Efficient Packing (or How to Zip Your Bag With No Effort)

Every one reached to a point in his life when he struggled to close a bag full with stuff and thought that there is no way to fit all the things into the tiny bag. I'm gonna show you some tricks for efficient packing, so next time you won't struggle the zipper anymore, and you'll be able to get all your stuff in the bag. So if your bag mostly looks like the second picture, learn how to make it look like the first one.

So let's get started...

Step 1: Plan!

The first thing you'll have to do is planning! Take a pen (or pencil) and a piece of paper and start making a list of everything you should take. Take only things that you need, people often take non useful "just in case", don't do it! And remember, it doesn't matter how big is your bag, it will ALWAYS be smaller than your closet, please don't try to fit all your wardrobe into your bag.

After you create a list of everything you need take all the stuff in the list and put it all in one place, for example on your bed. Now you are ready to rock (and ROLL).

Step 2: The Roll

Do you fold your clothes in your bag or just throw them into the bag and hope they'll stay organized? neither of this options is good or efficient. The most efficient way to insert clothes to the bag is rolling them. You can watch the video above in order to learn how to roll a t-shirt, and you can also use this technique to roll short pants and boxers. Roll everything you can and put it back on your bed, don't put it in the bag yet!

Step 3: The Shoe Trick

Take your socks and boxers and put them inside your shoes. This way you saves packing space and you also keep your shoes' shape, and prevent them from getting damaged in your bag. I was able to put 8 pairs of socks in only one shoe, so I guess this trick could save lots of space.

Step 4: Get Rid of the Ridiculously Huge Toiletries' Bag

Do you use a huge toiletries' bag that takes half of the space in your bag? Throw it away, no one really need this many toiletries. I use a source bag to keep my toiletries, and its great and compact (you get one if you buy source's sandals, which are great sandals by the way), but if you don't have one you can use a little sack. Everything that is large enough to contain your toiletries and is flexible would do the job.

Step 5: And Now for Actual Packing

Now it is time to start with the actual packing.

First, start with your shoes. Put as many socks and boxers inside them and put them in your bag.

Now, take your shirts, pants, and your remaining boxers and roll them, then put them inside your bag, one side for shirts and one side for pants.

Now it's time to put our nice compact toiletries's sack in our bag, and then some other stuff and goodies(like drinking water, laundry bag, a good book, or any other thing you may need)

Step 6: Seal It Up

Instead of just throwing your towel and sheets inside your bag and leaving no extra space for everything else, put those at the end of the packing. Use them to cover everything else and prevent things from getting caught in the zipper and giving you hard time while closing the bag. And now, get ready for the last level..