13 Travel packing tips for your next Business Trip

Packing may seem simple, but it is a science with rules that travelers often learn the hard way over thousands of miles on the road. Doing it strategically can be the difference between a harried vacation with countless detours to local drugstores and a streamlined one with everything you need at your fingertips. Here’s our shortcut to packing the right way: how to find the best suitcase, minimize your load, pack what you need on a beach trip or a business trip, and cut down on wrinkles.

Pack too much and you end up disorganized, burdened with heavy bags, and hemorrhaging money to pay for pricey airline baggage fees. So we thought it best to revisit the most basic—and most useful—packing rules. Here are 13 Travel packing tips for your next business trip.                           

 1. Roll Clothes and Pack Them First                                                                                                    

The best way to prevent creases and maximize your storage space is to use the roll method. Lay tops facedown, fold sleeves, and roll from the bottom up. For pants and jeans, put the legs together and roll from the waist down. After rolling everything, place the pants and shirts in your suitcase before shoes and accessories. Lastly, fit in other oddly shaped items.

2. Always pack a few plastic baggies in different sizes.                                                                

They are great for swiping food for lunch from the buffet breakfast or for saving the seashells your child collected. As a bonus, bring a small, collapsible cooler with a baggie filled with ice from the hotel to keep your lunch cold or to refrigerate something you pick up from the store for later. There and Back Again Travel.

3. Arrange Clothing Thoughtfully                                                                                                 

Place your softer, rolled items at the bottom of your suitcase first. Next comes your folded garments. For your middle layer, start with the longest items, like skirts and nice pants. Stack the garments on top of each other, alternating waists with hems. Always remember these travel packing tips.

 Lay them the length of your suitcase, draping leftover fabric over the opposite end. This conserves space since thick waistbands won’t be piled on top of one another. Wrap the draping ends of the pile into the center. Next, lay collars of shorter items, like shirts, at the hinge with the ends over the handles. Fold the collars and ends over once and fold the arms in. Finally, snake belts around the perimeter of the bag so they take up as little room as possible and add another layer of snugness around these three layers. 

4. Cover the Pile With a Dry-Cleaning Bag                                                                                   

Because of the dry-cleaning bag’s slippery surface, folded clothes don’t stay in one place long enough for creases to set. Easy upgrade: Place a bag between each layer of clothing. To get to a certain layer easily, simply pull the ends of the bag up on either side.

5.Rule of Three in Packing Shoes                                                                                         

Depending on how clean your shoes are, stuff them with other items like socks, sunglasses, and electronics chargers, says Anita Dunham-Potter, a cruise columnist for MSNBC.com. This will end up saving you a bit of room here and there. Then set them along the sides of the bag, says Gilford. This will keep dirt and germs from your shoes from getting onto your packed clean clothes. Always remember these Travel Packing tips. 

6. Layer plastic dry cleaning bags between clothes                                                                

    The next time you pick up your dry cleaning, save the plastic bags. You can use them to protect delicate items from accidental pulls by layering them between your clothes. They help your clothing slide when your bag gets jostled and they help reduce wrinkling.

7. Bring a Mini Iron with You                                                                                                       

  Despite your best packing efforts, some wrinkles and creases are inevitable. That's where Reliable’s pint-size steam iron comes in. At only 1.6 pounds, it takes up very little space and is perfect for quick touch-ups anywhere. It performed well in our Cleaning Lab tests. This is one of the good business travel packing tips.

8. Bring A Scarf                                                                                                                                       

No matter what season it is, planes are often on the chilly side. Bring a pretty, warm wrap that you can bundle up in if the temp doesn’t feel comfortable. Bonus: You can also fold it and use it as a pillow.

9. Group Similar Products in Sealed Resealable Bags For Toiletries                             

Designate one bag for cosmetics, one for hair products, and one for skin-related items. Tuck the bags in the side corners of your suitcase or in a zippered outside pocket.

10. Packing your Jewelry                                                                                                                

Stow Inexpensive Pieces in a Seven-Day Plastic Pillbox or store them in a 35-millimeter film container lined with tissue. If you must take precious gems, wear them during your travels to reduce the risk of loss or theft. This is one of the most important Travel Packing Tips.

11. Avoid over or Under-Packing                                                                                                     

While you might be tempted to leave space for souvenirs, extra room means items can shift and crumple or break. Fill empty spaces with dry cleaner bags and fill them later with mementos from your trip. 

It’s important not to over-pack either, especially if you’re only bringing a carry-on, since that’s a surefire way to create crease marks and can make it extra tricky to repack when you're going home or heading off to another spot.

12. Keep Important Medication in Your Purse                                                                             

Even if you plan to carry it in your bag, there's still a risk you could have to check it at the gate. If your meds are in your purse, you’ll have what you need even if the overhead bin space fills up and you end up having to check your bag.

13. Carry A Reusable Water Bottle                                                                                                      

As long as it’s empty, it’s okay to bring a water bottle through airport security. Once you’re inside the terminal, fill it up at an airport cafe or water station.

 You'll stay hydrated, and it’s greener than having to buy plastic water bottles while site-seeing. They’ll still keep your hot drinks hot and your cold drinks cold without spilling, but now have a wider mouth so you can even add ice cubes. This is our business travel packing tips.