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wrinkled clothes stuffed into an overflowing suitcase

Avoid Wrinkles When Packing

Have you ever spent hours packing for a trip only to arrive at your destination and realize all of your clothes are wrinkled? Forget using that terrible hotel iron. With these tips and tricks you can enjoy wrinkle-free clothes for any trip!

  1. Try Rolling Your Clothes

    This not only helps to avoid wrinkles, it also saves room in your suitcase. The easiest way to do this is to fold your clothes in half and then roll them. This will work for shirts, sweaters, pants, or skirts.

  2. Ironing

    Ironing your clothes before packing them is another way to help prevent your clothes from wrinkling. Also, as simple as it sounds, fold your clothes appropriately. If you toss your clothes in your luggage they are certain to wrinkle, but taking the time to fold them will greatly help decrease wrinkles.

  3. Hanging Bags

    For suits, dresses or delicate materials try using a hanging bag, rather than placing them in a suitcase. It is important to use the proper luggage for your clothing and hanging bag will, at most, only fold the clothes in half, which should not cause wrinkling to occur on these items. Also, if you are traveling in your car, try laying the items flat in the back seat or utilize the garment hooks, if they are provided in your car (check your car's manual to locate them if you are unsure).

  4. Organize Fabrics

    It is helpful to start packing your items with the heaviest fabric and work up to the lightest fabrics. This will help alleviate pressure on items with lighter fabric and decreasing the chance for wrinkles. Also, try to pack your shoes in the corners of your suitcase or separate from your clothing. Placing a plastic bag between the different types of fabric you are packing or between each item you are packing. Wrinkles are caused by friction and the plastic bags will help to decrease friction. The best plastic bags to use are dry cleaner bags.

  5. Choose Travel-Friendly Fabrics

    Knowing your materials which materials are prone to wrinkling can help guide you while packing. Polyester does not wrinkle. Lycra, nylon and most knits do not wrinkle easily. Linen, rayon, cotton, and silks do wrinkles very easily. Laying out the items you plan to pack can help you organize where to place the items.

Following these simple steps should help to decrease or eliminate wrinkles in your packed clothing. Hopefully, these tips and tricks will keep your clothes crisp and wrinkle-free!

Last Updated: June 06, 2019