More tips on how to pack a carry-on bag

With security increasingly tight at airports leading to delays and airlines charging more and more fees on checked-in baggage, knowing how to pack everything into a carry-on is increasingly important. Hence, a recent Forbes.com article about packing for portability is well worth reading.

According to Forbes.com, there is another reason to pack for portability: Theft or lost checked-in bags. The article noted a 2008 report from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which revealed that over a three-year period, an estimated 42,000 travelers in the USA alone have reported missing items from their luggage with a total estimated value of more than US$31 million. Missing items would include things such as clothing, jewelry, laptops and medicines and the article even quoted Doug Dyment, the creator of OneBag, a travel blog that offers advice on how to pack, as saying: "There are only two types of luggage: Carry-on luggage and lost luggage!”

Hence, here are five essential packing tips to remember before your next business trip:

• Have a packing list and consider it to be a “contract with yourself” to NOT put items into your suitcase that is not on it.
• Never travel with a suitcase that can’t also be carried instead of wheeled.
• Carrying a garment fresh from the cleaners that is still on the hanger is ok as usually it won’t be counted as an additional piece of luggage. In fact, the flight attendants will likely hang it up in front of the cabin.
• Women need to be aware of the weight of all of their products – especially cosmetics. Moreover, they should be aware of the amount of water in their products both for weight and security concerns
• Look for solid versions of liquid products. For example: Powdered toothpaste weights less than tooth paste that comes in a tube and there is less risk of it ruining your clothes should it explode or leak.

At the end of the article, Dyment noted that organization is the key as there is no secret to traveling light because all that is in your suitcase is a very large number of very small things – an excellent point worth remembering.