Tag Archives: safety tips

How to pack a suitcase or bag is a learned skill. Your best chance of packing just the right amount of clothes is to plan what you will wear each day or by activity re-using as many items as possible. . Think a long sleeve shirt could be a light jacket over a t-shirt or be worn separately. Over-packing will also leave less room in your suitcase for purchasing gifts and souvenirs! Follow the below guidelines and you’ll be expertly packed. You can learn to pack a suitcase quickly, here are our favorite tips.

1. Use a Packing List!

When it comes to how to pack a suitcase expert travelers agree, it’s best to start your packing process days or even weeks ahead of your departure date; this gives you time to craft a complete list, plus purchase any additional items you might need. Start with a comprehensive published list and add or delete items. Creating a packing list is a fail-safe way to ensure that you won’t forget to bring something important. Here’s a packing list to get you started.

2. Follow the TSA 3-1-1 Rule

The rule is all liquids brought onto planes must be in 3.4-ounce (100ml) bottles or smaller and all placed inside a single, clear, quart-size zip-top bag. The bag limits how many liquids you can bring on board. Consolidating products into one bag and X-raying them separately from other carry-on items enables security officers to quickly clear all items. One-quart bag per person limits the total liquid volume each traveler can bring on board. Want to carry more liquids, and then pack them in your checked luggage. Common travel items that must comply with the 3-1-1 liquids rule include toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion.

This 1-quart bag with refillable bottles is a TSA Accepted Toiletry Kit

3. Know Your Airline’s Baggage Rules and Fees

Before you begin packing review your airline’s website and read its baggage policy. This is something you might even want to do prior to purchasing your plane ticket, especially if you’re checking luggage. Don’t forget to read their rules about carry-on bags either. Invest in and travel with a luggage scale, it’ll save you money, especially on your way home with the addition of souvenirs in your bag.

4. Put Essential Items in Your Carry-On

You must keep your valuable and essential belongings in your carry-on bag, not in your checked luggage. Your passport, identification, money, credit cards, jewelry, electronics, medicines other valuables should always be brought onto the plane with you use a document organizer and small bags to keep track of your valuables. If the airline loses your luggage (or if a TSA agent gets sticky fingers), you’ll regret stowing your expensive gear or meds in a checked bag.

5. Use Packing Aids-They Save Space

The one thing that experienced road warriors and frequent flyers agree on when it comes to packing a bag is that using packing aids and particular packing cubes really do make a difference! There are several styles. Select one or a combination of them, depending on what you’re packing. No matter what your choice you’ll be more organized and have more space, we promise.

Compression Packers Create More Space

Place clothing into a bag, seal, and roll to move air out of one-way valve system. Now you’ve maximized your packing space by eliminating the air in your bag! These compression bags are ideal for compressing bulky items such as jackets, sweatshirts, coats, socks or dirty clothes. Compression Packers.

Packing Cubes Keep Things Organized

Each lightweight and breathable cube has a different size to keep items neat and easy to find. TSA friendly, the cubes keep like items (think socks and lingerie) together and reduce wrinkles since clothes won’t be sliding around your entire suitcase. The larger one keeps dress shirts looking crisp and fresh.

Select Clothes Which Layer and Mix and Match

When thinking about how to pack a suitcase think about wearing layers. Short-sleeved shirts can go under long sleeve ones. A long scarf is decorative and can double as an evening wrap and added warmth on the plane. Jeans or khakis go from day to night with the change of an athletic to a dress shoe or sandal.

2. Choose Knits, Wool, and Cotton

These fabrics tend to resist wrinkles and are versatile and stick to a few colors that mix and match. If you are going to a warm climate pack moisture-wicking synthetics you can wash in your hotel sink, hang up overnight and wear again.

3. Roll Softer Garments and Fold Stiffer Ones

Underwear, T-shirts, jeans, cotton pants, and knitwear won’t wrinkle when rolled tightly. Stiffer fabrics, such as starched cotton shirts, blazers, dressy pants, and skirts, should be carefully folded.

If you need more space in your suitcase and aren’t worried about the weight, roll your clothes (as this will take significantly less space than folding). If you do not need as much space and want to keep the weight down, fold your clothes.

Roll items as tightly as possible in order to achieve the space saving effect.
Rolling does not necessarily make your clothes more wrinkled, you simply need to be careful that when you roll clothes, you do not roll in any wrinkles. Roll the item as flat as possible. Folding the item along its natural seams first will help.
Elastic items will be easier to roll without introducing wrinkles.
If you aren’t very good at rolling, avoid rolling items which wrinkle easily.
Rolled items will need to be packed tightly, which is why this method should only be used if space is at a premium. Rolled items not tightly packed will cause them to unroll and wrinkle.

6. Wash Your Clothes on the Road

Vacation rentals often have laundry facilities, however, if you’re staying in a hotel, or taking a cruise wash clothes in sinks and hang them to dry, a blow dryer or iron can help get rid of any lingering dampness. Pack laundry soap sheets ( they can’t spill or accidentally pop open) and a portable laundry-drying line. Carry a stain stick in your bag.

7. Strive to Fit all Your Clothes into a Carry-on Bag

Limit yourself to what you can fit into a carry-on bag with wheels. Your luggage will fit into the overhead bin of an airplane so you never have to check and risk it going on a different trip than you are. When you do reach your destination, you’ll enjoy the ease of mobility.

Carrying your bag onto the plane reduces the chances that it will get lost, broken, or stolen.
Save on checked bag fees

8. Use a Large Personal Item

We like to use a backpack in addition to a carry-on bag. You can use your backpack as a day bag at your destination too. pack any medications or can’t live without essentials in this bag just in case of the rare chance that you must gate check your carry-on. Plus wearing a backpack and pushing or pulling your wheeled carry-on keeps one hand free too.

9. Use Air Tags or Tile Devices to Track Bags

Apple’s Air Tags and Tile for Android phones are small discs that use Bluetooth on your phone to track items. Not just for luggage. both carry-on and checked, they can be used to track bikes, cars wallets, and just about anything where you can hide and secure the small battery-operated disc. By putting a tracker inside your checked luggage you will be able to see exactly where your bag is when traveling. We have used trackers on our last few trips and had peace of mind knowing both our checked bags made it onto the plane. In two cases it helped us find our bags in the sea of black bags at baggage claim. Now the first thing we reach for after reaching for our bags is our Air Tags or Tile Tracking devices.

How to pack a suitcase, Apple AirTag pack

Apple AirTags for luggage and bags

Tile Tracker device for help to pack a suitcase

Tile Tracker Device compatible with Android phones

More Advice on How to Pack a Suitcase

Do not lock your checked bags except with TSA-approved luggage locks; otherwise, if your bag is selected for random screening, agents will have to break the lock to get inside.
Do not overpack your bag. TSA screeners will have a difficult time closing your luggage if selected for inspection, which will only lead to wrinkles and the potential for lost articles.

Lastly, place any packed belongings you don’t feel comfortable with strangers handling in clear plastic bags.

Additional Articles You May Like

Many travelers think they know how to spot a pickpocket, but good pickpockets aren’t easy to spot. Do you think pickpockets look like the stereotype of “shady characters” who look like a crook? While that is true for a small portion of the time, most often professional pickpockets go to great strides to blend into the crowd and area so their victims are not aware of them.

Chopstick pickpocket goes unnoticed. He places what he steals into his bag, out of view

How to spot a pickpocket

To prove this point, the police in Sterling Heights, Michigan have alerted the public that they should not assume that the sweet old lady in a hat they see standing next to them in the mall is so sweet after all. She just may be part of an organized crime gang!

Police in an upscale Detroit suburb say an all-female criminal ring, made up of middle-aged and elderly women, is running a sophisticated con in which they allegedly pick the pockets of unsuspecting shoppers and use the stolen credit cards elsewhere. The group which police nicknamed the “Mad Hatters,” is a pickpocket ring is made up of at least six women who frequently wear hats to disguise their identities and have allegedly swiped more than $500,000 in the past year and a half, authorities say. One bank alone estimated it had lost at least $200,000 at the hands of the hatters. Travelers should be very aware that pickpockets come in all shapes, ages, colors, and ages.

Here are a few tips to help spot a pickpocket before they strike

Watch out for people that make a scene

People who make a scene within a crowd are often regular people. They may be a bit disturbed, frustrated, or clumsy like dropping their groceries but they typically have no agenda. However, some of them are just aiming to create confusion among a group of unsuspecting onlookers particularly if they are trying to engage others in their drama, and their accomplices are just there waiting on the sidelines for you to be distracted by the commotion so that they can then pick your pocket. Some pickpocket teams have children cause a scene or approach tourists asking for money.

Be aware of those that try to get close to you

Getting close to people is unavoidable, especially in crowded areas. This can be even natural in a culture with less personal space or in locations popular with tourists. However, if you find someone crowding your personal space incessantly and you feel uncomfortable, then he or she may be a pickpocket, and it would be wise to go to an area less crowded and with more open space if possible move towards someone who is a person of authority like a police officer or security guard.

Keep an eye out for people trying to make a conversation

In this setup, someone may stop you while walking on a crowded street, in the subway, or in other tourist locations with people around to ask you something. They may ask about road directions, show you a map, or ask if you have seen a certain person. There is a strong chance that they are part of a pickpocket team trying to divert your attention so that their partners can take advantage of your momentary diverted focus. The advice in this scenario is not to stop and look at a map and just keep going. Being rude beats losing your wallet.

Be cautious of anyone trying to blend in

The main weapon of a pickpocket is his or her ability to blend in with a crowd. Still, you can probably observe people who are trying too hard to join the crowd for the purpose of stealing from them. Be wary of everyone when in a crowded area, and don’t trust anyone simply because they are a child, old, infirm, or even pregnant. Hold your backpack or purse in front of you or crossbody style.

For peace of mind carry your valuables in a neck wallet you tuck under your shirt or a money belt you wear around your waist under your shirt. Today’s options of money belts and body pouches are slim, smooth, and soft. See some of the latest styles here.

How to Pickpocket Proof Your Purse or Shoulder Bag

Try to pickpocket proof your purse or shoulder bag if you don’t want to purchase a pickpocket-proof purse or shoulder bag. You may want to modify your own purse or handbag to make it pickpocket-proof if you absolutely love the style and/or don’t want to spend money on a new travel bag. While it may not look as sleek as those anti-theft purses and shoulder bags that were designed specifically to stop pickpockets, this simple modification should do the trick.

The two items shown here may be found at your local hardware store. It’s a DIY hack that may take some thinking on how to best lock your entire bag zipper or just a pocket inside your bag as not all bags have the same design or features to work with.

Locking Your Zipper Pull to Your Bag Helps Keep Thieves Out

Ideally, your purse should always be in your hand, over your arm, over your shoulder, or across your body at all times. Across your body with your bag resting in front of you and not on your rear hip is the safest way to carry it. But even carried in this manner your bag could be targeted by a pickpocket who can slip a hand into your purse and remove your wallet without you noticing it. Try this hack using a swivel clip and split ring you can buy at a home improvement store to keep their hands out. This hack works for purses with zipper pulls and in particular, zipper pulls that have a hole in them.

Follow these steps.

Buy Split Ring and Swivel Clip – You may need one or two split rings depending on the design of your bag and zipper pull. Split rings are like those in key rings, and one swivel snap bolt or swivel clip is all you need.
Feed swivel end of a snap bolt into a split ring. Inside your purse, choose a compartment that closes with a zipper where you will keep your wallet and other valuables. Feed the slip ring through the hole in the zipper tab. Note the zipper pull must have a hole in it for this hack to work.
Strap Attachment Ring When the zipper is closed, snap the bolt onto the ring that attaches the strap to your purse. If too short to reach, feed the second split ring onto the ring that attaches the strap, and snap the bolt onto that. If the strap does not attach with a ring but is sewn to the purse, buy a large size split ring and feed the entire strap into the ring. Either snap the bolt onto this large ring or feed another small split ring onto the larger ring and snap the bolt onto that.

Travel Bags with Built-in Anti Theft Features

We think the best anti-theft travel bags are shoulder bags you wear crossbody style in front of you. Features to look for in this type of bag are an adjustable strap for comfort and a way to lock the main compartment to keep out thieving hands.

Secondary features are RFID blocking pockets, slash-proof material, and a strap that you can detach from the bag one end so that you can loop the strap to a stationary item like a chair back and then back onto the bag so it becomes snatch proof.

Pacsafe Metrosafe LS250 Anti-Theft Bag Pickpocket Proof Your Purse or Shoulder Bag

Pacsafe Metrosafe LS250 Anti-Theft Unisex Travel Bag

Travelon Crossbody anti theft travel purse, Pickpocket Proof Your Purse or Shoulder Bag

Travelon Crossbody Anti Theft Travel Purse- More Colors

Pacsafe Women's Citysafe Cx Anti Theft Convertible Backpack-Fits 10" Tablet, Black

Pacsafe Women’s Citysafe Cx Anti Theft Convertible Backpack- More Colors

One of the most liberating benefits of modern technology is the mobility and flexibility it gives us. Stay connected on vacation for fun, or even to sneak a peek at office emails if you must. If you’re out of the office for work, you won’t be out of the loop thanks to technology. All you need to do is carry your laptop, mobile phone or tablet and you’re plugged in. However, along with that comes vulnerability and risks.

If you are not careful about how and where you use your devices, you may end up having a vacation data disaster! The data lost may be personal in nature like your family’s pictures on the beach, or it could be business related to your profession. There are many ways you can lose data from your devices when away from home. Data could be simply lost due to carelessness which damages the hard drive. While vacationing, laptops and hard drives can face a relatively harsher climate than what you have in your home or office. Whether you are camping, trekking, doing road trips or simply lying on the beach or by the pool extreme variations in temperature and moisture, exposure to sunlight and sand and mechanical jolts and rough handling all make your hardware prone to crash. Mobile phones and tablets can accidentally get dropped in swimming pools; you get the picture.

Besides different environments which can impact data, theft of laptops and phones is the number one reason data is lost. Laptops are stolen mainly from airports, hotels, restaurants, and crowded locations such as subways and train stations. It is no coincidence that these busy locations are where the majority of thieves target their victims. It’s not only the price of the laptop they are interested in. Sometimes the data inside could be valuable as well. The wi-fi provided in most hotels, and cyber cafes are not secure, and almost anyone can have access to your data if they want. By gaining access inside your hard drive, they can delete and manipulate your programs and access your passwords which could also provide entry to business sites.

So what should you do? As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Don’t let your laptop or phone out of your sight.

Tips on How to Protect Data When Traveling

Don’t ever leave your valuables unattended in a hotel room or car.
Lock them up in room hotel safe, even if you plan to be out of your room for just a few minutes.
Use a portable travel safe to secure them in a vehicle, hotel room or by the pool.
Transfer data to a flash drive or portable media device and lock it up.
Backup to the cloud regularly.
Carry your devices in a travel bag, day bag, or purse with anti-theft features.
Wear your bag crossbody style when in a crowd.

Physically protecting your devices is the number one data theft prevention activity. Regularly changing your passwords and updating your antivirus software are also good practices. Encryption is generally more reliable than passwords and should be used if the data is very sensitive to theft. Even if the data is lost, the thief will have a very hard time gaining access to it.

Lastly, before you leave home, make copies of all your important, irreplaceable files and store them safely at home, or even the cloud is now an important option too. A physical document organizer for your passport and credit cards will also come in handy.

Lastly, arrange your laptop and mobile phone data in such a way that it’s easier to backup and retrieve in case of loss like putting related documents in one folder. Make these practices habits and you’ll worry less, and enjoy your travels more.