“Get it right before the flight!”  Iron clothing carefully before placing in the suitcase or garment bag so the only wrinkles you need to worry about are the ones caused by folding.  Upon arrival at your destination, a travel steambrush or compact iron is all that is needed to remove those light wrinkles. 

Select the proper packing accessories: Plastic dry cleaning bags and tissue paper –

• Place tissue paper or plastic dry cleaning bags between the folds of clothing when packing, which cushions the material and helps prevent wrinkles from forming.
• Sewing kit – This should include black, beige and white thread, several extra shirt buttons, safety pins, and a Swiss Army knife.
• Leak-proof container or Ziploc bags– A must for anyone carrying items or bottles that could spill or leak.

Proper packing technique for specific items:

• Shoes – Place in plastic bags to avoid dirtying clean, packed clothing.  The soles of the shoes should face the walls of the case to provide maximum protection and lend structure to other packed garments.
• Dress shirts and Blouses – First fold the shirt below the waistline to avoid creases in the belly, then fold lengthwise.  Use rolled up socks or underwear to stuff in the collars for additional support.  Lay the folded shirts with alternating collars at each end.
• Slacks and Skirts – Fold in half, alternating the waistbands at each end.
• Jackets – Fold lengthwise, making sure the sleeves meet each other inside and hang down without wrinkling.  Place plastic inside the coat’s vertical fold.  For smaller pieces of luggage, place a layer of plastic over the folded jacket and fold it a second time between the button nearest the waistline and the top of the inside pocket.

Hints:

• Choosing what to pack first is important because items on the bottom will have to absorb the full weight of items placed on top.  Sweaters, jeans or jogging clothes are recommended items to pack first.
• Pack socks and underwear inside shoes or inside collars of dress shirts.  This not only saves space, but protects items from being crushed.
• Suitcases should be packed tightly to avoid items from shifting and wrinkling during transport.