# I'm a luggage nerd **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 19, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740 "2013-01-19T19:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/1 "2013-01-19T19:53:57Z")
… and who isn’t? I mean, who doesn’t like to put things in boxes and compartments and hidey-holes? Anyway, my husband and I finally got a vacation booked for March. It’s less than a week long and in the continental U.S., so though we have to fly, we’re not going to check a bag. I had to examine the luggage situation. I pulled out my current carry-on, which I couldn’t remember from the last time we travelled, but it turned out to be a duffel bag with 2090 cubic inches of storage space. A standard 21" wheelie carry-on has about 2500 cubic inches, so I decided I needed one. Thank you Amazon Prime! Then Amazon helpfully introduced me to [these beauties](http://www.amazon.com/eBags-Packing-Cubes-3pc-Camo/dp/B008SBMYUC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358625048&sr=8-1&keywords=packing+cubes). Isn’t that BRILLIANT? No more shuffling around under my six shirts and three pairs of pants to find one pair of socks that, it turns out, are in a side pocket of my bag. I ordered a set of small cubes and a set of medium cubes. Then I ordered a multi-size set to give my husband for his birthday, which is before our vacation. THEN I ordered multi-sized sets in different colors for my parents, because they’d never buy something so awesome for themselves. By the way, order the cubes from [ebags.com](http://ebags.com). Same price as Amazon but free shipping. Now I’m wondering if I need a hanging toiletry organizer that is less bulky than the [Vera Bradley](http://www.verabradley.com/product/Category/Accessories/Hanging-Organizer/1000947/defaultColorVariantId/176729/c/638/sc/645/p/1000947.uts?fromSearch=1) one I currently have. Hmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/2 "2013-01-19T20:06:24Z")
I LOVE packing. It’s like 3d tetris. These things are excellent: [http://www.amazon.com/Aquis-Adventure-Microfiber-Graphite-39-Inches/dp/B000AM82RQ](http://www.amazon.com/Aquis-Adventure-Microfiber-Graphite-39-Inches/dp/B000AM82RQ) and stuff like this: [http://www.amazon.com/Hanging-Travel-Toiletry-Genuine-Leather/dp/B002S3ZGN](http://www.amazon.com/Hanging-Travel-Toiletry-Genuine-Leather/dp/B002S3ZGN) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/3 "2013-01-19T20:18:57Z")
You need [trunks.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ljOj6GVcnQ) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/4 "2013-01-19T20:22:06Z")
The demise of the wardrobe trunk and Saratoga trunk are small tragedies. Or maybe not so small. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/5 "2013-01-19T20:26:24Z")
I travel about twice a month for work, usually by air. My packing procedure is as follows: 1. Calculate how many days’ worth of clothes I need. 2. Transfer that amount of clothes from dresser/closet into small wheelybag. 3. Shove. 4. Zip. 5. Sweep bathroom shelf of toiletries into backpack. This process takes approximately 90 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/6 "2013-01-19T20:30:28Z")
You need a [Grid-It](http://www.amazon.com/Cocoon-CPG10BL-GRID-IT-Organizer/dp/B005GD9VPQ) too. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/7 "2013-01-19T20:42:00Z")
I love my packing cubes. It’s not so much the packing, as the unpacking that gets me. I am not capable of opening my bag without needing to take everything out and fling it all over the room. This means that today, my favorite things in the world are scattered around various hostel floors around the globe. I’ve probably clothes entire third world nations with left behind sweaters. With the packing cubes, there is a limit to how much damage I can do unpacking. It’s perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/8 "2013-01-19T20:42:20Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I travel about twice a month for work, usually by air. > > My packing procedure is as follows: > > 1. Calculate how many days’ worth of clothes I need. > 2. Transfer that amount of clothes from dresser/closet into small wheelybag. > 3. Shove. > 4. Zip. > 5. Sweep bathroom shelf of toiletries into backpack. > > This process takes approximately 90 seconds. But where’s the poetry? The grid-its look good for people who travel with really a lot of electronics. My husband and I are gonna do this trip with just our phones and 7" tablets, and we can share chargers, so I don’t think I have an excuse to buy one this time. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/9 "2013-01-19T21:25:44Z")
I’m a bag-aholic. I’m doing everything I can to resist buying a new rolling duffel (bigger than a carry on, smaller than our 2 existing duffels) for our upcoming trip to NEW ZEALAND for 3 weeks. The anticipation is one of the best parts, and packing/ unpacking/ deciding you’ve got to have new organizers is traditional with me. I’ve already bought a new daypack (for hiking) and a new daypack (for casual use), got some packing organizers for Christmas, and borrowed a mid-size rolling suitcase from my parents (trying to fend off that impulse to buy a new one). So yeah, packing nerd. In fact, I’m going to go downstairs right now and see how much of the stuff on my detailed list can fit in the borrowed suitcase. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/10 "2013-01-19T21:35:58Z")
I haven’t tried it yet, but a couple of years ago read an article that advocated rolling clothes instead of folding them when attempting to pack a suitcase. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/11 "2013-01-19T21:43:29Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I haven’t tried it yet, but a couple of years ago read an article that advocated rolling clothes instead of folding them when attempting to pack a suitcase. That’s what the pictures of the packing cubes show. I’m going to try it. I’m just taking jeans and tshirts (and some sequiney tank tops!) on this trip, so there’s no big potential for disaster. Hope the medium-size rolling duffel works for you. I once took an enormous one on a month-long trip to Italy and got royally screwed by it–I couldn’t pick it up and had big problems taking trains. ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/12 "2013-01-19T21:45:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I haven’t tried it yet, but a couple of years ago read an article that advocated rolling clothes instead of folding them when attempting to pack a suitcase. It works, but it doesn’t look neat. That may or may not bother you enough to avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/13 "2013-01-19T21:46:19Z")
[Here](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/business/06PACK.html)’s the article I mentioned. It advocates rolled clothes based on the experience of several flight attendants. They claim that you can fit more clothes with fewer wrinkles by rolling instead of folding. By the way, my newer 21" carry-on bag has four wheels instead of two, which means that it can roll when standing straight. That makes it a little easier to move through the airport. I recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![turner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@turner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turner)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/14 "2013-01-19T22:28:11Z")
I use this method to pack a week’s worth of clothes into a carry on. Very few wrinkles. The key is to have your darkest shirt or a “throw away” (i.e. one you don’t intend on wearing) on the bottom of the stack to keep your good clothes clean. > **[Pack a Carry on Suitcase](https://www.instructables.com/Pack-a-Carry-on-Suitcase/)** > > Pack a Carry on Suitcase: If you are like me, you do more than your share of travel. Business conferences, etc... Lots of places where you ahve to spend a couple days in khakis and collared shirts, and maybe a sport coat. Life is so much easier if... ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/15 "2013-01-20T07:11:49Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > You need [trunks.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ljOj6GVcnQ) 😃 May you live to be a thousand years old. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/16 "2013-01-20T16:11:05Z")
I have the eBags packing cubes and use them a lot (I travel for work), but for longer trips using only carry on luggage, I love [these compression bags](http://www.target.com/p/embark-compression-bag-family-pk-clear/-/A-14011402). Put your clothes inside, zip the top, and squeeze the air out. No vacuum needed. I can fit so much more stuff in my carry on using those bags. I can’t comment on the wrinkles - I tend to bring items that don’t wrinkle badly when packed. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/17 "2013-01-20T19:03:13Z")
Years ago we started using a UPS to make our life easy. No, wait, not _a_ UPS, just plain UPS. About three to five days before we leave, into a box goes anything we could possibly want on vacation–including our Keurig. It gets shipped to the destination hotel a few days before we fly, and all we take on the airplane is a tiny carryon full of trivialities. No worrying about airline liquid limits, etc., and little worry about how things are going to fare in a suitcase. Return trip is just as easy–most concierges will handle seeing a box off to UPS, or a simple call to them will arrange a pickup. Fees are small enough to compete with airline baggage fees. Plus, there’s a sublime joy in walking off the plane and heading directly to the rental car/home. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/18 "2013-01-20T19:21:41Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > But where’s the poetry? I skip all the poetry too. I have friends who plan out their packing, and do it the night before their trip. What? Please. I throw a bunch of clothes and toiletries in a rolling bag then off to the airport. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/19 "2013-01-20T20:07:05Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I skip all the poetry too. I have friends who plan out their packing, and do it the night before their trip. What? Please. I throw a bunch of clothes and toiletries in a rolling bag then off to the airport. Yup, that’s my style. I go between the Netherlands and the UK about once a month. If I spent more than 5 mins packing it would be all I ever did in my life. My obit would read: “She packed suitcases. A lot.” So I am literally the world’s fastest packer. One time I was handing in uni work, and came home with exactly 10 mins before I had to leave the house to catch the flight. I still had to do everything, incl. print boarding pass, get all stuff, find passport, decide what books to bring for more uni work, separate liquids etc. I got it done, though with the help of a flatmate check listing. He was epic, shouting at me: “Pill? Toothbrush? Something nice to wear for Christmas? Boarding pass? Passport? Shoes? Knickers? Books? Laptop? Phone? All chargers? Go! Run!” I will concede that I once switched countries while all my worldly knickers did not. Had to go out and by 2 five-packs in the morning 😃 But no, you can keep your packing gadgets and clever tips and tricks! It’s just more thinking about _shudder_ _packing_. ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740/20 "2013-01-20T23:28:49Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Years ago we started using a UPS to make our life easy. No, wait, not _a_ UPS, just plain UPS. About three to five days before we leave, into a box goes anything we could possibly want on vacation–including our Keurig. It gets shipped to the destination hotel a few days before we fly, and all we take on the airplane is a tiny carryon full of trivialities. Abroad, or just within the US? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-luggage-nerd/647740.md?page=2)