Packing without crushing
 

HAs anyone figured out how to keep clothes from looking like you slept in them? I have rolled clothes in the past and it seems to be better than laying them flat.
Thanks,
Melissa

I roll them in dry cleaning bags and it seems to help a lot.

I use the Pack-Mate bags. If you lay the garments in the bag very carefully, rolling the bag up to squeeze the air out does not wrinkle them. I unroll the bag after it has a vacumn and take the two ends and pull. That usually straightens out any problems created by rolling up the bag. These flat packages are very neat, take up much less room in my suitcase, and keep the clothing from wrinkling. The bags are also helpful if I want to pack an entire outfit together-pants, shirt, socks, etc.

I do the same as jddet. I use the dry cleaning bags or tissue, although I usually fold instead of roll the big things like pants/shirts, but smaller things do get rolled.
I use plain old big ZipLock bags for underwear, pjs, shoes, etc.

First of all, take only clothes which do not require ironing at home.

Roll and put in plastic bags: zippers, Pack-Mates, whatever you have or prefer.

Once in the hotel, hang them on hangers. If wrinkled, put in the bathroom while taking shower - the wet air will "iron" them.

And if something is still wrinkled - hey, were you looking for a reason to go shopping :)

I found knits work really well, but of course depending on time of year and fabric, one may not want knits. I can roll them, they don't take a lot of space and any wrinkles hang out really well.

I'm of the fold neatly, stack, and pack, school. I never understood rolling as it seems to take up much more room in the suitcase and gets every bit as wrinkly. I chose fabrics that specifically travel well.

One of the distinct advantages of the Pack Mates is that you don't have to hang the clothes up. They stay, neatly compressed in your suitcase, until you want them.

We use the drycleaning bags and a garment bag. On arrival the clothes, already on hangers, are just hung up. The bag, if not over packed, is light enough that the lack of wheels is an issue. Also, some clothes are more wrinkle resistant than other so pick the "good" kind for the trip.

A tip: If your clothes do get wrinkled, take a nice LONG hot shower with the garment hung beside you and it will "stream" so that it unwrinkles. Worked like a charm for me last trip.

Don't pack linen :)

Ditto Scarlett. I took a few light sweaters to Paris and rolled 2 or three of them together in tissue paper. NO wrinkles, and my duffel is packed pretty tightly. We only use the spacesaver bags on the way home when we aren't so worried about wrinkles. My pants and jeans are just rolled. I seem to be able to better fit them in that way.

I am normally a carryon-only-light-packer-type of girl. I am wondering what I am going to do with my two suits when I go away for business next month. I am afraid I will have to check my luggage.

Scarlett, will the bags work if you fold the clothes? I have one day to sight see in Chicago before I have to work all week, I do not want to spend it ironing my clothes for the week.

I have tried the shower trick, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't it depends on the fabric, I think.

And before anyone suggests "knits" I cannot wear that. It has to be an actual suit, extreme business type, straight lines, classic type.

Melissa, I also always bring Downy wrinkle release with me when I travel. It works nicely on most fabrics, especially on casual clothing. Smells good too.

Roll, pack snugly, and carry a small bottle of wrinkle releaser. You can buy it but also you can make it by using a 1 part fabric softener to 3 parts water. Try it out on a small part of you clothing first. So far this has worked for me.

Hi,
I'm the self-appointed Packing Diva, and I have had great luck using the clear plastic sweater bags you can buy at the closet organization type stores. I keep all the clothes for one city in one bag. I fold the clothes very carefully with tissue paper and fill the bag tightly. When I get to each city, I only need to unpack the bag for that city. Everything looks great; fold marks come out with the hanging in the bathroom while you shower trick. I hate ironing and never have had to when I travel. (Even linen looks presentable this way.) I travel a lot and this always works for me (but I don't bring suit jackets, so that might need a bit more padding) Happy travels!

dsm, when I travel on business I lay my suit out flat and then pull a plastic drycleaning bag over it, then fold it in half and put it in my 22" bag. Stays pretty wrinkle free that way, you'd be surprised how well it works.

My system is to pack dresses, slacks, and tops in dry-cleaning bags, right on their hangers. Makes unpacking very quick--I only have to lift things out and hang them up. Knits just get folded in pairs.

I agree with L84SKY. I use the spray on wrinkle releaser. I get it at Steinmart and it works so well, I am going away for 6 weeks, in about a week, and i need to go buy probably 4 or 5 bottles! I also am a college student and will do anything to aviod ironing, seriosly i love that wrinkle releaser stuff.

I just try to pack fabrics that don't wrinkle as easily. My husband used the www.onebag.com bundle method with great success.
We did also pack a small bottle of wrinkle releaser (found at Target) and it was amazing! I think I will start using it at home :)

Thanks all for taking the time to share your favorite packing tips. Off to AMsterdam tomorrow!
Melissa