Pack a Carry on Suitcase
Intro: 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 you can fit all your stuff into a carry on. Using this technique maximizes space an minimizes (but does not prevent) wrinkles. You may need to touch up with an iron in the hotel room.
Here is how I Pack my carry on suitcase.
Here is how I Pack my carry on suitcase.
STEP 1: Lay Out Your Shirts.
Notice that we start outside the suitcase. Lay out your shirts flat as you can, one on top of each other on a flat surface, such as your bed. Button any shirt all the way up and make sure the collar is not folded funny.
STEP 2: Lay Ou the Pants
Lay the pants as Illustrated in the picture, with the waist of the pants aligned with one shoulder of the shirt and extending out along the other sleeve. Pants should be folded in half according to whether or not you want to maintain a crease.
Alternate the alignement of the waist bands so that the pant legs extend along each sleeve.
Alternate the alignement of the waist bands so that the pant legs extend along each sleeve.
STEP 3: Add Socks and Unmentionables
With all your pants and shirts in place, lay out your underwear nice and flat on the pile. Also, un couple your socks and lay them out flat next to each other on top of the underwear. The idea is to make a solid, flat stack of clothing roughly from shoulder to shoulder to mid torso of the first shirt you layed out.
STEP 4: Add Toiletries and Other Ephemera
Place your toiletries in a plastic zip-loc bag (those fancy bags are too bulky!). Lay them as flat as you can on the stack. Make sure all lids to any bottles is securely closed. I always travel with basic medicaments -- alka seltzer, pepto bismol tablets, advil, asprin, alka seltzer "morning relief" (for those buisness dinners that turn into late nites). Just put a few of each pill or packet in a sandwich bag. No need to pack all those boxes and bottles.
Also on this pile add the other stuff you need for your trip. cell phone chargers, usb cables, camera charger, etc etc. Dont put anything here that you want access to during the flight. That goes in the outside pocket.
Also on this pile add the other stuff you need for your trip. cell phone chargers, usb cables, camera charger, etc etc. Dont put anything here that you want access to during the flight. That goes in the outside pocket.
STEP 5: Fold It All Up.
Once everything is in place. Fold over each part that is hanging out of the pile. First do the sleeve arms / pant legs. Then fold up the shirt tails.
This will create a 'package' roughly the same size as your carryon bag.
This will create a 'package' roughly the same size as your carryon bag.
STEP 6: Place in Suit Case
Pick up the whole package and place it into the suitcase. Smooth out any wrinkles.
Depending on how much crap you jammed in there, you should have some room at the top.
Depending on how much crap you jammed in there, you should have some room at the top.
STEP 7: Add Shoes, Sport Coat, Books.
If you need to take extra shoes -- I travel in sneakers, and pack the dress shoes. Put each shoe in a platicg bag. Old grocery bags work well. Stuff those into each edge of the carry on, with the soles up. Gently fold up a jacket / sportcoat and place it between the shoes. Between the shoes is also a good place for Books, paperwork, folders, notepads. The idea with the books and the shoes is to create a relatively hard surface similar to the bottom of the carry on to protect all the stuff that is inside.
STEP 8: Zip It Up
Zp it up. Add any of the things you might need in flight to the outside pockets, or keep that stuff in a small bag that you will slide under your seat. (I keep that stuff in a laptop bag)
Enjoy your flight.
Enjoy your flight.
26 Comments
teftef 15 years ago
DavidN1 9 years ago
the expan-zion looks cool but it adds 4 more telescopic devices to the bag....the advantage of really good one-bag systems is that they are not roll-on bags, thus reducing the telescoping gadgetry that hogs up significant room in roll-ons.
makissm1986 11 years ago
sidmarx 11 years ago
sidmarx 11 years ago
kyleslab 12 years ago
and shove your stuff aside so they can squeeze their bag into the overhead compartment. It makes me angry because that is like saying their clothes and stuff are more important than my stuff. When I open my bag my stuff should not be smashed! Nothing against you but I just hate when people with huge bags smash my tiny bags. They should start making people pay to bring carry-ons rather than to check their regular bags.
multiplecats 12 years ago
Just a couple of thoughts from my experiences... Pressing some wadded up newspaper (or extra unmentionables) into your dress shoes helps them keep their shape.
With the jacket, there's a great method where you can essentially fold one shoulder into the other, put a rolled-up t-shirt into the shoulder, and then fold the jacket in half. Lining out. Prevents it being smooshed and protects the outside from being wrinkled or marred by the suitcase or anything inside that spills.
Nice Instructable, thanks!
marvthecarpenter 14 years ago
Other than that little flaw this looks like a great plan! thanks for sharing.
mwarren_us 15 years ago
Spookeriffic 15 years ago
XaiofDren 15 years ago
This is very useful and excellently written.
YOU MENTIONED THE UNMENTIONABLES!!!
!werdna! 15 years ago
[Bundle Wrapping JPG] http://blog.mikezhang.com/wp-content/uploads/bundle-wrapping.jpg
nublado9 15 years ago
Gjdj3 15 years ago
Gjdj3 15 years ago
Thornburg 15 years ago
cindyann 16 years ago
gowithflo 16 years ago
kambizpascia 16 years ago
jones_von_stone 16 years ago