Packing with No Wrinkles???

[Syv]

...or is there such a thing?

What are your secrets to packing with no wrinkles? Any suggestions?

I'm counting the days till my departure on June 17th...

[zxa]

Don't pack many clothes .... I find rolling clothes up stops them creasing. I only take 2 pairs of jeans and about 5 t-shirts/underwear and wash them in a hotel machine or buy new ones on the way.

[Robert Schaller]

I agree with ZXA -- I don't roll mine -- but I fold them loosely, and I think the key is to not pack things too tightly. Of course choosing clothes that are wrinkle-resistant is a big help also.

Based on a post a few months back here on the forum, I've taken to folding all the clothes for a particular day in one neat bundle -- so I don't have to tear up the duffel each day looking for socks, etc. I just grab one bundle and it has everything I need for that day all together. Much easier to keep organized and it worked real well for me on a 2,400 mile -- 6 day trip this past week. I took four days worth of changes and washed on the 4th day.

[Utahtea]

Packing with No Wrinkles???...or is there such a thing?

<EVIL grin>Take a motorhome! I hang my clothes in the closet and they just don't get wrinkled!

Have a great trip!

Utahtea

[Roadside Ron]

Hi -

I have heard of this system whereby you put your clothes in plastic bags of a sort, then pump out the air. I apparently scrunches them down into very flat, tight little packets and saves a ton of space. I think it's also supposed to be good with wrinkles, but I've never tried it.

However, we do put plastic (the kind dry cleaners use) around as many bits as possible when we pack. It allows the fabrics to just slide back and forth smoothly, rather then bunching up against each other. It makes a big difference with wrinkles.

Good luck!

Ron
TheAmericanRoadside.com

[Utahtea]

Hi -

I have heard of this system whereby you put your clothes in plastic bags of a sort, then pump out the air. I apparently scrunches them down into very flat, tight little packets and saves a ton of space. I think it's also supposed to be good with wrinkles, but I've never tried it.

I use those space saver bags all the time to store quilts and extra sheets. It's fantastic for saving space, but don't count on it to save on the wrinkles. If anything it will make them!

Utahtea

[PNW Judy]

I tend to use the rolling method as well. Clothes still wrinkle a bit but at least you don't have big, apparent folds. I try to pack clothes that don't wrinkle much in the first place. That helps. When I'm showering, I hang my clothes on a hanger as close to the shower as possible so the steam will help release some of those wrinkles a bit. I keep a couple of hangers in my trunk so, if I'm camping, I can do this in the campground showers, too.

I will also anticipate what I'm going to wear the next day sometimes....usually only if I'm going to be somewhere where I know I want to look a bit nicer than I usually am concerned with when traveling. Example, when I pack the car in the morning, I'll take out the shirt and bottoms I plan on wearing tomorrow and lay them out flat over the top of my stuff in the trunk. This seems to give the clothes a bit of a headstart on getting the wrinkles out.

If I"m staying in a hotel, I do kinda like Bob does. I only take in my grooming kit and the clothes I plan on wearing the next day so I'm not packing my whole suitcase in. So, this way, I can grap those clothes I've laid out, fresh undies, my grooming stuff, and go to the room in one easy trip. Of course, if I'm camping, I'm just getting dressed from the trunk anyway so this makes it easy.

Gosh, I'll be watching this thread closely to see if anyone has the BIG secret to help with those dang wrinkles.

[AZBuck]

I don't know if this counts as a secret or not, but when I pack, I just assume that my clothes WILL get wrinkled because they're going to be pressed tightly for prolonged periods of time. So what I do is just fold them neatly so that the 'wrinkles' look like the creases that would get left by a good laundry.

The order in which I pack depends on the nature of the trip. If it's a hub-and-spoke type where I'm going to have a base location and be making day trips, then I just pack for maximum efficiency and unpack everything as soon as I arrive. If it's a point-to-point trip where I'm changing location every day, then I do as others have noted and pack each day's duds together so everything I need for a given day is all in the same place. For road trips of this sort, I also tend to pack two bags, one big one that stays put in the car for days on end but has most of my clothes, and one carry-on type with just a few days worth of stuff including all the toiletries and accessories that is what I actually use on a daily basis and replenish every third day or so from the big bag. And by all means, for any kind of trip, carry a separate laundry bag to keep your smelly used clothing away from your fresh, if wrinkled, good stuff.

AZBuck

[Mark Sedenquist]

Gosh, I'll be watching this thread closely to see if anyone has the BIG secret to help with those dang wrinkles.

That is easy treat clothes like fresh food and purchase new every day. (not on my budget -- mind you -- but it would work).

[Mark Sedenquist]

I don't know if this counts as a secret or not, but when I pack, I just assume that my clothes WILL get wrinkled because they're going to be pressed tightly for prolonged periods of time. So what I do is just fold them neatly so that the 'wrinkles' look like the creases that would get left by a good laundry.

I think this thread tells me that most of you roadtrippers plan a lot more than I do when you hit the road. I usually allocate less than 10 minutes to pack and barely use enough thought to even consider wrinkles. I do tend to choose fabrics that don't wrinkle and I nearly always hang some clothing -- but I guess that rumpled look is part and parcel of my road trip experience!

Mark