HOW TO | Pack for a Suitcase

Saturday, May 31, 2014


I'm travelling to California...in 30 days.
I'm not counting the days at all.
Because packing can be a pain and sometimes an impossible feat, I made a guide as to how I am packing.


Whenever I travel, I freak when it comes to packing. How many shorts should I pack? Should I bring my bating suit? Will the underwire of my bras cause the metal detector to go off? (Spoiler alert, they totally do).

But, after a few times of doing this, and watching dozens of videos, I think I have it down.


Now, this is for luggage that you check in and it costs money. If you want a free carry on version of this tutorial, then let me know!






Firstly, start out with shoes. You start with shoes first because they take up a lot of room, and you also don't want to put the heels of shoes on top of clean clothes. So, on the bottom of the suitcase they go!


To optimize space, roll your small items like so and stuff them into your shoes. It sounds weird, but it frees up a lot of space. If you're weary about your unmentionables into shoes, you can always wrap them in a plastic grocery bag, or a sandwich bag and then stuff them in.




Once the shoes are filled and ready to go, lay them heel-toe to give your suitcase a flat bottom to start stacking upon. This is going to be a common theme in this tutorial.



Fill in the bottom of the suitcase with soft items, like wire-free bras, tights and bathing suits, and if you can roll those to fill in random gaps, all the better! You want to keep everything in an even layer so you can build upon it and optimize space. 



Next, layer up with soft malleable items like tees, crop tops, thin skirts and loungewear. I like to call this the "when it doubt, throw it in" layer.


Then, add a layer of more substantial items, such as shorts and thicker skirts. This will keep the items below it down, so they won't move around.



To pack longer items, set the item in the suitcase like so. The top of the item should hit right the middle of the suitcase. Let the end of the item hang out of the suitcase.


Layer another item on top of that item but in the opposite direction.


Continue to do this with your long items, such as maxi skirts, dresses, jeans and jackets.


Then, fold in the ends in one by one, like so.


Repeat until all ends are folded in to the suit case.




See all that empty space around the borders? Fill it! The problem with empty space on luggage is that it's wasted space. You're spending money out of your own pocket to check on luggage, so you want to get the most out of it.


Stuff the sides with thicker socks, wired bras, and belts. These are things will keep the items in the suitcase from jostling when it's being moved.


Next, layer your collared tops on top. These go on top because collars are easily wrinkled and deformed when they're underneath, so they fair better on top.
I like to secure my jewelry under this layer so it st


My suitcase has elastic bands to keep the things being packed in place, so I connected them together and it is done.


And, then it's bon voyage for you!


Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments! I try to reply to all comments, but if you want a faster response, tweet me! @katielikemeblog or find me on Insta @katielikemeblog!

Latest Instagrams

© Katie Like Me. Design by FCD.