Packing clothes to prevent wrinkles is a huge concern while traveling. You don’t want to pack that super-cute dress you love, only to find out that you can’t wear it once you open your luggage – especially when you’re trying to enjoy every minute of your trip and there’s no iron in sight! And since I have a ton of experience with this, I’ve put together everything I know about how to pack clothes without wrinkling in this guide! Enjoy!
How to pack clothes without wrinkling:
- Decide on the right clothes
- Choose your technique
- Use dry cleaners bags
- Touch up slight wrinkles
- Keep clothes wrinkle-free
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Is it better to roll or fold clothes?
Folding clothes and laying them flat is always my go-to method for packing your suitcase.
Not only does it save space while packing, but it also makes it easier to organize your luggage and find things quicker – especially when combined with packing cubes.
But lately it seems that everyone swears by rolling clothes to prevent wrinkles.
So does rolling clothes actually help? Let’s talk about that.
Does rolling clothes prevent wrinkles?
The truth is that rolling clothes CAN prevent wrinkles, but only if it’s done right.
If you haphazardly roll your clothes into a bundle, then you will be disappointed to find a ton of wrinkles when you open your bag.
So to use this method to prevent wrinkles you should first think about a few things:
- What material is the item made out of?
- Will this item be too bulky if rolled?
- Can I use another method to keep it wrinkle-free?
- Roll the item very tightly
- Smooth out any wrinkles WHILE your rolling
- Sandwhich the item in between other things to prevent it from moving around and getting wrinkled.
How to Un-wrinkle Clothes Fast
If you still find yourself with some wrinkles after using the steps outlined below, then there are a few ways to un-wrinkle clothes fast once you get to your destination.
I’m assuming that you don’t have access to a full washer and dryer on your vacation, so here are a few hacks to get rid of wrinkles fast:
- Use a hair straightener to iron out small wrinkles
- Press the wrinkle flat with a damp towel & use the hotel blow dryer (set to high heat) to smooth out wrinkles
- Run a hot shower & hang your item in the room with the door shut for 15-20 minutes
- If the hotel room has a tea kettle then use the steam to smooth out wrinkles
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How to Pack Clothes Without Wrinkling
1) Decide on the right clothes
One of the most important things to remember is to pack travel-friendly clothing items.
Because if you’re clothes are very wrinkle-prone then it will be hard to keep them wrinkle-free no matter what you do.
Here are some good materials for clothes that are naturally more wrinkle-proof:
- Synthetic fabrics such as nylon, polyester blend and microfiber
- Wool-blend fabrics
- Cotton fabrics BLENDED with synthetics
2) Choose your technique
Now it’s time to decide what packing technique to use – rolling or folding.
Normally my recommendation is folding and laying flat inside a packing cube, as rolling clothes does make things bulkier.
Plus if you don’t do it correctly you’ll still have wrinkled clothes!
Decide on what items to fold and what to roll – and then go ahead and roll whatever you’ve decided on using the technique mentioned above.
3) use dry cleaners bags
For whatever you’ve decided to fold, lay them on a flat surface, on top of a dry cleaner bag.
The start folding the clothes AND THE BAG so that the bag is in between the layers of the material.
This helps to prevent wrinkles since the material is not rubbing up against itself, but rather has a smooth surface to slide against.
Then pack all your items into your packing cubes and place the cubes into your bag.
4) Touch up slight wrinkles
If you get to your destination and you ended up with some slight wrinkles, you can use the methods listed in the “How to Un-wrinkle Clothes Fast” section above to make sure your clothes are ready to go.
And if all else fails, you can use a mini travel steamer which does a great job and is still super lightweight!
5) Keeping clothes wrinkle-free
Once you have your clothes wrinkle-free, make sure you fold them and put them in a drawer or hang them up in the closet.
The easiest way to ensure you get wrinkles in your clothes is by keeping them in your suitcase for the whole trip!
So what did you make of our How to Pack Clothes Without Wrinkles post?
Use one or multiple of these tips to keep you clothes wrinkle-free for your whole trip!
And for more travel resources, subscribe to our free travel resource library! It will help you plan your trip like a pro and it only takes 5 seconds!
Happy travels!
– Veronica
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