Hand Luggage Hacks - Five Genius Packing Tips You Need To Know About

Even if your airline offers a very generous hand baggage allowance, you still don’t want your suitcase eating into this allocation too much. Opt for a sturdy, but lightweight carry-on case on wheels that will be easy to manoeuvre around the airport and on and off the plane. The standard allowable dimensions of a piece of carry-on luggage tend to be around 55cm x 45cm x 25cm. Samsonite’s 50cm Short-Lite upright weighs just 1.5kg and still comes with a limited five-year global warranty, which shows that they have faith in its strength! This leaves you with plenty of weight for your clothes and other gear. You may never need to hang around at a luggage carousel again.

To ease your way through security, reduce the risk of spillages and save space, where you can opt for solid forms of toiletries such as cleansers, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and deodorant. These are lighter on packaging, so kinder on the environment too. Lush is one place you’ll find all of these; they even do solid toothpaste tabs and if you only take what you need for your trip these’ll take up a fraction of the space in your suitcase that a traditional toothpaste tube would. Meanwhile, make sure that each of the liquids that you must take is in a small container not exceeding 100mls and, to secure against leaks, place a layer of cling film under each lid before screwing them on tight. So that you’re not searching for them at security, place all your liquids together in a clear plastic bag in an easily accessible area of your case, such as an outside pocket.

Place the heaviest items such as shoes close to your suitcase’s wheels, this makes it easier for your case to balance whilst upright and it will make it easier to move around. And, don’t let those cavernous areas within your shoes travel empty. Fill them with neatly rolled up underwear and socks. Three pairs of socks should fit in each shoe. If there is any room left, add belts, scarves, phone chargers and other small accessories. Once full, cover each shoe with a shower cap so that their dirty soles don’t come into contact with your clean clothes.

This new packing method involves folding your clothes in half and then rolling them tightly into little sausage shapes. By doing this you force trapped air out of the clothes and consequently create more room in your suitcase. If you roll them carefully, your clothes should be less susceptible to creasing too. More formal stiffer items, such as blazers and linen dresses should still be folded the traditional way and laid on top.

Eschew traditional books, magazines and newspapers for their digital versions. You can load a single tablet or ebook reader with a whole library of novels, stacks of periodicals and use it to access newspapers on newsstands across the world. You can fill it up with movies, music, TV series, podcasts, games and even family photos too. And, if you really must, you might be able to use it to get some work done as well. It will provide you with a wealth of weighty stuff to keep your mind busy in the air, whilst considerably lightening the load of your hand luggage.