After deciding to sell my home of 27 years and taking the funds to have a self-sustained home in the mountains built in September of 2019, while traveling frequently to help care for my mother with metastatic breast cancer and all the details and planning that go with having both your son and daughter get married four months apart in large weddings; I am all too familiar with what it’s like to spend months living out of a suitcase with everything else you own in storage. So, I’ve decided to pass on some of my tips for keeping organized in a chaotic situation for anyone else who may be a temporary vagabond.

Assign Each Case a Purpose

In my case, I have a large briefcase for my office items which contain all of my paperwork for my home build process, my laptop, bills, and cords and adapters. For my bathroom, I assigned an old backpack with lots of pockets and space to organize my lotions and potions from my feminine care or hair care products. I use yet another backpack for my shoes, and a pilot’s sized expandable suitcase with outer pockets. With proper folding and organizing, I can fit a month’s worth of clothes into a case this size without wrinkling them. Below are a few tips for choosing and packing your travel bags.

  • Pockets and Expansion – Probably your biggest friend when living out of a suitcase are expandable luggage, and bags with lots of pockets. If you pack what you start out within the inner portion of these types of travel cases without using the expansion and pockets, you provide yourself with extra space for future items.
  • Wheels and Handles – Luggage is heavy and a source for potential back injuries. However, cases with substandard wheels, too short of pull handles, or poorly balanced structural engineering that causes the suitcase to fall over when being transported are equally as dangerous. Choose stable luggage that rolls well when fully loaded and fits your height.
  • Sort, Tuck, and Roll – When packing sort what you are going to take into actual outfits. This provides a more realistic image of how much you are taking by breaking things into daily use. Make use of every square inch of real estate within the large compartment, sucking lightweight or smaller items into nooks and crannies, roll tank tops and t-shirts to prevent wrinkling and use them to fill in between larger or heavier fabric items and stagger rather than layer bulkier items. If you do this you will double or even triple what your suitcase can contain.
  • Pack Light to Prepare for Accumulation – It’s tempting to pack everything you own, but the reality is half of what you pack won’t get used, and you’ll be buying more luggage to carry all those items you purchase or accumulate along your journey.
  • Think TSA – To avoid having to repack every time you need to go out of town, pack according to TSA guidelines. This will save you time and frustration getting through security.

Whatever your reason for needing to be a temporary vagabond, Browning Park Mini Storage has got you covered when it comes to storing your belongings.