follow the instructions, then the amount you can pack is amazing.
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post #6 of 11
5/14/09 at 1:03pm
I've been told that using as few folds as possible while packing reduces the volume. Seems to work for me.
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post #7 of 11
5/14/09 at 1:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwilkinson View Post
Those little packaging things that suck the air out of the bag like a foodsaver work really, really well. I know it sounds dorky and looks lame as hell, but it's pretty incredible how much space you can create by packing your clothes in that. They're usually wrinkly as hell afterward, but that can be taken care of pretty easily. I got a week's worth of clothes into a mid-sized gymbag when I went to Europe by using those things.

+1000. This is really the only way to go. You get much more packaging density this way by pulling out all the air space. Other posts may be useful, but not nearly so useful as this.
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post #8 of 11
5/14/09 at 1:10pm
I roll my socks, boxers, t-shirts, pants, and dress shirts. Jackets I turn inside out, fold the arms diagonally and once in half. Maybe you should give the majority of your clothes away to a shelter and buy more on the other side. That way you don’t stand out as a, where ever you came from, and more like a local.
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post #9 of 11
5/15/09 at 8:09am
Thread Starter 
great advice all around. thanks!

i'm literally only taking the basics, but true, anything i can buy there i will and not take it along. i've heard you can roll clothes into freezer bags and suck the air out by sitting on them....that idea alone always (visually)} seemed funny.
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post #10 of 11
5/17/09 at 4:26pm
I've had a lot of luck using the post office to ship a copy paper box sized package to me. I don't know about internationally, but domestically, it's very inexpensive.
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post #11 of 11
7/12/11 at 2:21pm
There's no logical reason why those 'space bags' should reduce the overall volume of clothes when packed. When you fill a suitcase to the brim and force it closed, you are forcing any extra air out of the way to compress the clothes down, and unless you are packing a down parka or pillows, the minuscule amount of space you save through compression comes at the cost of the thick plastic used to construct those things, and the reduced amount of flexibility in packing. Basically, if you're trying to pack stiff blocks of plastic into a suitcase, there will be tons of unused space around them. If anyone is able to pack more using those vacuum bags, then they must have been awful packers to begin with.

My method? Neatly fold dress shirts and items that need to stay unwrinkled and place them in the bottom of the suitcase, and fill the surrounding space with socks, underwear, t-shirts, and an extra pair of shoes. Pretty easy to pack and unpack.
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