suitcase packing question

[macphanatic]

Packing cubes for underwear, socks and t-shirts. I pack flat and use the straps to hold everything in place. I don't use a roller suitcase unless I'm traveling for more than 4 days by air or train. Less than 4 days by any means, it's a backpack style duffle. More than 4 days by car is a duffle with a u shaped top zipper.

Pants and shirts get folded and secured. Shoes in shoe bags. Sport/suit jackets get folded in half vertically and the one outer front side brought around so that both exposed sides are the insides of the jacket. If done correctly, it helps keep the arms from getting wrinkled. Then they are folded in half horizontally. They are then strapped into the bag.

Anything that can leak goes in ziplocks. Anything fragile goes into shoes if it fits.

System has worked well for 30 years of travel around the globe.

[davester]

wurm wrote:
I used to always lay out the suitcase on the bed and start packing.

Another reason to not do it this way is that laying a suitcase on a bed in a hotel is the number one way of getting a bedbug infestation at home. Bedbugs are incredibly common in hotels and motels and this is their primary migration pathway. That's why they have those suitcase holders in hotel rooms.

Oh yeah, I agree with the packing cube comments too. I use a shirt folding board too.