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Packing is HARD! With rising prices of flights and things like bags, less is more is a big advantage to saving you some money. Here are a few of my favorite tips to packing like a pro so that you fly easy on your next vacation!

Air Tags

I don’t care if you are using a carry on, a checked bag, or even just a backpack. You NEVER know what will happen and being able to know where your stuff is at all times is a HUGE stress off your back. Get Air Tags or some type of tracker to put in each of your bags, that way if your flight gets delayed or canceled, and your checked bags end up somewhere you are not, you can be reunited much easier.

Along with this, make sure your bags are well labeled! Have a minimum of three tags with your information on your bags. One on the outside handle, one on the other outside handle (for when the first one tears off) and one inside that has your contact information as well.

A Good Suitcase

Get a suitcase with a hard shell and good wheels! Trust me, nothing is worse than trying to wheel your bag through an airport or around your resort and you have a bag with bad wheels. Opt for something that has wheels that turn in all directions and rolls easily. Hard Shell suitcases are also a great investment because they can usually protect your items a little better from being tossed around by airport baggage attendants and keep them a little more dry if it happens to be raining.

Our Personal Favorite are the AWAY bags. They have an excellent warranty (basically if anything happens to your bag, they’ll fix it) and are overall a great quality bag. Get $20 off when you use our link!

Packing Cubes

My secret weapon to being efficient with your packing is packing cubes! There are a million different kinds out there, so you have to find what works best for you, but I have found that using several smaller bags tends to leave me with more room than one large bag. If your suitcase does not have a compression panel, you might opt for compression packing cubes, but I have found that for me, the compression panel actually works better to squish everything down over compressing my cubes themselves.

Another bonus of packing cubes is that it can keep you extra organized! You can sort by outfits or even clothing type. I typically will have one for my tops & shirts, one for my bottoms, and one for my undergarments/swimsuits. I can easily find what I need and makes unpacking in my hotel super easy.

Consider WHAT you are bringing

If you are traveling during a colder time of year, this can be tricky, but be conscious of they types of clothes you bring. Bulky knits, jackets, sweaters, or even jeans can take up a TON of room in your suitcase! Try avoiding or minimizing how much of this you bring, even better, consider wearing those bulkier items on the plane to save the room in your bags. Easy ones to do are jackets, jeans, and tennis shoes as those are pretty basic items most people travel with. READ ABOUT MY FAVORITE SHOES FOR DISNEY

This goes for toiletries too! If you are packing in a carry on, you have to be limited on things like liquids, but a HUGE help is using solid toiletries instead of liquids. We use shampoo/conditioner bars rather than liquid and they work just as well AND take up alot less space! PLUS you never have to worry about having issues with things exploding in your bag or even getting stuck in TSA. There are even things like toothpaste tablets (we love BITE) that can help eliminate even more liquids out of your bag.

Pop Up Hamper

I know, I know! This one is a little weird, but I’m telling you, it is a game changer! You can purchase a small cheap pop up laundry hamper on Amazon to throw in your suitcase. While on your trip, you can toss your dirty clothes in the hamper to keep them separate from your clean clothes and keep them off the floor. This also helps from loosing items like socks, etc.

Then when it’s time to pack up to go home, you can just throw them back in your packing cubes!

Take full advantage of the space in your personal item

I see so many people bringing tiny little totes or purses as their personal item. This is such a waste of space! Most of the time, you can bring a full sized backpack as a personal item. Take advantage of this and consider putting things like an extra outfit (or two) in case you happen to get stuck in the airport, or even use this for your toiletries so you have easy access going through TSA. (and again in case you get stuck in the airport)

Traveling to Disney? This can also be a great place to pack things like your Ears or even your park bags so that you can save some space in that suitcase!

Looking for more Disney packing tips? Make sure to check out our full Packing Video!

Packing LIke A Pro