Don’t be a douche when you pack your bags. Shoving your clothes in a suitcase right before heading out the door is how you did it during spring break. When you reached your destination, your clothes had already reached their peak. You’ve matured, thankfully, and now it’s time to get a leg up on this packing thing. Organize your suitcase by putting the three P’s into play:
Plan, Prepare, and Pack.
Plan with Purpose
Think about where you’re going and why. Are you Bali-bound with your bachelor buddies? Or are you spending the week in Wichita for work? You’ll bring drastically different duds depending on your destination, so ask yourself what you’re doing, who you’re doing it with and how long you’re doing it for. And find out the weather. There’s nothing worse than packing for a tropical climate … only to find out the rain has arrived with you. Oh, goody.
Hone in on Hues
The last thing you want to do is get to your hotel and realize you have all your favorite wardrobe items … but absolutely nothing to wear. Lean heavily on two or three colors to maximize your clothing options. You should have more tops than bottoms, with the majority of them being wool, cotton and knit when possible.
Dig Your Dry Cleaner
Here’s a tiny tip with a big payoff: drag your stuff to the dry cleaners a few days before you pack. Request everything folded instead of hung. When you pack, line the bottom of the suitcase with any rolled items (t-shirts, swim suit, jeans and workout clothes), and then place the items you just had dry cleaned on top side by side. Lay a plastic trash bag over the top to help ward off wrinkles.
Know When to Fold ’Em
Forget the suit bag. Simply turn your jacket inside out, fold it in half and stuff a pair of socks in each shoulder. Then fold your slacks lengthwise and place the waist in the suitcase to the right (yes, the legs will dangle outside the suitcase). Lay the jacket on top of the pants and then fold the legs back over. Hang the suit just as soon as you reach the hotel.
Go Agro When Arranging
With your bag-it-and-bail years behind you, think in terms of putting everything in its place. That’s right – you’re going all Martha Stewart (pre prison) on your suitcase and it’s going to look damn-near beautiful. Ditch the dopp kit and stuff your jacket pockets and shoes (wear your heaviest pair on the plane) with cap-tight toiletries, chargers, sunscreen, socks and belts. Then wrap your shoes in tissue or plastic bags so that the dirt from the bottoms doesn’t crumble on your clothes. Add a bottle of wrinkle spray and a mini lint roller.
Lugging Back Laundry
Don’t pretend you’ve never wondered if the underwear in your hands is clean or dirty. Keep your skeevy skivvies away from your fresh apparel while traveling. Use the plastic bag lining the top of your clothing as a dirty-laundry bag. Genius, right?
