It depends. Rolling jeans or sweaters actually takes up more room than folding. Rolling things like t-shirts or polo shirts save some space. Depending on the item you can either roll them, fold them or lay them flat and they'll compress when you close the bag. I actually found that laying my packable rain jacket on the bottom of the bag and putting my cubes on top of it saves space compared to actually packing it into itself, for example.
Honestly, one everything is in your bag, everything smushes together anyway. So I think the way you fold it doesn't make as much difference as you might hope if you keep all your clothes together.
Not folding and just putting it in any small holes you see probably takes up the least amount of space.
Agreed. Don’t leave gaps. I carry crocs to wear to the beach or as shower shoes despite the bulk. However I find my socks fit perfectly in them so that decreases the wasted space.
On YouTube I was convinced by an experiment where the clothes were folded together around each other like a bundle. Thing is.. it’s not realistic once you have worn some things, some are dirty etc.
Going out, don’t tightly pack your bag.
Somehow, as you travel things take up more space. You might have a bag with dirty clothes for example.
If you’re moving from place to place a lot, you will spend time just trying to get everything to fit perfectly again.
There should be room. So you can fit a jacket etc.
This is exactly what I do. I find rolling leaves too many gaps. I tried packing cubes, but they just didn't work well with my 30L top loading pack. So now it's a konmari-ranger roll hybrid, and I stick them in my hydration/laptop sleeve or a zipped pouch.
Same. I do a hybrid as well depending on whether I'm using cubes and what cubes. I find ranger rolls don't work well with compression cubes so I konmari when using those
I find this very dependent on the structure of the bag you’re using and the type/material of clothing you’re packing. Best to just test it to determine which method. For example if I was taking thin, moisture wicking athletic clothes to Costa Rica, I roll. But when I went to Hokkaido Japan in winter and had a combo of layering pieces and some heavier items, some were rolled, some were flat. I don’t always use packing cubes, but if I’m doing a multi leg trip, I’ll use cubes more so for organization and ease of grabbing a specific “set” of clothing out for each leg.
I fold my stuff to be exactly the shape of my packing cube, and the stack them, I try to alternate things so I can just pick stuff off the top for the day without having to take things out. Keeps it pretty wrinkle free, and keeps the shape of the packing cube better.
It really depends. Once everything’s in my bag it tends to all get smashed together anyway so it does depend what type of bag I’m using. I’ll either do a simple fold or just try and push things into any crevice where they fit to fill out space
I go back and forth on packing cubes depending on what else I need to bring. I’ve settled on using a top open backpack (REI Trail 25) because it carries well on my short frame (I’m under 5 feet tall). I’m on a trip now (two bags, because my knitting is too large to shove in one) and I actually just folded them about the size of the base of my backpack, put them in disposable plastic grocery bags, and squished it in my bag to compress it as much as possible. Then other items can be stuffed on top more easily. Nothing fancy really, and I agree with the other comments saying that it all eventually gets chaotic enough by the end of a trip (at least for me) that agonizing over folding at the beginning doesn’t end up serving me in the end.
I've tried flat and rolled (not sure what marikon means to you). For me, rolling small things like underwear worked well, but for a t-shirt or larger flat was better for volume, and things come out looking better. Inevitably rolling creates rumples and wrinkles inside the roll and that is inefficient.
That's what I did before packing cubes, and since my Great Revelation and Conversion to Packing Cubes (it was a HUGE Ah-Ha moment for me) the same principles still apply tho I fold shirts a little differently. Drawers in my dresser at home - Marie Kondo folded 'packets' but there are more things to "pack" and more space there.
I like to make rolls of t-shirt, underwear, and socks. The socks are rolled so the open end sticks out and can be folded over the roll to keep it rolled. Same for sleep shirt and shorts, long sleeves of my sleep shirt are used to keep the roll. Then I can just grab a roll and leave the rest packed.
Assuming you're using a standard suitcase, the Konmari fold is the deal. It's easy to fold things so they fit "just right". It keeps everything "standing up straight", so things arrive still nicely folded, and you can fit SO MUCH into a suitcase.
Rolling for me but more because it prevents wrinkles rather than it being any more space saving - I feel that rolling saved space but the weight remains the same, so I end up trying to aim for a loosely packed bag to save my back. This raises more issues though of how to keep clothes rolled up in a loose backpack - I end up using some elastic bands to keep rolled clothes organised/a day pack as my packing cube.
I think you should try various methods and see what works best for you. Methods are dependent on the bag, your clothes and the type of trip you are making. Questions to consider: 1) will you stay at one place or multiple places? 2) Will you have the opportunity to unpack and hang your clothes? 3) How much time will you have in your room? 3) How much tolerance will you have for things like unpacking and repacking?
These variables can influence your packing methods.
I always roll knits, underwear, socks, sweaters.
I sometimes fold pants and collared shirts but usually roll them.
I use packing cubes for the organizational benefits.
I use materials that are not wrinkle prone.
I very rarely use the bundle method unless I’m staying at one place and can hang everything up-ex: going to a friends or relatives place.
Things like ranger roll, Konmari, putting a rubber band around your rolled clothes etc. are cute but don’t really make any real difference. But if they are enjoyable for you then go for it.
If you are running out of space and have to get really creative with your packing then you either need a bigger bag and/or you are not packing light enough.
Don’t fold, roll.
Ok, but how do you roll?
Look up the Ranger Roll
Do you roll collared shirts too?
Yes
This is the only correct answer
It depends. Rolling jeans or sweaters actually takes up more room than folding. Rolling things like t-shirts or polo shirts save some space. Depending on the item you can either roll them, fold them or lay them flat and they'll compress when you close the bag. I actually found that laying my packable rain jacket on the bottom of the bag and putting my cubes on top of it saves space compared to actually packing it into itself, for example.
Honestly, one everything is in your bag, everything smushes together anyway. So I think the way you fold it doesn't make as much difference as you might hope if you keep all your clothes together.
Not folding and just putting it in any small holes you see probably takes up the least amount of space.
Agreed. Don’t leave gaps. I carry crocs to wear to the beach or as shower shoes despite the bulk. However I find my socks fit perfectly in them so that decreases the wasted space.
It does. You just explained why cubes are bad for someone who prioritizes weight or size.
I do either bundle (as shown on the OneBag website) or roll-up, depending on the clothes and what I'm packing them.
On YouTube I was convinced by an experiment where the clothes were folded together around each other like a bundle. Thing is.. it’s not realistic once you have worn some things, some are dirty etc.
Going out, don’t tightly pack your bag.
Somehow, as you travel things take up more space. You might have a bag with dirty clothes for example.
If you’re moving from place to place a lot, you will spend time just trying to get everything to fit perfectly again.
There should be room. So you can fit a jacket etc.
I do a mix of konmari and rolling. Fold into 3rds and roll
This is exactly what I do. I find rolling leaves too many gaps. I tried packing cubes, but they just didn't work well with my 30L top loading pack. So now it's a konmari-ranger roll hybrid, and I stick them in my hydration/laptop sleeve or a zipped pouch.
Same. I do a hybrid as well depending on whether I'm using cubes and what cubes. I find ranger rolls don't work well with compression cubes so I konmari when using those
I find this very dependent on the structure of the bag you’re using and the type/material of clothing you’re packing. Best to just test it to determine which method. For example if I was taking thin, moisture wicking athletic clothes to Costa Rica, I roll. But when I went to Hokkaido Japan in winter and had a combo of layering pieces and some heavier items, some were rolled, some were flat. I don’t always use packing cubes, but if I’m doing a multi leg trip, I’ll use cubes more so for organization and ease of grabbing a specific “set” of clothing out for each leg.
The only reason I have for packing more than one shirt forces me to bundle wrap. Not wrinkling is more important than fitting more stuff to me.
I fold my stuff to be exactly the shape of my packing cube, and the stack them, I try to alternate things so I can just pick stuff off the top for the day without having to take things out. Keeps it pretty wrinkle free, and keeps the shape of the packing cube better.
Roll your clothes and use a hair tie to keep them rolled, then tetris your way up your bag.
Either that or lasagna layer your clothes, depends on your bag and if wrinkles matter much or nah
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It really depends. Once everything’s in my bag it tends to all get smashed together anyway so it does depend what type of bag I’m using. I’ll either do a simple fold or just try and push things into any crevice where they fit to fill out space
The 3-cube set of BUBM packing cubes for the carry-on tech backpack, and the Thule ripstop packing cubes for the checked bag, if/when I use one.
I go back and forth on packing cubes depending on what else I need to bring. I’ve settled on using a top open backpack (REI Trail 25) because it carries well on my short frame (I’m under 5 feet tall). I’m on a trip now (two bags, because my knitting is too large to shove in one) and I actually just folded them about the size of the base of my backpack, put them in disposable plastic grocery bags, and squished it in my bag to compress it as much as possible. Then other items can be stuffed on top more easily. Nothing fancy really, and I agree with the other comments saying that it all eventually gets chaotic enough by the end of a trip (at least for me) that agonizing over folding at the beginning doesn’t end up serving me in the end.
I bundle wrap around a cube that holds underwear, socks etc
Onebag is how I learned of bundle wrapping
https://www.onebag.com/popups/bundle.html
I've tried flat and rolled (not sure what marikon means to you). For me, rolling small things like underwear worked well, but for a t-shirt or larger flat was better for volume, and things come out looking better. Inevitably rolling creates rumples and wrinkles inside the roll and that is inefficient.
That's what I did before packing cubes, and since my Great Revelation and Conversion to Packing Cubes (it was a HUGE Ah-Ha moment for me) the same principles still apply tho I fold shirts a little differently. Drawers in my dresser at home - Marie Kondo folded 'packets' but there are more things to "pack" and more space there.
I like to make rolls of t-shirt, underwear, and socks. The socks are rolled so the open end sticks out and can be folded over the roll to keep it rolled. Same for sleep shirt and shorts, long sleeves of my sleep shirt are used to keep the roll. Then I can just grab a roll and leave the rest packed.
Assuming you're using a standard suitcase, the Konmari fold is the deal. It's easy to fold things so they fit "just right". It keeps everything "standing up straight", so things arrive still nicely folded, and you can fit SO MUCH into a suitcase.
Rolling for me but more because it prevents wrinkles rather than it being any more space saving - I feel that rolling saved space but the weight remains the same, so I end up trying to aim for a loosely packed bag to save my back. This raises more issues though of how to keep clothes rolled up in a loose backpack - I end up using some elastic bands to keep rolled clothes organised/a day pack as my packing cube.
I think you should try various methods and see what works best for you. Methods are dependent on the bag, your clothes and the type of trip you are making. Questions to consider: 1) will you stay at one place or multiple places? 2) Will you have the opportunity to unpack and hang your clothes? 3) How much time will you have in your room? 3) How much tolerance will you have for things like unpacking and repacking?
These variables can influence your packing methods.
I always roll knits, underwear, socks, sweaters. I sometimes fold pants and collared shirts but usually roll them. I use packing cubes for the organizational benefits. I use materials that are not wrinkle prone.
I very rarely use the bundle method unless I’m staying at one place and can hang everything up-ex: going to a friends or relatives place.
Things like ranger roll, Konmari, putting a rubber band around your rolled clothes etc. are cute but don’t really make any real difference. But if they are enjoyable for you then go for it.
If you are running out of space and have to get really creative with your packing then you either need a bigger bag and/or you are not packing light enough.
Roll leggings and T-shirts; Konmari sweaters, hoodies, hockey jerseys; flat fold jeans
I lay all the similar things together and roll them as a unit.
Three months of travel in a carry on, and I’m a little on the plus size.
it depends on what u rolling, some cubes can be compressed.