Don’t you hate how quickly an overnight travel bag becomes a black hole of wadded up clothes and dirty socks?
I always take an assortment of large tote bags for weekend or overnight travel, and I inevitably end up digging around in a mess of clothes, trying to find one particular thing. The other day I watched a video detailing how to pack a carry on suitcase using packing cubes from Eagle Creek. The basic idea is that you “organize” your suitcase by putting like things together in each packing cube (which are like little zippered pouches).
Earlier this week as I was packing for a two night trip, I grabbed a larger travel makeup bag I wasn’t using and packed all of my underclothes in there. I found a sturdy shopping bag for my shoes, and with the addition of those two “compartments,” my tote bag was transformed! It made locating things in the bag so much easier. I folded my shorts and t-shirts on the bottom – and when I removed the two bags that I’d placed on top, it was easy to access the clothes folded there.
If you dread the inevitable black hole of wadded up clothes like I do, try using smaller bags to contain similar items. It’s a little trick that makes a big difference! Eventually I hope to find a few Eagle Creek packing cubes on sale, but until then I will continue using this new compartmentalized travel system!
How you keep your things organized during travel?
Come Home For Comfort 
I roll my clothes and place them in packing cubes. I use packing cubes by Dot&Dot. Mine are double sided. I place the clean clothes on one side and dirty clothes on the other. Or sometimes I just gather all dirty clothes in one cube. I think they are still on sale on Amazon.
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Thanks for the tip! I will look those up on Amazon.
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I always fold my clothes and place them in two stacks side-by-side in my bag with it lying on it’s side. This way the folds of the clothes are all facing the top of my bag & I can see every thing easily and just pull out what I need. I use a smaller bag for my underwear & accessories and such and it holds my special travel shoe bag. Then I pack a separate dirty clothes bag that I put everything in when I’m done with it. Then I put any extra clean clothes I have left & my smaller bags into my big bag to come home so it’s easier to manage everything.
I use the zipper pouch from Thirty-One Gifts for my youngest’s clothes. I pack one for each day. Each bag holds 2 outfits & his pajamas for the day. I did this for my oldest until he was 6 or 7, but his things are too big for them now, so I fold his clothes all together into his pants so he can just grab the pair of pants he wants to wear and his whole outfit is there for him.
I tend to be a little OCD in my packing, lol!
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I love your idea for stacking things in your bag that way! How smart! I will definitely try that next time. Thanks for sharing!
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My luggage always stays decently organized, but I have a duffle-type bag that I use for overnights that always turns into suchhhhh a mess!! I’ll have to use smaller bags next time!
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It’s amazing how those smaller bags become disastrous so quickly, isn’t it?
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