Save Space In Your Luggage & Keep Clothes Wrinkle-Free With This Clever Packing Method

You've arrived on vacation, and you're ready to explore! You pull out your favorite outfit from your overstuffed suitcase and ... oh no. It looks like it went through a paper shredder in there. Creased clothing and overfilled suitcases go hand-in-hand and can have you spending the first moments of your trip sweating over an ironing board rather than exploring. Luckily, there's an alternative. The bundle packing method can have you wrinkle-free and heading straight out the door for your first taste of gelato.

The bundle method involves wrapping your clothing around a central core. The idea is that wrapping allows you to avoid making the sharp folds that later show up as wrinkles. There are many variations of bundle wrapping, but generally, you start by laying flat your bulkiest items that are most likely to crease, then layer smaller pieces on top, one by one. You put the core in the center (typically a packing cube filled with underwear and socks) and wrap everything around it. The result is a tidy little bundle that saves space, keeps your outfits crease-free, and makes unpacking like unwrapping a present.

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The most popular approach comes from Doug Dyment of OneBag. On a flat surface, you lay out your items of clothing in a specific order, starting with jackets, moving through longer pieces like dresses or skirts, and ending with shorts. Alternate the orientation of the clothing so that longer items extend in opposite directions, like a clothing windmill. Dyment has a graphic on the OneBag website showing how to do this clearly. He also recommends firmly securing your bundle in your suitcase so as not to undo all of your hard work.

Alternatively, you could bundle by outfit. This means creating several smaller packages, ready to unwrap whenever you want to wear them. One of the advantages of this method is that you'll carefully plan your outfits, which can help you avoid overpacking. It's easy to notice that your fluorescent green tee goes with absolutely nothing when everything is categorized!

When done properly, yes, bundle wrapping can save space and reduce wrinkling. Redditors in r/HerOneBag claim that bundling works for them, with some recommending putting the bundle into a packing cube to keep it secure. One user claims it's how they get their silk items to arrive looking fresh, a fabric that's notorious for its ability to crease. Other posters in r/coolguides agree that it saves space, though one user says: "[it] works best if you are going to be [in] a place you can unpack for a while."

That brings us to the potential downsides of this method. If you plan to change hotels frequently on your trip, unwrapping and rewrapping your bundle(s) could get annoying. On top of that, if you need a fresh pair of socks right from the core of your bundle, you'll be playing a solo version of pass-the-parcel to get to your prize. There's also the TSA concern, so avoid packing anything that could trigger a search, or you'll be re-bundling in the airport. Dyment dismisses these worries, since practice means you'll be a speedy and smart bundler in no time.

Could the bundling method help you pack for a two-week, carry-on-only vacation to Europe? We think it could. Just don't accidentally wrap up a pair of scissors in the middle, and you should be good to go.