Tightly roll items such as T-shirts, pajamas, casual pants and dresses to optimize suitcase space and avoid creasing. Roll heavy items (such as jeans) first and place at the bottom. Follow with thinner rolled items on top of those to make it easier to force your suitcase closed.
Five tops. Four bottoms. Three dresses or rompers and three pairs of shoes. Two swimsuits and two bags.
If your bag has little pockets or compartments, use those to stash your cords so they don't get caught on other items.
Rolling your clothes in your suitcase will generally save space. This is because it squeezes air from between folds and means the most of available space is used. If done correctly, rolling can also ensure less wrinkles in your clothes.
Do the clothing countdown: If you need a mantra to help streamline your wardrobe, use the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 rule for a weeklong trip: Limit yourself to no more than five sets of socks and underwear, four tops, three bottoms, two pairs of shoes and one hat. The list should be adjusted to suit your needs.
This may seem an ambitiously small suitcase, but the golden rule of packing is to always take half the clothes you were planning to bring (and twice the money). Photograph by Westend61, Getty Images.
Rolling clothes will not make your bag heavier—unless you pack more because of all of the space you saved! So be careful of overpacking. Instead of rolling to save space, roll clothes so that you can downside to a carry-on bag and enjoy a bag that weighs a lot less.
At some point in the last few decades, suitcase manufacturers began adding a zipper in the lining of most suitcases and luggage. This liner not only provides a smooth surface on the inside of the suitcase, but a zipper installed discreetly in the lining adds an additional compartment to the suitcase.
If you tend to rearrange your suitcase multiple times on a trip, ensuring it's as organized as possible, then packing cubes are helpful and well worth the investment. Using packing organizers is a quick, easy way to bring order and harmony to your bag—and to your trip.
Generally speaking, start your packing process a few weeks to a month before your trip for longer trips (a week or more) to give yourself ample time. This gives you enough time to create a list of things you'll need, organize it, and then get everything packed without the last-minute packing fun.
Consider the 1-2-3-4-5-6 Rule
One general guideline is to pack one hat, two pairs of shoes, three bottoms, four tops (short or long-sleeve or outer layer), five pairs of socks, six pairs of underwear.
When traveling, clothing tends to get super compressed, and even slightly damp from the changes in moisture when flying. It's best to pack to minimize this wrinkling, and we feeling rolling does the best job on that aspect. Rolling your clothing is also generally preferred by most frequent fliers.
Generally, it's better to roll clothes because it takes up less space and allows you to pack more while reducing wrinkles. However, rolling clothes is time-consuming, so folding can also be efficient depending on the type of clothes you're packing and your available space.