If you thought my Type-A agenda planning was bordering on madness, you may be even more concerned with the way I pack a suitcase. But ohemgee, this kind of thing gets me completely high.
On tour, I was the one designated to pack our gear into the trailer. My whole crew was proud of the way I could maneuver an entire 4-piece band’s touring paraphernalia into a tiny space. I excel at the real-life version of Tetris.
When packing for BlogHer ’12, I knew I’d have a lot of stuff to bring along. I’m in NYC five full days plus a morning for our flight so I needed 6 outfits at a minimum plus some extra items for special events like parties and dinner with my husband. I also needed to pack a box of my personal swag to give out. With all this, I first assumed that I’d need to go with a big suitcase and check my baggage.
But airlines have lost my baggage before, and I really cannot imagine surviving NYC with NO clothes and NONE of my blog swag to hand out. That would be an absolute NIGHTMARE. This exact thing happened to me when my band traveled to London some years ago to be on Top of the Pops and do some other promotional stuff. I got there and had NO clothes to wear. I had to borrow something ill-fitting from the label rep because I couldn’t afford to replace anything, so I went on Top of the Pops looking less than my best. Not my finest moment.
Thinking about this made me decide that come hell or high water, my clothes and swag were going in a carry-on. Next I just had to figure out how. Ah, but this is my specialty!
I saw a great slide show from the NYT Business section showing “10 Days in a Carry-On” and it’s a GREAT one. But, aesthetics mean a lot to me, so I wanted my suitcase to look more organized that hers did. I was also packing some items that I felt needed extra care (read, chiffon with sequin detailing), so I wanted them wrapped inside another cloth for extra protection.
So here’s my show and tell!
What’s in the bag:
7 Bottoms:
- 4 pairs of shorts
- 2 Skirts
- 1 pair of Jeans
8 Tops:
- 6 shirts
- 2 Cardigans
3 Pairs of Shoes:
- Strappy heals
- Gladiator-style sandals
- Flip-flops
2 Pajamas
- 1 pretty nighty
- 1 cami/capri set
Unmentionables
- 9 pairs of underwear
- 4 bras
- 1 tank with built-in bra
Accessories
- 3 Belts
- Jewelry
Personal Care
- Flat Iron
- Hairbrush
- Makeup bag
- Glasses
- 1 Quart bag with toiletries
Blog Swag to Give Out
- 100 Blog Buttons
- 250 Business Cards
- 250 Post Cards (for our ROYO session)
But HOW did I do that? Easy – rolling and Tetrising, natch!
Just grab a pillow case out of your closet, lay it down, and start stacking your shirts. When you’re done, fold it in half and start rolling it up tightly until you’ve got yourself a clothes burrito! It will pack all those shirts into a fraction of the space while keeping them far more organized.
Next up! BOTTOMS! Same idea.
After you’ve rolled everything, place these items toward the bottom of the suitcase. This should only take up about 1/2 of the bag. Then place shoes around the inside perimeter of the suitcase. Next, lay in your other items (Makeup bag, hairbrush, etc.) at the top.
In the top mesh part of the suitcase, I placed in my underwear, bras, and belts. This is how it looks when it’s completely finished.
Don’t forget to utilize the outside pockets!
I ALWAYS ALWAYS (well, since 2006) carry my 1 Qt toiletries in the OUTSIDE zipper pocket of my carry on, that way they’re quick to whip out for the security screening and quick to put away without disturbing any of the rest of the bag.
And there’s my 100% packed BlogHer12 bag!
What about heels? i find they take up more space than almost anything else… i don’t want to wear heels traveling cuz it’s not the comfiest thing, but i usually need two pair when i get there.
You see, THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY NORMAL PERSON.
I have a pair of heels packed into that bag as well. The shoes are all around the perimeter, you just can’t see them in the picture.
I LOVE this. I am pretty good at this packing thing and just discovered this upon traveling to Philly with our ortho team. I never dreamed I could get it all into the small carry on sz required by TSA bt I did! It weighed a ton but I managed to hoist it over head lol! I would’ve loved to have had the inside track on the pillow case technique though. Sure woulda saved me a lot of energy from ironing at the hotel. I had individually wound every piece really small and tight and layered them in the case. Now I know for next years convention! WOohoo!
Your list states 7 bottoms and 9 tops however, you only packed 3 pairs of shorts and 2 shirts.
I wouldn’t use the pillow cases. They would take up too much room.
@THESHAMEDOC – You would wear the shoes that take up the most room. Pack other shoes, such as your heels, on the sides of your suitcase. You can put shirts, underwear and/or socks in them and around them to save space. This has always worked for me. I hate overpacking and carrying around too much luggage when I go away!
No, I packed everything I said I packed. I just didn’t take a picture of all of it.
I’m taking a four day trip. Would I have enough room to bring back souvenirs?
Best packing tutorial ever!
Just for clarification, could you post the dimensions of your bag?
My bag is the standard 21 inch carry-on size.
Excellent! I’m a seamstress – so I think i’ll just use two rectangle (pillow-sized) pieces of fabric to save space and the rest is awesomeness! Thanks for the tutorial – I’m going to need it soon when I travel back East!
Blessings!
Great job. I travel constantly as part of my work. I made it through a 2 week trip to China with just a carry on and a briefcase. It is much easier to do when the weather is warm and you can travel with light clothing. I also found a hotel chain that provides workout gear so no more excuses that I can’t fit my sneakers in the bag! I roll my clothes but never thought about rolling them TOGETHER in a pillowcase! This is clever and keeps them clean – duh, why didnt i think of that? smart cookie. I’m also happy to see that someone else has a cosmetic bag that takes up a third of the bag! Ha! You’ll know we’ve cracked the glass ceiling in business travel for women when they finally start stocking our room with a flat iron!
We’re going on an Alaskan cruise soon so I am going to use your ideas. Thanks!
This is perfect, especially because I am leaving for a summer camp iwith so many sports and activities (bungee jumping, swimming, running, rock climbing) That they tell people to bring double the outfits so you don’t run out of clean clothes! Also the pillow case thing is helpful as I have to bring my own bedding!
Thank you so much for this advice. I am off to New York for 4 days next week for my birthday treat. I’ve never been been to New York before and I was getting a tad stressed about how mine and hubby’s clothes were going to fit in 1 bag as normally if we go away for just the weekend I take a huge holdall.
Thank you, you have answered all my questions.
This looks great but I have a question. When you rolled up your tops, were they each rolled up in individual pillowcases or were they layered and all rolled up together in one pillowcase? Thanks!
They were layered in one pillowcase.
Great ideas, but won’t work for plus sized people
What about tennis shoes for walking, hiking?
I wore my gym shoes on the plane.