Have you at any point experienced a sense of indecision and seem to spend a lot of time while deciding how to pack a suitcase?
Yeah! this is outrightly possible, and I believe if you take a journey through memory lane, you might be able to attest to this, that’s by the way.
Many would say packing a suitcase is just as simple as it sounds. “Anyone can just get a box and start packing, it’s just as easy as it seems” right? this might be going through your mind as well, but I assure you that is not true.
There are lots of factors to consider while packing a suitcase, to ensure that you save time, energy, not get stuck in the middle of packing wondering where will the next item fit and also make your arrangement look smart and attractive.
The above point being clearly stated, I will guide you through some basic reliable steps on how to pack a suitcase starting from a perfect choice of suitcase, clothing arrangement, strategic packing technique, useful gadgets, and more.
Let’s get right to it!
Choosing The Perfect Suitcase
While preparing to go on a trip, it is essential to select the right and perfect suitcase that perfectly fits the type of journey you are about to embark on.
You might be wondering…How do I know the most appropriate suitcase perfect for me and fit my trip as well?
Don’t be alarmed, it’s is practically obvious that all suitcase is not appropriate for every trip and everyone, therefore several factors have to be considered before selecting a suitcase.
One of these factors and the most important is the kind of items you intend to carry. It is advisable to choose a suitcase with external pockets if you intend on carrying fragile and peculiar items like watches, glasses and toiletries.
Nevertheless, there are soft-side suitcase as well as hard-side suitcase. In as much as soft-side suitcase consist of external pockets, it is not suitable for carrying fragile items on long-distance or rough journeys.
Therefore, it is best to go with hard-side suitcase when carrying fragile and delicate items for rough and distant trips for reasons being that it can withstand rough handling and keep your items intact to avoid damages.
Another factor that should also be paid close attention to while choosing a perfect suitcase for a trip is the length of the handle.
The handle-length of the carrier should be considered to ensure the comfort in regards to your actual height.
Theoretically, it is ideal to choose a suitcase with a long handle length if you are tall and that with a shorter length if it’s the other way round.
It’s best to choose a suitcase that ensures your Postural balance and go with the suitcase that fits your height.
Also, the airline weight and size limits are another factor to consider while choosing a suitcase.
Have in mind that during the suitcase measurements, not only is the weight of the actual contents of the suitcase accessed, the weight and height of the actual suitcase which includes the carry-on height and wheels are also measured as well.
Therefore, while choosing a perfect suitcase that will suit your trip, you should consider the height and weight of the suitcase to avoid troubles while fitting it into your weight and height allowance.
Tips on How To Pack a Suitcase
1. Listing
While planning on packing your suitcase for a trip, I will advise you first to make a detailed list of all your requirements for the trip. This is a hint I always queue into while going on a trip.
A week or a few days before my actual trip, I make a comprehensive list of all I will be needing for the journey I am about to embark on.
As awkward as this might seem, it is really helpful and saves you lots of regrets. Therefore planning helps you avoid unnecessary rush that might lead to forgetting important items for your trip and also, it helps save time and energy.
Not making a comprehensive list and planning properly beforehand might lead to undeserved regrets, you might end up packing unnecessary stuff and leaving out relevant items maybe because of the inability to think vastly at the exact day of the journey.
As earlier stated, setting aside a comprehensive list of your need for a trip days beforehand, is very essential, helps saves time, and makes it almost impossible to leave any necessary item unpacked.
2. Clothes Counting
This involves selecting the perfect number of clothes that will best suit you for your trip. This is usually dependent on how long your trip is supposed to last.
Let’s take, for example, you are about to embark on a one week trip, it is advisable to take with you an average number of maybe, six tops or less, four bottoms, three pairs of shoes, two hats(if you are a hat lover), a jacket and four pairs of socks.
The above is to be properly packed in the suitcase. Note that leaving out irrelevant items or items you might probably not use while on your trip is a wise approach in as much as it eliminates unnecessary stress.
3. Strategic Packing Technique
I will be sharing with you some unique packing strategies I adopt and I believe these recommended techniques if queued into, will make your trip a safe and comfortable one.
The strategies below are less time consuming and gives way for enough space when arranging your suitcase.
- Adopt the roller style method: While folding your clothes to put into the suitcase, it wise to roll them as this method creates more space and decreases the probability of the clothe getting wrinkles. You can as well adopt other methods for clothes like jackets that can’t be easily rolled.
- When packing footwear, it is best to place them together at an edge of the suitcase with socks in them. Moreover, it is wise to get footwear covered first before placing them into the suitcase to avoid getting dirt in your clothes.
- In cases where you are supposed to pack hats, one should be won against the other and gently placed into the suitcase. Always keep in mind that the aim is to create more space and have a smart and neat arrangement that saves time.
- As hinted earlier, items like watches, Glasses, and toiletries should be placed in external pockets. Toiletries, in particular, should be placed in easy to recognize bag as you might be needing them more quickly than you think.
- Items like documents or paper works should be carefully placed in the internal pockets that are available at the inner side of the suitcase cover.
- For those that love carrying bottled water along while traveling, it is wise to place the bottled water in an easily accessible area of the suitcase. Carrying bottled water along might sound unnecessary but it is essential on cases of unavailability of water during your trip; so I advise you should consider carrying one if you don’t.
4. Pack Gadgets for Safety
A common problem most people face or worry about while packing is the exact safe and appropriate place of placing valuable items like electronics and gadgets(Laptops, pads, tablets and chargers) to avoid unnecessary damage.
Gadgets are prone to damages like broken screen, scratch, and unexplainable faults if rough handled during a trip or maybe as a result of inappropriate packing strategies.
Lots of people are guilty of clustering several gadgets in one particular spot in their suitcase, this is a bad packing strategy which leads to damages along the way.
Nevertheless, there is a perfect packing strategy anyone and everyone can adopt in other to protect our gadgets from incurring damages during our trip.
While packing my suitcase I usually adopt the method of placing 2 to 3 clothes below a gadget and 2 to 3 clothes above a gadget before placing another gadget and continue repeating the same process until all my gadgets are completely packed. This method has always worked for me, so I can say this is a trusted method.
If you abide by this, it will not only prevent damages but also prevent unpleasant scratches on your gadgets.
This method keeps your gadgets intact and in a safe spot even if roughly handled during your trip.
However, it is advisable to leave some of your gadgets behind if you do own lots of them, this way, it gives you less gadgets to keep tabs on just to keep you on a safe side and avoid unnecessary regrets that might lead to expenses later on.
Finally, After you have completely and perfectly packed up your suitcase, you will need to lock up to steer clear of loss of items. On this note, it is ideal for you to go for a suitcase that consists of a Travel Sentry Approved (TSA) lock.
Helpful Tools and Gadgets for Packing
When figuring out how to pack a suitcase, several available tools and gadgets will help make packing your suitcase and easy one.
These items include in-suitcase organizers as well as items like plastic zip-close bag that makes packing less stressful. Below are some recommended handy tools you might need while packing your suitcase.
1. Packing cubes
These are small bags that a lightweight and zip-up squares that enable you to pack and arrange items like clothes into different compartments and ensure maximum space management. Most frequent travelers always make use of this gadget.
It comes with varieties of colors so one can purchase different colors, pack each of your clothing’s accordingly in different categories, and ensure easy verification through the colors.
Most packing cubes consist of handles which helps easy carriage and placement into the hotel drawer.
2. Zip-close bags
This helps in the easy separation of definite items. It mostly comes in plastic transparent form, therefore it can be used to put wet toiletries and other items, and can be easily identified. It has a minimal weight and does not take much space.
3. Wrinkle-Release Fabric Spray
This helps you get rid of wrinkles on clothes incurred as a result of packing easily without ironing.
This is also an item carried by most frequent travelers, just a spray on clothes and gently smoothing and stretching eliminate wrinkles caused by packing.
4. Portable Luggage Scale
Get yourself a handy portable luggage scale and get rid of the need of trying to balance your suitcase on a bathroom scale.
The portable luggage scale comes in handy and can be used to check the weight of your suitcase easily by hooking it onto your luggage and lifting.
It can be easily packed and carried around, so it makes it easy to check your luggage weight anywhere you are.
Start Planning Your Trip
Planning your trip is very important before any journey, and planning your packing strategy as well as optimizing the process will bring out the best of your journey
Implementing this guide on how to pack a suitcase is a start to an awesome journey.
I hope you have been enlightened so far by this article, put the above-listed strategies and techniques in play on your next trip and I bet, you will have a perfect trip.
You can also check out the drivers checklist to get to know more about taking a road trip with your car.