High Rolling

Some people swear by rolling their garments to maximize space in their suitcase, whereas others fold items flat. I've tried both, and have never noticed a sizable difference, so I decided to find out once and for all.

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The Mission Using the same garments, I packed my suitcase twice. The first time by rolling my garments, and the second, by laying them flat.

The Background This weekend I'm headed to Newport and Laguna with a one-day stint at Disneyland. Since I'm only bringing a carry-on, finding out which packing method uses the least space is an important consideration---hence this A/B test.

This trip is a good reminder that insane travel deals still exist: I booked my $9.99 (each way) flight during Allegiant Air's 3-hour sale when they announced service from Bellingham, WA to Long Beach, CA. Fifty-six dollars later, my entire flight including taxes was booked. I can't even drive from Vancouver to Seattle for that little!

The Prep Garthering garments with the help of my Summer Weekend Packing List, and making sure I've packed everything I'll need thanks to my Going Away To Do List, I'm ready to select what I'll bring on my extended weekend trip to Cali. The goal: bring a little, and mix and match so it looks like a lot!

Rolling VS Folding Result I ended up having much more space in my suitcase when I......drumroll please.....ROLLED garments. I'm not sure why, but I hate to admit this. Deep down, I think I was on team fold. Based on the pics below, you'll hopefully be able to see almost 25% more space in the rolling versus folded example. I'm now a converted roller. {Suitcase with garments folded flat - not much space to spare}

{Suitcase with garments rolled - notice the extra space. Now there's the flexibility to shop or pack more.}

Don't Travel Without....

One too many times I've left home without my list of trusty travel helpers and regretted it! Now, in addition to consulting my packing lists, I keep a small package of must-have items in my suitcase so I don't forget anything for my next trip.

When you're in a foreign country, or even in your own country on another coast, there's an arsenal of items that are nice to have on-hand to lessen the inconvenience of travel and bring a little home abroad!

Here are my go-to items, as well as a few suggestions from friends. I hope you find a few packing gems you never thought of before!

Toiletries Baby Powder If I could think of one miracle product for traveling it would be baby powder.  Use it to: refresh second-day hair, aerify the inside of shoes or freshen your underarms.

Eye drops Recycled plane and hotel air leaves eyes bloodshot and tired-looking.  Use eye drops to refresh your peepers.  My friend Christina never leaves home without her drops!

Sunscreen Unless you're headed to Hawaii where there's a beloved ABC store on every street corner, bringing sunscreen is a must! Here'a a tip for those traveling with a carry-on, bring a small, concentrated (70 - 100 SPF) screen and mix it with the hotel's lotion for easy coverage. I've done this before and haven't been burned.

Pills No one wants to be searching for medication while trying to enjoy their trip. I've purchased allergy and cold & sinus pills is Paris, Cuzco and Nairobi.  Afer paying way too much for the pills (that weren't always effective), I've resolved to always bring my own stash.

Conditioner Most hotel conditioners have the consistency of water. The only hotel conditioners I trust are at Westin and Double Tree hotels. The rest just don't cut it.

Wipes or Sanitizer Germophobe or not, this one is obvious and it is my top travel priority other than my passport, bathing suit and comfy shoes.

Band-Aids Usually travel means a lot of walking, whether in long corridors at the airport or around your destination. Unless I'm doing all my walking in my running shoes (which isn't my norm), it's almost guaranteed I'll need one or several band-aids for blisters.

Miscellaneous Sewing Kit Invariably, almost every time I travel, a button comes loose or a hem gets pulled. Most of the time you can get a sewing kit from your hotel, but if not, consider bringing one in your trusty travel kit.

Scarf Oh scarf, how much do I love thee for travel.  Thee can be used as a fashion accessory, blanket on the plane, make-shift bathing suit cover-up, and so on... My husband brings a slightly more manly light cardigan as his 'scarf.'

Tide Pen If you're prone to spilling food on yourself like me, this will come in very handy until you can properly wash the garment.

Documents Recently a ferry reservation I'd made was mysteriously gone when I checked-in. Adding to my frustration, it was not recorded in my Tripit app's initerary (because it was not one of 500 approved suppliers), so while in line, I either had to pay an additional $180, or search my email for 10 mins to find the booking number. I normally travel with online and printed itineraries, but this time I'd failed to print that booking number. Ah, the one time! I was also reminded it's always a must to travel with colour copies of your IDs (which I do), as well as emailed versions in the event you lose the hard copies.

Small Bills or Coins I never travel without small bills or coins (twoonies in Canada) for tipping hotel personnel, etc...

Ear Plugs My friend Nicole noted that ear plugs are "totally a must for me, it is one of the first items I confirm I have when packing--more important than so many other things!"  I couldn't agree more.

Hat/Sunglasses Similar to sunscreen, these are important unless you want to purchase a hat with a giant Florida logo on the front. Non, merci.

Small Clutch Bringing a small clutch for evenings out will look better avec your party outfit, and fly under the radar versus carting around a big purse.

Batteries My cousin is leaving for a trip in 7 days and she already knows she'll be bringing extra camera batteries to capture every moment.

Other Some additional items friends mentioned were: your own lotion, plastic bags, eye mask, travel neck pillow, travel packs of tide, headphones, power chargers, universal power adapter, flip flops and bathing suit even if you think you won't need it.

Find more items like these in the packing resources below!

Related Content Go-To Carry-On Toiletries Choosing the Best Type of Carry-On Travel iPhone Apps :: PackingPro The Art of Carry-On Travel Going Away? Packing and To Do List Using Hotel Room Amenities like MacGyver

A Summer Weekend Packing List

[trip style = weekend + packing light]

It's beach and cabin season!  When the clock strikes five on Friday, will you be ready to pack light and pack right for your flight or car journey out yonder?  With the summer weekend packing list tips and tricks below, you'll become an expert - and fashionable - escape artist.

Reformed Overpacker In my prior life - ok, 2 years ago - I still was a ridiculous overpacker, but last year I took the packing-light plunge on a 6-day trip to San Fran and Napa, and I've never looked back.  In fact, I'm so keen to pare down that I'm attempting to only bring a carry-on for my two-week Eastern Canada trip next month, as well as my four-week Australia jaunt this fall! Back to packing light...let's master it for a summer weekend away, with the help of Lucky Magazine.

Lucky Magazine's Summer Weekend Packing List

Summer Weekend Packing List [not including what you wear enroute]

• Plane-to-Pool Bag: use the same bag for packing & beach/lake tote
• Undergarments
• 1-2 Bathing Suits [check out this season's hottest bathers & accessories on HeatherLovesIt]
• Shoes
  • flip flops
  • cute sandals
• Bottoms
  • shorts
  • pants or a skirt
• Tops
  • tank top
  • t-shirt
  • flowy top
  • sweater-y shirt or cardy
• Dresses
  • day-to-night dress
  • dressier dress
• Accessories
  • belt
  • scarf
  • hat

*for a men's packing list, just eliminate the dresses - or substitute them with kilts :)

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Related Content Go-To Carry-On Toiletries Choosing the Best Type of Carry-On Travel iPhone Apps :: PackingPro The Art of Carry-On Travel Going Away? Packing and To Do List

[photo by the tahoe guy]

Not all Layovers are Created Equal

A Marathon Ever ran a marathon through JFK, Heathrow or Hong Kong's International Airport?  I have, unintentionally. It's much easier running marathons with workout gear, Gatorade stands and cheering fans versus fully clothed, parched and stressed.

A Sweaty Flight Earlier this year, I arrived at my flight to Istanbul sweaty---awesome way to start a flight---thanks to my race through Heathrow. I didn't give myself enough time. I learned my lesson after begging the Turkish Airways check-in agents to re-open the desk and respectfully dodging the 100-person-long security line-up, followed by a brisk 30 min run from security to my flight---and that's not even half the story.

Not all Layovers are Equal Travel professionals know that not all layovers are created equal. If you're a DIY traveler booking your flight path online, you may not know the ins and outs of layover planning. It's not worth risking a slightly earlier arrival at your destination to try and beat the system of deplaning, customs, baggage and security. If you're about to book an international trip online, heed the timing recommendations below.

Layover Timing Recommendations Small Regional Airports - allow 1.5 hours Domestic Airports - allow 2 hours International Airports - allow 2.5 hours Multi-Terminal International Airports - allow 3 hours

Considerations

• Bigger, multi-terminal airports provide more opportunities for delays
• What are the security regulations for each leg of your flight? For example, Israel's immigration is known for very thorough questioning, so being at the airport at least 3 hours in advance is essential.
• Are you transferring to the same or a different carrier?
• Where are you going?

[photo by chadmagiera]

Go-To Carry-On Toiletries

In carry-on luggage, space is at a minimum. And really, who wants to take up valuable luggage 'real estate' with large deodorants, big toothbrushes or bulky creams for 'this' and 'that.'

To maximize clothing and shoe space, here are the go-to mini toiletries I keep on-hand for every trip near and far:

Ladies - fold-able toothbrush & mini toothpaste - mini deodorant - mini perfume - face wash wipes (these don't count as 'liquid') - general wipes (for sanitizing when you're out & about) - pre-packaged nail polish wipes (just in case) - mini face cream for night - mini sunscreen/day cream or sunscreen wipes (i like dermalogica wipes) - mini hairspray - mini brush - mini comb - razor (forget shaving cream) - tweezers - make-up [cover up, powder, blush, mascara, eye shadow, liner, lip stick] - vaseline (a go-to eye make-up remover, eye brightener/cream, lip gloss, moisturizer) *remember to put all liquids, including mascara, into a zip lock and take it out of your bag before it goes into the security scanner.

Men - foldable toothbrush & accompanying toothpaste - mini deodorant - mini cologne - face wash (although, you'll prob just user water or the hotel soap) - mini face cream for night (yes men, you should be using this) - mini sunscreen/day cream - mini hair styling cream - mini comb - razor - tweezers

[photo my own]