Wrinkle Free Packing

Okay, so there is no such thing as totally wrinkle free. But, you can get it down to a minimal amount of wrinkles. I’ve been using this method for 15 to 20 years and it has served me well-even with business clothes.



Here is the secret-roll your duds. Yup, just roll them up and they will not only come out less wrinkled, but they will also take up a lot less room.


How do you go about doing this? There are two schools of thought-bottom up or top down. Here is what I do and it works great for me.


Place your article of clothing on a flat surface. I use my bed. Make sure you don’t have wrinkles in the fabric-smooth it out. Fold the sleeves in (if there are any), overlapping them on the body of the garment. The “fold” should be at the shoulder. Then begin with the collar (if there is one) and start to roll down the garment. You want to end up with a fairly tight roll and make sure you smooth any possible lumps (which could make a wrinkle) as you roll. You can roll everything- including undies…


When you are packing, place the heavier rolls at the bottom of the suitcase along with shoes. Speaking of shoes, use the inside of the shoe for socks. It is wasted space otherwise. Make sure your roll is the same length or shorter than the width of your suitcase. Fill in the gaps between the ends of the rolls and the suitcase with items like pill bottles or shorter pieces like pj’s.


For those of you (like me) who use little carry-on bags that are shorter than your rolled clothes, you must sacrifice total wrinkle free for one crease. In this case, choose a side of the garment and shorten the width by making a fold. Then start at the top and roll. One side of this will be a bit bulkier, so flip flop the rolls in your suitcase to make things even as you pack.


That’s it. When you get to your destination, just unroll and hang up your stuff. The few wrinkles that you will get should just fall out. And, those that don’t-oh well at least you won’t look like you slept in your clothes.