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

For people needing business clothes or wishing to take things that wrinkle, simply call down & borrow an iron and iron board from hotel housekeeping upon arrival and touch everything up real quick before you hang it in the closet. doesn't take much time and then you're set for the week.

Underhill, Great idea! especially since the hotels never seem to have enough hangers or the sort that I like to use.
What is this wrinkle releaser? Does it work on your face? LOL

Scarlett,

I've found 2 things that do work on your face (at least they have on mine)--L'Oreal Wrinkle de-Crease with Boswelox and Acupucture...really, my friends think I've had a facelift.

Thank you artlover..
As I travel (and age) I will gather all these creams and potions that I hear about and use them religiously..who knows, when I arrive at my desintation, I might look younger than when I left :)

For absolute wrinkle-free packing (well for everything but linen) I don't use pack-mates, plastic bags, rolling or folding.

I "bundle" my clothes. It is a fool proof way to pack. In fact, I teach 3-hour packing classes at the local community college and several regional libraries. 87 people showed up at my last class in early May. Unfortunately it is a pretty difficult system to describe w/o the handouts/in-person demo.

But in general it goes like this: You start w/ the longest garments (Dresses, slacks, night clothes, etc) and finish up w/ the shortest ones (tank tops, shells, shrugs, etc).

You lay each garmet over the open suitcase w/ the collar along one side and the hem hanging out the other side. You alternate directions of each garmet you add (you do this because the collars/shoulders/waistbands are thicker so by alternating you gain a lot of room in the suitcase). You end up w/ all garmets laying on top of each other sort of half in and half out of the case. Place underwear/scarves/hose etc on top of the pile and then wrap each garmet around this bundle in order. You end up w/ a sort of pillow of clothes. Nothing wrinkles because there are no creases - nothing is folded but are rather wrapped around a core of other clothes that cushion each other. This workd for any sort of garmet - even lines wool suits/jackets, etc.

It sounds really complicated and time consuming - but in fact it is a much faster way to pack/unpack than folding each garment.

Thanks for all the business clothing packing tips. LAwoman and janis, I am going to try both of your suggestions. I will pack my business casual as LAwoman suggested and my suits as janis suggested.

I am normally a roller, but I couldn't see that working with a suit.

I love to pack.....:)

I keep all dry cleaned clothes in the plastic bags too. I fold all small stuff..t shirts, shorts, and place then all along the bottom of the suitcase. I pack bathing suits in ziplock bags..it keeps them small (I usually bring 7-8 bathing suits) is why. I do put as much in ziplock bags as possible...you can squeeze the air out and it is very easy to pack and unpack. I also leave the hangers on the dry cleaned clothes, so unpacking is easy. I fold them as little as possible and they go on top of the folded items. I put shoes around the frame of the suitcase. Also the tighter you pack the less wrinkles you will have...always use the elastic belts in the suitcase too. It will keep the clothes tight and prevent them from moving.

I never pack any liquids or beauty products...they go in my carry on bags.

If you travel often, a good investment is a wardrober suitcase. It is made to hang all your clothes, then it folds and zips. It is not large and you can pack tons and it never gets heavy. It is amazing! I now pack all my clothes on hangers, in the plastic bags in this suitcase. They are always perfect. One of the best things I ever bought.

Do the airlines ever have a problem with the plastic bags or Pack Mates if your bag has to be searched?

I don't think they have a problem with clothes packed in the plastic bags because you can see everything .. I think many people use plastic bags of some sort now.
I know having underwear in a bag makes me think no one else is handling them LOL

No, I think it works especially WELL for security. I used large zip locks for almost everything in my carry-on tote. Security was able to simply dump everything out and see at a glance what all I had, yet it was easy for me to tuck everything neatly back into the case once OK'd.

After a security guard man-handled my toothbrush, I started wrapping everything personal in clear plastic bags. He took my toothbrush out of its little case and ran his fingers over it! Bleeech!! I picked it up and tossed it in the trash.

EEK, seaurchin that is so disgusting!! I am quite sure that would have put me right over the edge. What is wrong with people, he just did that on purpose
i would think. Gross.

I know! Instead of making a scene I just tossed it out right in front of him. Then I went to the LAX store and paid a mini fortune for a new one!

Wow, so many great tips! I really loved Janis' idea, but I don't know if I can give up my tried and true...
One more mega time-saver, if you travel a lot...put one "packlist" on your computer (I use Excel, and sort by the type of item being packed) This way, you just have to open the old packlist and update for the number of nights, etc, and you don't have to come up with a whole new list each trip; it even reminds you of wardrobe items you might have forgotten you own...also, it solves the problem of lost items! I've used this system for at least 10 years, and it's wonderful!