Is traveling more on your to-do list for 2018? If you plan on traveling more in 2018, you’re going to want to improve your packing game. Wouldn’t it be nice to travel without a checked bag? Or, maybe get your usual, two checked bags down to one? Below are some of our favorite items to help refresh your packing skills.

Packing Cubes

Packing cubes are a great way to help organize your luggage. They help you group and separate the different items you’re packing. I like to have a cube for my shirts and then one for my bottoms. This makes it easy to unpack when I arrive at my destination and when I get back home as well.

Our picks: TravelWise Packing Cube System, Bagail Packing Organizers, and YAMIU Packing Cubes

Space Bags

Space bags are another great option to help separate your items, and they save you a ton of space. Put your clothes in the bags and then vacuum out the air. Since they come in different sizes you can separate your clothes and also pack these away in cubes.

Great choices: Home-Complete Bags, RoomierLife Travel Space Bags, and Original Space Savers

Toiletry Bottles

Do you tend to buy a lot of travel-sized items? Invest in toiletry bottles. You can take the full-size version of your toiletries and re-fill smaller bottles. This saves you money—usually travel-sized versions of your favorite products are more expensive per ounce or per unit.

Our favorites: ieGeek Bottles, iNeibo Silicone Bottles, and Kitdine Silicone Bottles

Larger Carry-On

One of my biggest mistakes when traveling was using a small duffle bag as my carry-on and then checking a larger bag. Instead, I could have used a just larger sized carry-on bag and not have checked a bag. When buying a carry-on, try to opt for the largest size that still follows airline guidelines to maximize your space.

Some of our picks: Kenneth Cole Reaction Luggage, Amazon Basics Spinner, and Delsey Helium Aero

Upgrade Your Personal Item

When traveling, try to take a backpack as a personal item. You can fit so much in there, if you’re light packer, even an outfit or two.

Backpacks perfect for traveling: ibagBar Business Backpack, SwissGear Travel Bag, and HaloVa Backpack

All products and services mentioned on Airfarewatchdog are independently selected by our team of expert travelers. If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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