Decorating/Organizing: Travel Edition—Perfectly Organized Carry-Ons

This is a continuation from my post on May 27 titled Fashion, Accessories and Shoes: Minimal, Chic College Wardrobe. As promised this post will discuss how to organize the wardrobe into a nice neat carry-on and bag.

The perfectly carry-on is something I’ve wanted to acquire for a few years now and I think I have finally found a few. For me the idea of a perfect carry-on goes beyond the actual piece of luggage and includes what you select to put in it and of course how to organize it all.

The Evolution of My Carry-Ons

My Old Luggage and Inefficient Ways 

During my first year of traveling to and from college in NYC I just used a couple cheap carry-ons and at the time didn’t think much of it. One was a super cheap rickety ugly olive green Embark rolling suitcase that I bought at Target on clearance for about $4 but coming back home the airline damaged one of the legs on it and it won’t stand up straight anymore! You have to lean it against something so it doesn’t tip over. That’s no way to travel, so I retired it.

The other carry-on was my trusty navy blue $20 Coronado rolling backpack that I got years ago while attending community college. It had gotten me through a year of rolling around heavy textbooks daily and thankfully it made its way through NYC and back to my home unscathed twice.

Using these bags has made me rethink the art of the carry-on. For one thing, I was totally packing them wrong and another thing is that they both lacked sturdy materials and heavy-duty wheels that would last for years. But I must say that the Coronado is made of the better materials and has sturdier wheels than the Embark bag.

One thing I’ve noticed about packing these carry-ons is that since they are cheap and small, they don’t have many pockets in which to organize different items. The Coronado bag fortunately does have one great pocket in front to organize a few small things but the Embark bag only has a tiny zippered compartment in the front and if you’re lucky you could get a skinny wallet, boarding pass and airline ticket in there.

I had my laptop backpack as the second carry-on that is allowed. Don’t get me started on how inefficient that one was and of course it was a cheapie too at $20. LOL. Don’t get me wrong, I love inexpensive anything whenever possible but the deal is it has to get the job done with super efficiency, high quality and multifunctionality.

My Pack-It System, New Luggage and Efficient Ways

My very first time heading out to NYC for college in September 2007, I started out with two Eagle Creek Pack-It Half Cubes. I’d found out about them many months earlier on the Rachael Ray Show in December 2006 when Rachael was interviewing Phil Keoghan, the host of the “Amazing Race” on CBS. He talked about how he used the Pack-It cubes and I thought it was so cool that I wanted some. I also appreciated that Phil was a very basic yet organized packer for all his trips. 

Soon after I saw the show I jumped online, researched the Pack-It cubes and found some at Bergman’s Luggage, a local luggage store. The first time around, I’ve found that using the Eagle Creek Pack-It Cube system, works wonders to sort and keep everything organized.

I don’t like stuffing little items in the corners of my bags so the pack-it cubes serve as a place to put all those little items such as socks, underwear, bras, tights, legging etc. In addition, I also love the medium roll up Space Bag, in which I packed my thin, delicate tops. These type of bags serve as a nice protective place to put delicates in. They are plastic bags that when sealed like a Ziploc bag and rolled, all the air squishes out of them and condenses the thickness of the clothes in them like a neat vacuum sealed bag but without the vacuum! I have one large and one medium roll up Space Bag. I discovered these while shopping in The Container Store in NYC at the end of my first year there. 
        

I love my Eagle Creek system and I have two each of the following and I have listed a few items that I recommend you pack in them because that's what has worked for me. Pack-It Half Cube: good for packing tees, thin blouses, tanks, thin scarves and leggings. Pack-It Tube Cube: good for packing tights, knee socks and regular socks.  

Pack-It Half Tube Cube: good for packing underwear and bras. Pack-It Quarter Cube: good to pack rolled belts, head scarves, soft head bands and jewelry. Lastly, I have one  Pack-It Shoe Cube Medium, which hold two pairs of sleek women’s sport shoes and could easily fit maybe three or more pairs of ballet flats and/or sleek summer sandals without cramming.

The Pack-It Folders 15 and 18 inch sizes are on my wish list. These would help me organize my larger items of clothing such as jeans, pants, blazers and sweaters. But for now I will make do with folding, rolling and bundling.

Which ever Pack-It system components you use they can be arranged in myriad different configurations to suit your needs and the shape of your rolling carry on. But in general, here's how I would pack my aqua marine American Trunk and Case brand rolling carry-on suitcase (purchased the summer before my second year of college) which is 19 x 13 x 9 = 41 square inches: 


1. I'd Place each Pack-It Tube Cube side by side from the bottom and work my way up. This will take up about half of the bottom of my carry-on.  


2. Next, I'd place both Half Tube Cubes side by side which will fill up the top half of my carry-on. Then, I'd place one Quarter Tube Cube in the empty space next to the two Half Tube Cubes. With that configuration I have the bottom of the carry covered neatly with the cubes. 

3. Now for some strategic bundling action! I'd place one pair of jeans on top of the cubes. Putting the first pair's waistband at the bottom inside edge of the suitcase and leave the legs hanging out of the top edge. I'd repeat this configuration for my second pair of jeans in the opposite direction.


4. I'd place my suit pants in the middle so that the waist band and the bottom of the leg hem are hanging out equidistantly on each side. Next, I'd place my suit jacket's collar on the right inside edge of the suitcase and fold the sleeves neatly across the fronts of the jacket. I'd repeat this configuration for my tan corduroy blazer, only I'd put the collar on the left edge of the suitcase and so on with my burgundy corduroy jacket's collar on the right edge again and jean jacket collar on left edge.


5. We're almost done now! Next, I'd place my black and white herringbone tweed shorts in the middle so no part of them is really hanging out. Then, I'd place the waistband of my black with metal trim skirt on the right inside edge of the suitcase and lastly I'd place the waistband of my pink Ikat print skirt on the left inside edge. 


6. Now the folding-in can begin! I'd gently fold in each piece of clothing that is hanging out over each progressing layer of clothing. The result is one nice neat bundle that I can snap in and secure down with the straps in my suitcase. 


7. Finally, I will try to stuff in my last Quarter Tube Cube in the top of my suitcase next to the bundle of clothing but if it doesn't fit I will put it in the bottom outside pocket in the front of my suitcase.


And there you have it, a well packed rolling carry-on suitcase.


Why My Rolling Carry-On Suitcase is Ideal for Me  


My aqua marine American Trunk and Case brand rolling carry-on suitcase was one of my favorite carry-on finds. I purchased it at Big Lots for $10 but it was regularly $15 dollars. The top handle was damaged with a big cut across it and I asked for a percentage off the price because of the damage and I got $5 off which was great.


The features I like: sturdy in-line skate wheels, high quality exterior materials, nylon fully lined interior, large mesh inner pocket, adjustable inner straps that firmly secure clothes in place, side handle for hoisting into overhead storage compartment on airplane, bottom of case has a sturdy heavy plastic grip for hoisting up into overhead storage compartment, sturdy heavy duty zippers and expandable to two inches.              

Second Carry-On: The Hand Held Bag


Now on to the other bag, which should be the size of a messenger bag, backpack, large tote or large carry all purse. I'd use my SwissGear backpack ($25, purchased on sale at Bed, Bath and Beyond in NYC) and I'd put my two Pack-It Half Cubes in the front compartment. Next, I'd place one or two pairs of compact, lightweight shoes in plastic bags in the bottom of the large back  compartment. Then, I'd put my computer in the special laptop compartment and a thin folder with all my needed documents and copies for school in the same compartment.


I'd top it off with a bottle of water, a compact plastic Ziploc brand 3 section plate filled with wheat crackers such as Carr's brand (my fave), a few Laughing Cow light creamy Swiss spreadable cheese wedges, trail mix, a mix of sliced apples, baby carrots, grapes and a few celery sticks filled with peanut butter and raisins. Lastly, I'd add my toiletries kit in the little front compartment. Anything else I needed for school I'd have sent to me. 


Well, I hope this gives you some inspirations and tips on finding and organizing your own carry-on bags for moving away to college. Let me know what you think and I'd love to learn your favorite tips for staying organized and minimal too.