I have been traveling since I was born. In country and out, I have traveled by basically any method: Train, plane, bus, car, you name it. With these years of traveling come years of packing experience. So, I decided to share some of my wisdom with you guys to hopefully help you all out the next time you need to pack for vacation. Also, as a quick side note, I will be going on a road trip next Saturday and will be blogging daily so keep an eye out for those posts! Also, to stay informed on everything I’m doing and get the extra scoop, don’t forget to follow my social medias which are on the side bar or down below if you are using a mobile device. Feel free to share your vacation pictures with me using #newsthatsparkles! And now, let’s get packing!

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1. Roll, Don’t Fold

One of the biggest mistakes that people make while packing is that they try to fit a ton of folded clothes in their bag. Whether it be a tote, suitcase, or duffle bag, clothes will always fit better if they are rolled up. Plus, if clothes are rolled up they can squeeze into narrower parts of your bag.

2. Ziploc Baggies

While packing for vacation, Ziplocs will be your best friends if you let them. Got watches or earrings you don’t want banging against all of your other jewelry in your jewelry bag? Ziploc! Got pencils, pens, or highlighters you need to bring to annotate your summer reading? Ziploc! Perfume, hand sanitizer, or any liquids? Ziploc! Basically, you can use them to protect clothes and electronics from things that could leak and to organize certain items.

3. A Spark of Genius

Chargers can be really irritating to pack: especially if they are loose so that they can get tangled up. But, don’t worry, there is a solution to this problem! When you are packing, roll your chargers around themselves and then fasten a rubber band or hair band around it to keep it in place. After this I like to put them in a rubber pencil case that I have along with my portable battery, but you don’t need to.

4. Break it Up

This is another very helpful tip: don’t try to cram everything into one small carry on bag. Even if you are headed on a road trip and are trying to conserve space or are going on a plane and have a set amount of suitcases, nothing is worse than trying to lug around one huge, heavy, bulky suitcase. Instead, try breaking it up whether it be into multiple suitcases, or bringing a small cross body purse and putting stuff such as jewelry, makeup, and other small items into it.

5. Heaviest to Lightest

When you get to actually packing your suitcase(s), pack the heaviest and bulkiest things on the bottom and work your way up with the lighter and more delicate items on the top. Electronics, of course, are the exception because they are so delicate and because in airports you have to take them out for security. In addition to keeping your items from getting crushed, this also evens out the weight of your luggage.

6. Makeup Bags Galore

This is basically the same thing as using Ziploc bags only using makeup bags and storing larger objects in them. Chargers, pens, pencils, makeup, toiletries, medicine, and small electronics all fit well. The great thing about makeup bags is that they fit in nicely with rolled up clothes and don’t take up lots of room.

7. Tape it!

If you have things such as perfume, Lysol (I bring mini Lysols with me everywhere), deodorant, or nail polish that could possibly spill all over and wreck your clothes and other luggage, simply wrap a piece of tape around where the lid meets the container. This helps prevent spills from happening. For extra spill protection, after taping it, I put my liquids in Ziplocs (of course). Washi tape and normal clear tape works best but anything other than duck tape and packing tape (how ironic) would do the trick.

8. Useless No More

We all know about those tiny little awkwardly placed pockets in purses, backpacks, and suitcases that seem virtually useless. No worries, most of them can be used for something. In order to conserve space, you can use the small square pockets for gum, sticky notes, or a small notepad. The pen holders can be used to hold pencils, pens, or highlighters. As for the slightly larger, pencil case sized ones on the front of backpacks, brushes and deodorants fit well along with small gaming devices such as a 3DS or a PSP.

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Thanks for reading and don’t forget to Sparkle!