Packing Part II: Packing So You Can Find It When You Want It (For Women)

In “Packing Part I: How to Select Your Best Travel Wardrobe and Gear (For Women),” I explained how I made my wardrobe selections for my month-long trip to Paris, as well as make recommendations on what travel gear to take. Now for “Packing Part II: Packing So You Can Find It When You Want It (For Women).”

If you recall, I purchased three new luggage items: a travel handbag, a backpack to use as a carry-on, and a Samsonite spinner suitcase. I sprayed all of them with a fabric protector and allowed all three pieces to dry for 24 hours. While the luggage items were drying, I gathered together my wardrobe selections, travel gear, and my secret packing weapon, three sizes of Ziploc bags: sandwich-sized, 2-gallon, and the large Travel Space Bags ($7.99, found at the Container Store), along with sticky notes.

Packing using resealable plastic bags saves space in your baggage, time while travelling, and possible aggravation. If you want to find a particular garment, you can easily go through the bags, find the item, and repack. Without the bags, you have to constantly refold everything whenever you try to find a particular garment. (This is why I don’t use Eagle Creek Pack-It Folders and the like, though their higher price doesn’t help.) Talk about time consuming! Since it helps to use a color scheme for a travel wardrobe, you will probably have several items that are the same color: use a sticky note to identify these items, and put the note inside the bag.

Before you purchase plastic bags that save space by vacuuming out the air, think about this: Where will you find a vacuum cleaner at your destination so you can save the same amount of space for your return trip? One must learn to think ahead.

ELSA’S TIPS: 1) Buy several 2-gallon Ziploc plastic bag boxes because you will likely need more than you think. 2) When using Ziploc’s Travel Space Bags, put the bulky garment(s) in the bag and close the bag about ¾ of the way before rolling it from the opposite end (of the zipper) to extinguish the air. The way I read the directions, it appears you are supposed to close the zipper completely and then roll it…but if you do that the air has nowhere to go. (I tried several times.) 3) Pack items that you frequently wear together or use together in the same bag, if possible. I put a blouse and skirt together in the same 2-gallon bag, and in a sandwich bag I put band-aids and Neosporin.

After putting everything in plastic bags, follow a process of elimination of sorts: “Eliminate” items (pack them) by putting those that must be packed in each bag. For me, this meant my wardrobe selections, major personal care items, and my Swiss Army knife (which has a corkscrew, bottle opener and a small knife for winter picnics and use in the hostel’s kitchen) went into my suitcase to be checked. In my carry-on backpack, I then put everything I wanted on the plane with me: my 3-1-1 toiletries, guidebooks, travel diary, travel slippers, a sticky garment cleaner, and my 3 pairs of shoes. (Yes, this is more than most travel experts recommend, but my feet hurt when I wear any one pair too many days in a row.) I realized my travel blow-dryer would not fit in my carry-on, which in turn would crowd out my major toiletries that I could not bring onto the plane (thanks to the 3-1-1 rule). Since I was not going to do without my toiletries, I had to narrow down my garment selections by taking out SEVERAL items that were not in the black-white-grey color scheme. I also couldn’t take Epsom salt in a bag (to soak my feet in). As I have learned from travelling, it’s the last 10-15% of your items that make you want to sit on your suitcase to close it. (And what if it broke?!) Save yourself the aggravation and do a trial run by packing EVERYTHING you want to take with you on your trip. If you can’t fit everything you want to take, you won’t have to make bad last-minute decisions.

Using plastic bags to pack is not a new concept. But if you use this idea, be prepared for questions. Remember the U.S. Customs Agent I dealt with in Packing Part I? I was coming home from being out of the U.S. for a month: He gave me a very hard time because I packed using Ziploc plastic bags. I got the idea he thought only people who want to transport contraband use plastic bags in their suitcase. (In all honesty, he was already upset that I had not bought much for being a month overseas. There was not much to buy (that is, souvenirs) in Kazakhstan back then.) As I explained, “This way, when Customs goes through my lingerie, I won’t have to worry about it flying all over everywhere for others to see.” He put down the plastic bag containing my lingerie and looked me square in the eye. He could tell I meant business and sent me on my merry way.

Here is how I packed:

CHECKED BAG (SPINNER SUITCASE)

2 prs. Black pants (1 pr.from Cache, 1 pr. travel pants)

1 black pencil skirt (for Mass at Notre Dame and my dinner cruise)

Black & White Herringbone 3/4-sleeved jacket (a little dressy)

Black Velvet Chico long-sleeved Button-up cardigan

Black & White striped Ralph Lauren long-sleeved blouse (a little dressy)

Black Jones of New York (Cotton) long-sleeved blouse

Black long-sleeved scoop-neck (Cotton) shirt

Black V-neck long-sleeved Ireland (Acrylic) sweater

Black long-sleeved (Cotton) turtleneck

White Long-sleeved (Cotton) shirt

Lavender ¾-sleeved (cotton/nylon) sweater with black detailing and bow

Black & White striped short-sleeved (Rayon/Nylon/Spandex) sweater

Black short-sleeved (Rayon/Cotton) turtleneck sweater

2 White short-sleeved (Cotton) shirts

Black Anorak hooded rain jacket

Blue Under Armor Zippered jacket

Black Cuddl Duds Long-sleeved undergarment

Grey short-sleeved (Rayon/Nylon) turtleneck sweater (had to take out)

Blue short-sleeved cotton blouse (had to take out)

Black & White Infinity Scarf (had to take out)

Black (Velvet) Scarf (had to take out)

Lingerie

4 prs. Black tights

Travel blow dryer

Hair spray

Baby wipes

Scissors

Nail care items

Personal care items not allowed on plane (including laundry soap and fluid makeup)

16 packs of personal Kleenex tissue (10 per pack) (packed in inside zipper, on top of suitcase hardware, as well as several grocery bags and a foldable, plastic shopping bag with handles)

Epsom Salt (had to take out)

Delicates laundry bag

Swiss Army Knife

Leather Fanny Pack

BACKPACK CARRY-ON

3 pairs of shoes (5 prs. socks inside shoes)

Travel bedroom slippers

Pajamas

Sleeping mask

Prescription

Magic Marker (to label food in hostel refrigerator)

Flashlight (to use outside and to navigate in the room without waking up roommates)

AAA batteries

3-1-1 personal items

Small lint brush

L’Oreal makeup remover sheets

Non-fluid makeup items

Foot roller (ball)

Travel books/Travel Diary/Pamphlets on new electronics (phone, camera)

Chargers for cell phones, camera

Pens

Umbrella

Hershey Kisses (had to take out)

 

TRAVEL HANDBAG

Filofax Daily Planner

Sunglasses

Reading glasses

Make up

Camera

Pocket Tissues

Pen

2 cell phones

 

WORE ON PLANE:

Black Zella (Polyester/Spandex) Yoga pants

Black tights

Black Ann Taylor (Wool) blazer with pockets

Pringle blue V-neck (Cashmere) sweater

White long-sleeved (Cotton) shirt

Money belt w/money and passport

Purple overcoat (Wool) with black detailing (carried in bag on plane to protect it in overhead bin)

Black (Wool) scarf

Black Earmuffs

Black short booties

Earrings, ring, sports watch that could take abuse

 

To recap:

1. Prior to your trip, do a trial run by gathering together all of your wardrobe selections, travel gear and toiletries and pack them in your baggage.
2. Use resealable plastic bags (such as Ziploc) to store them in prior to packing, along with sticky notes to identify items that are hard to identify through the bags.
3. Pack using a process of elimination: Put what must go into each bag first, then prioritize what you would like to have with you on the plane.
4. Wear your bulkiest items on the plane, if possible, to save space.

 

If you need to convince yourself to spend the time packing with plastic bags:

1) They prevent you from having to refold everything when you want to find a particular garment.

2) They save space in your baggage.

3) They protect your items in your suitcase if they happen to fall out – whether as a result of your suitcase breaking or Customs going through your belongings haphazardly.

4) They are cost-effective.

 

Using resealable plastic bags involves an initial time investment, but well worth the payoffs.

 

Salut!

 

 

 

 

Ziploc Travel Space Bags image courtesy of Alibaba.com, CCBY 2.0.  Samonsonite Spinner image courtesy of Indulgy.com, CCBY 2.0. Ogio Backpack image courtesy of Ogio.com, CCBY 2.0. Hugger Backpack by Baggallini Travel Purse image courtesy of The Container Store, CCBY 2.0. Zella Yoga Pants image courtesy of Poshmark.com, CCBY 2.0.