Packing

I usually lay pants flat and then roll them tight from the top...the tighter you roll, the less chance of wrinkles, and of course, the more room you free up for something else. With shirt, I fold the sleeves in and then roll. I am a big believer in rolling! With the kids, I will pick out their outfits beforehand and roll them together.

For shirts, I fold the sleeves in and then roll from the bottom. With t-shirts and such you can lay a couple together. With pants, I fold them in half as though I was going to hang them, then fold in half lengthwise before rolling. I put underwear in a ziploc bag and compress it. And I use socks to fill in any little gaps, or put them down between the bars of my bag handle (rolling bag).

I use cubes..Bottom layer is an Eagle Creek Double Cube for shirts, pants, light sweater--either roll or fold depending on my mood (mostly fold)--and an EC tube cube for socks, undies, and other small items.

Next layer is an EC cube for any remaining clothes and small EC sacs for toiletries, small electronics, etc. The rest of that layer is for my daybag for items I might need while traveling.

OUtside pocket for 3-1-1 toiletries if flying and anything else I might nieed quickly.

I switch back and forth between a couple of bags but both are standard non-wheeled carry-on.

The advantage of the packing cubes, for traveling light, is that they force you to literally contain yourself! My rule is, if it doesn't fit in the cubes, it can't come! The exceptions are scatter-able things, like I get pre-packaged packets of my vitamin regimen (so I don't need bottles), etc. I use the smallest cube for underwear and a sleep t- those I smooth flat and then roll into skinny tubes, leaving room for camera charger, batteries, etc. The other small cube I use for tees and tanks, also rolled after being smoothed flat first- if you have a nicer blouse I have used that on the bottom of the cube, flat, with the sleeves and edges hanging over, then put in the rolled items, then carefully fold the shirt over the top. The big cube is for rolled up bottoms. This is all on the assumption that nothing you are taking will wrinkle!!! Another advantage to the cubes, if you are moving a lot, is that you never really have to unpack and always know where everything is- it'll either be on your body, drying in the hotel bathroom, or still in its place in the cubes!

i was just reading some posts on this. i think the method you use depends on how much stuff you're bringing and what kind of bag you have.

i am going to be bringing a carryon size backpack with probably 2 pairs of pants and 5 shirts. i originally was thinking about getting 2-3 compression bags; however, i will need to access the stuff in each bag every day - not sure how well this will work. i addition, i'm thinking my cotton tshirts will be wrinkled after being compressed.

my next thought was an envelope for the shirts and pants and a compression bag for everything else.

or maybe rolling is just better?

I put my shoes in first around the edges of the suitcase. I then fold my pants, shorts or skirts and put then on the bottom. I use a folding envelope for all my tops. I stuff my shoes with socks and put the rest of my undergarments in the inside top of the suitcase. I also use large ziplock bags for smaller items. I put a jacket and scarf in the outer pocket. It seems to work well for me and my husband. I take more tops then bottoms and wash as I go. Have a great trip!

Rolling clothes works really well...maybe too well!!..It gives you so much space that you might be tempted to roll in a few more items

I roll my clothes. Everything is rolled individually. It works fine with wrinkle resistent clothes.

Bundling is probably better for wrinkles but I didn't like it. When you are on the road, you can't reach into your bag and pull out a single item.

Example,You spill something on your pants and want to change. With rolling you can go to the toilet, pull out a pair of pants and change. With bundling you have to pull the whole package out then repack (very ungainly). Another example, You want to add a sweater for dinner but can't just pull out the item without messing up the whole package.

IMO bundling works best when you will be unpacking and repacking only rarely on the road (cruise?).

Rolling is easy. I start by folding to a consistent width that will fit into my bag. My clothes go in vertically to add stiffness to my carry on. If you have a roll on, putting them in horizontally rolled to the width of your bag works just as well.

For shirts and sweaters, I fold the sleeves in and roll from the bottom to the top then put two rubber bands around them (one rubber band works fine, I use two in case one breaks or needs to be borrowed). Pants are rolled from the legs to the waste. I fold to half the height of my bag and do two rows (22" bag, eleven inch rows). My spare shoes go in the bottom corners facing the sides.

Loose stuff (socks and underwear) are put in a big ziplock bag. I sit on them to compress the air out, seal and put in the mesh pocket on cover of my bag. Bring extra ziplocks for dirties, wets, receipts, etc. Papers, books, shave kit etc. all go in the organizer pockets on the outside front of my ebags convertible.

I cinch the whole thing down with the compression straps to keep it all as compact as possible.

Why the rubber bands? I would think that would wrinkle them for sure. I have non-wrinkle clothes, but I think they still wrinkle some.
We have the RS convertible carryon. I agreee with you Brad about the bundle technique. I think I want to try rolling. I did buy one set of the RS packing cubes, but I really would rather not buy all that I would need for three of us. I thought we could each take one to put things in. I'll also do plastic zip lock bags. Thanks for helping me understand the rolling idea. I'll give it a try.

I don't bother with rubber bands. It's not like they are going to come unrolled on their own on the way.

I love using the packing cubes. We used them extensively on our last trip. I think I bought some at Target. I had a large cube for tops, medium for undergarments & socks, etc. Also, another advantage to rolling is that if you know your shirts (or other clothes)well, you can tell by looking at the color and texture of the rolled shirts which one is which. For example, that brown shirt is a longer, sleeveless shirt. That coral color shirt is a short sleeve, lightweight polo. As Brad said, you don't have to take apart your backpack looking for the right garment. We use large ziplocs for dirty clothes. They don't have ziplocs in Europe. Have a great time making memories!

I like the rubber bands. They keep things rolled tightly when I'm getting in and out of my bag. They aren't there to compress the load as much as to keep things from coming unrolled. Do you need them? I don't know. They work well for me.

My family of 4 just returned from 5 weeks backpacking around europe and we all loved the Packing Cubes.

For the better part of the trip, they were sorted with pants/skirts in the larger, tops in one of the smaller and underthings/socks in the other smaller.
Nothing was bundled, just kind of crammed in.

For the last 3 days of the trip, my 14 year old daughter and I shuffled our system around and crammed everything into 1 large and 1 small packing cube, except for the clothes we needed for those last few days. The clothes for the last few days were put in the last cube, and it was packed at the top of our backpacks.

All we had to do was open the very top of the pack, then open the top of the cube and we had our stuff. No need to unzip anything else. After 5 weeks, I did not want to have to open my pack and then try to get everything back in.

Hope this helps.

I agree with Karen... if the items don't fit in my 3 Rick's cubes, its staying home. For cubes I seem to fit my clothes by folding them like they do in the department stores. I also bring 2 gallon size zip locks for laundry or to store other items.

Hi Susan and Monte. For me, rolling 3 long-sleeve shirts (wrinkle resistant) in a Pack-Mate (Medium size) bag is an efficient use of space in my travel bag (or suitcase). I lay a shirt down flat, with the arms crossed over,in the bag, and stack the 3 shirts. Roll all the shirts together in the Pack-Mate bag. Roll it tight, and I put a string or rubber bands around it.
I cram all my undershirts and undershorts in one packing cube : I use one that is 3 1/2 inches thick (Columbia brand). The Rick Steves Packing cubes are 5 inches thick : I think it does not need to be that thick. I use only that one packing cube. And I like the Rick Steves' compact Travelin Toiletries kit. If I walk out of my room to the bath room, I like to carry one bag there (with all hygiene and grooming suplies in it).Thus my bag has space for other items : a Rick Steves' silk sleep sack (very small in its pouch), a travel towell (rolled), rubber sandals (thongs) for the shower, umbrella, maps, travel guide book, a roll of toilet paper. I put only one pants in my bag. I do not put any shoes in my bag. (The shoes that I wear in the airplane is the only shoes that I bring). (Travelers can pack an extra pair of shoes, if they want to). The last things I put in my bag (or suitcase) are socks : I put rolled pairs of socks into the crevices and corners.

Rolling is the best, but be sure to lay items flat and smooth out any creases first. The packing cubes are stupid and a waste of space, in my opinion. To keep clothes fresh and wrinkle free I hang them up immediately in my hotel closet, and I take a little spray bottle to fill with water, and spritz or mist my clothes to relax any wrinkles. This works especially good on T-shirts. You can get a little spray bottle at the dollar store,or in the cosmetics department at the drugstore. This is my favorite packing tip!