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16 Best Luggage Packing Hacks according to Qantas Travel Insider 2024
Travel Insider’s team of experienced writers offers their Best Luggage Packing Hacks, highlighting space-saving techniques and organizational strategies to streamline your luggage for your next trip. These tips include both practical advice for fitting more into your suitcase and clever ways to keep your belongings organized on the go.
To read their original article you can click here – TRAVEL INSIDER
Travel Insider’s Best Luggage Packing Hacks –
- Pack in Complete Outfits
- Loop Jewelry
- Shoe Covers
- Do not Pack Anything you will Buy
- Use Packing Cells
- Only Pack 3 Shoes
- Use Complimentary and Sample Toiletry Products
- Do Not Roll Your Belts
- Travel with a hard-shell suitcase
- Pack a collapsible bag or any bag that can be closed
- Use a Packing App
- Use a backpack for your carry on
- Pack your carry-on smartly
- Keep items you need to declare together
- Squeeze air out of toiletries
- Find a new use for carabiners
#1 – Pack in Complete Outfits
One might consider tailoring their packing strategy to their schedule. For business trips, assembling outfits for each meeting ensures preparedness. When traveling for leisure, aligning clothing choices with planned activities and dining experiences, based on a printed itinerary, could be beneficial. This detailed approach may help ensure every packed item is utilized, promoting both efficiency and minimal waste.
#2 – Loop Jewelry like Necklaces through Plastic Straws
Keeping delicate jewelry organized and tangle-free during travels can be a challenge. A clever solution discovered on Pinterest involves threading the chains of necklaces through straws, cutting them to size for smaller pieces like bracelets. Each piece of jewelry is then stored in its own plastic Ziploc bag. This method ensures everything stays neat and accessible.
#3 – Shoe Covers (Shower Caps)
Using complimentary one-use plastic shower caps from hotel rooms to encase shoes is a practical way to prevent their often-dirty soles from touching your clothes. This method is more convenient than shoe bags, as the caps are less bulky and more flexible.
#4 – Don’t pack anything you’re going to buy
To save space and avoid unnecessary duplication, it’s wise to leave behind items you plan to purchase at your destination. For instance, if a trip to Brisbane includes buying new sneakers, consider not packing old ones. This approach minimizes luggage and simplifies travel.
#5 – Use packing cells
Using packing cells can significantly streamline packing: dedicating separate cells for tops, pants, underwear, accessories, and chargers ensures everything stays organized. These cells fill the bottom of a hard-shell suitcase, while shoes, a hairdryer, novels, and notebooks fit in the top, making items easy to find and manage.
#6 – Only pack three pairs of shoes
To pack shoes efficiently, consider the rule of three: a pair for going out, flats for daytime, and running shoes for walks and exercise. Wearing sneakers on the plane, which can also be used day or night, saves space.
#7 – Use Complimentary and Sample Toiletry Products
Always ensure to grab any complimentary toiletry products as they are normally travel friendly and the perfect size for your travels. Saving a lot of space and weight.
#8 – Do Not Roll Your Belts
Line the edges of your suitcase with your belt! Instead of rolling them if you line the suitcase you can save a load of space allowing room for other things.
#9 – Travel with a hard-shell suitcase
For short city trips, using a hardshell suitcase with a zipped top half simplifies staying organized without unpacking. Packing systematically in different sections allows for easy access upon arrival, effectively turning the suitcase into two organized shelves with everything needed readily available.
#10 – Pack a collapsible bag or any bag that can be closed
Travelling with a collapsible bag ensures you won’t have to worry about oversized bags or the stress of trying to fit in new purchases. Almost all airlines allow two carry on bags (one personal item and one backpack essentially). For most airlines the second checked bag is cheaper than what they would charge of an overweight checked bag, this is situational and dependent on the airline however.
#11 – Use a packing app
To streamline packing, consider using the app PackPoint. It customizes packing lists based on your destination, travel dates, trip purpose, and planned activities, ensuring you don’t forget anything crucial. The more you personalize your inputs, the more tailored the packing list becomes, making packing quick and efficient.
#12 – Use a backpack for your carry on
Switching from a tote to a backpack for travel has been a game-changer. The backpack zips up, preventing items from spilling in the overhead compartment and offering more comfort during airport stopovers.
#13 – Pack your carry-on smartly
Storing essentials like a tablet, headphones, a wrap, your passport, and a pen in a separate pouch within your carry-on makes for easy access during flights. This method allows you to quickly settle in your seat without needing to repeatedly access the overhead compartment, enhancing convenience and comfort during your journey.
#14 – Keep items you need to declare together
When heading back to Australia from abroad, it’s smart to pack all declarable items in one bag. This way, if customs needs to inspect them, you won’t have to unpack all your luggage, streamlining the process
#15 – Squeeze air out of toiletries
To prevent toiletries like sunscreen from leaking in your bag, expel any air from their bottles before traveling. This creates a vacuum effect, ensuring the lids and caps stay securely fastened, saving you from potential messes upon arrival.
#16 – Find a new use for carabiners
Carabiners are not just for climbers; they’re incredibly useful for adding extra carrying capacity to your bag. Attach items like water bottles, flip-flops, or wet clothing to your bag’s exterior loops. Affordable and available at outdoor supply stores, carabiners can be a simple solution for managing additional belongings while traveling.
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