A skipping rope, a shower cap, straws: Surprisingly clever packing hacks

When the new year turns over, people have a natural urge to clean out things, including their health, and set themselves up for the next 12 months.

We could do this in October, of course, but “new year – new you” has a satisfying ring about it.

A new travel year has also begun, and I’d love to improve my packing game. Curiously, social media is telling me I need to.

Packing perfection … there’s always a better way.Credit: iStock

I can’t scroll very far on Facebook these days without coming across a travel hack that demonstrates origami-level clothes folding or clever things to do with nappies, like wrapping them around wine bottles or using them to conceal valuables.

Who knew you could cut off the neck of a balloon and stretch the remainder over a plastic bottle to stop the contents leaking?

Or that it’s best to pack vertically, with your suitcase on its side? Unsure how this makes my clothing more accessible, but it looks good in the video. I’ll give it a whirl.

I’ve seen some bright ideas for storing jewellery, such as threading chains and necklaces through straws to stop them tangling; pushing the hooks of earrings through buttons to keep them together; and storing earrings, rings and chains in the compartments of weekly pill containers.

My personal hack? Leave the good jewellery at home. The number of earrings I’ve left behind on hotel bedside tables defies rationality.

Wrap shoes in a disposable shower cap to protect them, or the other contents of your luggage.Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

For those things we compulsively forget, such as chargers, one hack is to carry a roll of neon tape and use it to brightly mark everything you might miss when departing. Tape has a multitude of uses, including taping gaping curtains together. (Binder clips or the clips on pants hangers work too.)

Shoes are always problematic as they’re heavy, awkwardly shaped and often dirty. I didn’t know until today that if you unzip the lining in a hard case, there’s a neat compartment where shoes can be stored and separated from your clothes.

Shower caps are genius for protecting shoes and covering bowls of food stored in the fridge when you get home. Keep the bags shoes come in when you buy them or use calico bags shops give you with purchases. Bring extra Ziplocks.

Packing jackets on hangers is a good idea to stop them moving about in the case, as is upending your hat and filling it with socks.

Some hackers suggest cutting sheets of fabric softener and putting it between clothes to keep things fresh. Others use laundry sheets they can use for washing at the destination. I dislike the artificial smell of these, so I travel with sachets of frankincense, handkerchiefs soaked in fragrance or perfumed soap.

Others swear by dry solid toiletries, such as those made by Beauty and the Bees, rather than liquids. I use the body wash in hotel rooms to launder my things and bring a small bottle of delicate detergent if I’m travelling with woollens.

Another hack is to bring a plastic skipping rope, twist it so it can grab clothing, and hang it whenever you need a clothesline.

I liked the idea of mixing a small amount of Vaseline with perfume in a tiny jar to make a portable fragrance. The perfume needs to be strong to counteract the slight chemical whiff of Vaseline, though.

I watched a demo of someone cutting up a block of soap into pieces and using a chunk in each hotel as they moved between places. Another hooked a surgical face mask over the taps of a shower to hold soap when the facilities didn’t seem that clean.

Really, I could watch these videos forever. I’m especially fascinated by the dexterity of people who can fold T-shirts down to envelope size and layer clothes inside the jackets they carry on the flight.

Still, no one has come up with a hack to stop my nail polish spilling, no matter how tightly I twist the cap.

I’m sure everyone has their own tried and tested solutions. (Please share!) My personal packing hacks include travelling with a small spiky ball to release muscle tension after a flight, a fold-up bag, and a good eye mask. It’s a fact of life that hotel rooms always have a rogue light you can never figure out how to turn off.

Following all this advice, you’d need a spreadsheet to keep control of what you bring. And guess what – some people use them.

That’s next-level packing.