Business Travel Packing Hacks – How to pack like a pro
Let’s say you’re getting ready to travel for a business meeting, but your ticket is hand luggage only? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are some business travel packing hacks from Ortharize to teach you how to minimise the amount of space required while keeping your luggage neat and tidy!
Vacuum bags
The most frustrating aspect of packing your bag may be fitting outfits for many situations into a single bag – you may try not to take too much space and prevent wrinkles, but in the end, everything ends up a jumble while you are looking for the perfect clothes! Vacuum bags are one of many great business travel packing hacks. They’re a low-cost way to substantially minimise the amount of space your clothing takes up by up to 75%. Some can come scented, and others come with a portable tool to compress your clothes wherever you are. Another great feature is that you can always see what you’ve packed because the bags are transparent.
Organise your clothes for different occasions or into multiple ensembles in similar colour codes so you can swap them when you’ve finished wearing a particular outfit or garment. After this, you place each outfit in its own bag to reduce the chaos. This way it’s not only organised, but you also know where everything is. Did we mention they are reusable, too?
Travel Cubes
If vacuum bags are not your thing, utilising travel cubes is another option for packing your clothing. They are an excellent way to arrange your clothing, toiletries, and travel necessities. They not only allow you to carry more items with you, but they also stack well and let things fall into place more effortlessly.
You have complete creative and organisational freedom in arranging your bags. There are even some colour-coded and labelled cubes, which make it even easier to tell which cube holds your shirts and which cube has your trousers. How you organise them is entirely up to you!
Rolling your clothes
You may have heard of this before, but it’s most likely because it’s a fantastic travel packing hack! Instead of folding your clothes, roll them to avoid creases and save a lot of space in your suitcase (yes, it’s that easy)!
Packing will be easier and more efficient if you organise your clothes by outfits and use this roll technique. You won’t have to rummage through your possessions to find what you need. Simply, rolling your shirt with your pants and any accessories together will allow you to simply compress everything into one roll and will make it much easier to get out without making a whole mess attempting to find your belongings. So, if you haven’t tried this hack already, you should definitely give it a shot!
3-1-1 rule for liquids
Ah yes, liquids. A traveller’s worst nightmare. What happens if you don’t adhere to the airline’s policy in your carry-on luggage rule? If you forget and try to bring a big bottle of shampoo or a full-size gel deodorant through the screening line- airport security will almost certainly seize it, causing you to wait longer, and leaving you high and dry (pardon the pun).
Familiarise yourself with the guidelines of the airport and the country you’re in. Generally, all liquids in your carry-on bag must be in 100ml (3.4-ounce) bottles or less and contained in a single, clear, zip-top bag while travelling by plane. However, if you have liquids in bigger bottles, you need to store them in your checked luggage.
A great packing hack to deal with this is by buying a travel kit, which usually includes a ziplock bag, pots, different-size bottles all below 100ml, and labels, making it ideal for carrying all of your essentials. You’ll be able to tell your conditioner from your moisturiser so it’s a win-win situation! So get your toiletries in order so you can concentrate on the essential stuff, like deciding which pair of ridiculously bright swimming trunks to bring!
Plastic wrap over your bottle to prevent leaks
Consider the following scenario: You pack all of your toiletries in a plastic bag, go through security, and everything appears to be in order. When you go to the hotel, you open your bag and see that the shampoo bottle has spilt all over your clothes while it is in the bag. If you’ve ever had this happen to you, you’ll understand how terrifying it is, especially while travelling internationally. Let’s face it, things like this do happen.
The answer is simple: a small piece of plastic wrap or cling film! This is one of our favourite business travel packing hacks, it’s a simple and effective solution to keep shampoo from getting on your clothes. To do so, simply take a piece of wrap, remove the cap of your bottle of shampoo, conditioner, or whatever you need, place the wrap below the cap, then screw the lid back on while the wrap is still in place. This will ensure that no spills occur in your travel bag. Don’t forget that you can reuse these over multiple journeys to be extra sustainable!
Dirty shoes in plastic caps
Are you someone who likes to have a pair of shoes for every occasion? Then this is the one for you! You’ll need a shower hat for this. Yes, you read that right. If you are in a rush and don’t have time to clean your shoes properly, packing your shoes in a shower cap will prevent dirt from getting on your clothes. Not only that but not carrying multiple bags only for your shoes can save you space. To save room, you may even level up by putting your socks inside your shoes.
Get a power strip
In today’s digital world, we are entirely reliant on our devices to get around. When travelling, whether or not for business, 24/7 connectivity and battery are essential. However, one of the things that overseas travellers forget about is the travel adaptors.
If you are travelling for business, there is a good chance that you will have many devices such as your personal and corporate phone, tablet, laptop, electric toothbrush, etc.; which means you will need at least 3-4 adaptors in your bag, and maybe not enough sockets in your room to charge everything simultaneously if u need to.
Instead of buying a ton of adapters to charge your devices, a great hack is to get a power strip! This way, you can buy a plug as big as you need and charge multiple devices simultaneously with a single adapter!
Learn more from our experts
All of this advice comes from our team of expert business travellers. We’ve made all of the mistakes already, so can help you make sure that you never do! You can use Ortharize for free, with access to an online self-service booking platform, an offline booking team, and a 24/7/365 UK-based customer support team. If you’d like to learn more and see our platform in action, book a demo here.
