How to pack like a pro for your next trip

The next few months are a prime time for many Canadians to take a vacation either to southern climes or to enjoy winter activities like skiing.

With many airlines' lowest airfares now limiting luggage to only carry-on, packing wisely has never been more important.

CBC asked some professionals in the travel business for their pro tips, as well as you, dear readers, via Facebook.

(Please note that usernames are not necessarily the names of commenters. Some comments have been altered to correct spelling and to conform to CBC style.)

George Stewart of Kinkora, P.E.I.,has been a travel agent for more than 25 years, and now heads up his own company, TPI Travels by George.

"Ziploc freezer bags are your best friend when travelling," he advises. "The larger ones are great for soiled/wet clothing, and when you are packing items in your checked that are liquid or gels it is a very good idea to enclose them in a Ziploc bag so that if they leak or bust during flight it will not be a huge mess on arrival."

He notes that some baggage compartments on smaller planes are not pressurized so even well-sealed or unopened liquids or gels can leak or break.

She's a pro packer

Jill Lantz of Charlottetown has been a cabin crew member for British Airways for years. When we caught up with her she was in London as part of three weeks working abroad.

She said she travels with a carry-on and a small, easy-to-manoeuvre wheely suitcase with extendable sides and four wheels.

Some of Lantz's top tips:

1. Keep travel documents together

"I have a clear zipped envelope that I keep my passports, ID, SIM cards, copies of driving licence and passports. U.K. tube pass, U.K. keys, copy of Blue Cross card. I always keep it in the outside pocket of my wheely bag (which I carry on board)," she said.

2. Carry on necessities

"I always have a night stop kit in my carry-on with miniature cosmetics and shampoos etc. (in the clear bag for carry-on liquids)."

3. Plan your outfits

Don't just throw a bunch of your favourite things in a suitcase and hope for the best.

"I always plan my outfits for where and what I am doing before I leave," said Lantz. "I go as far west as Frisco, east to China, south to South Africa and Buenos Aires and the Middle East and India. When I am on standby I have to be ready for different climates."

Over the course of three weeks she will wear the same outfit several times, she noted, "but I'm with different people."

4. Have a simple colour palette

"I take black and blue jeans, two sweaters and two shirts, and T-shirts" that stick to a black-and-white colour scheme, she said. "I use scarves to liven up my outfits, travel in trendy sneakers with a pair of booties in my carry-on in case I want to look glammy for the lounge!"

She also has something called a coatigan a dressy coat-slash-cardigan that is lightweight that she can use as a blanket/pillow on board if needed.

5. Pack an extra bag

"I have a Longchamps fold-up bag that I always have in my carry-on and I use it a lot for extra shopping," Lantz said.

If she is in the middle of a trip and has accumulated too much to carry to her next destination, she will deposit some things in an airport locker until she is headed home to Canada.

What you said

Many of you shared your favourite packing tips via Facebook.

"Everybody always packs too much. Remove a third of what you've got in your bag(s)," said Dave Stewart of Charlottetown.

Libby Whelan plans her outfits, she said. "I always take out what I'd like to take a few days before and every day I take at least a few things out of the pile, try to reduce it by half before leaving, but I still pack too much."

She also rolls up her clothes, rather than folding this trick means you can fit a lot more in a suitcase and your clothes end up much less wrinkled.

"Packing cubes make a huge difference!" commented Norma Lee MacLeod, sharing a photo of her suitcase from a recent five-night trip to Paris: "Carry-on luggage only!" The nylon cubes compress their contents, she said.

Suzanne Scott of Charlottetown said not checking luggage means "I can run through the airport quicker and get to the beach sooner."

"I travel with a carry-on every year when I go away for five-sixweeks," said Scott. "Roll everything up really tight and buy majority of my toiletries when I get there! Don't need much for clothing when it's a warm destination luckily."

John Getson of Summerside said for vacation, he packs two days worth of clothes plus extra underwear and socks in a messenger bag he carries on the plane, then he'll find "a local thrift store/consignment shop on arrival for the remainder and donate it all before leaving." For business travel he does the same, with the addition of suits and shirts in a suit bag with shoes, ties etc. in the bottom, which he said folded or rolled, will fit in a plane's overhead compartment.

Gail Lecky of Charlottetown is one reader who is not buying into the notion of packing light, however.

"Bite the bullet and pay for a bag why have all those great clothes and shoes and leave them at home?" she asked.

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