As soon as I became a flight attendant, I was in dire need of a better way to pack my suitcase. I have a 22-inch rollaboard bag with a tote that should EASILY fit my belongings for a 3-day trip, right?! Well, it’s sometimes a struggle, especially if I’m packing winter type clothes or trying to fit my camera equipment as well.
After hours of research on Google, Pinterest, vlogs, blogs, and books, I’ve tried each and every way you can possibly imagine to pack a bag. I’ve tried simple folding, shoving everything in, and even rolling clothes up. But nothing quite compares to this one particular method. And now I can safely say I have officially discovered how to perfectly pack a suitcase.
The method I’m talking about is called the Konmari method. I first learned of it through the book titled, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, which utilizes and describes the Japanese art of organizing. The book doesn’t mention anything about packing suitcases, but I’ve taken the Konmari method of folding and incorporated it into packing a suitcase.
The part of the book that focuses on organizing clothes describes a specific art of folding clothes that helps to create more space, less wrinkles, and peace of mind.
I used this folding art to create an unbelievable amount of space in my suitcase. It’s now easier to find things in my bag, keep things organized, and leaves me more space. It has even proven that folding doesn’t create wrinkles if you do it the right way.
Basically, you have to fold your clothing items into rectangular shapes and stack them next to each other, as opposed to on top of each other. That way when you are looking in your suitcase, you can see the edge of each piece of clothing in your bag without having to dig through or look under another item.
Here are some diagrams to explain the folding process for perfectly packing your suitcase.
I found these illustrations on Pinterest (link here).
Soon enough, you will have a perfectly packed suitcase with more room for extra outfits and less wrinkles in all your clothes. Most importantly, you will feel better with a cleaner and more organized bag!