If you’re using vacuum bags to pack your travel items, here’s a quick tip that will get them to fit better in your suitcase!

If you’re using vacuum bags to pack your travel items, here’s a quick tip that will get them to fit better in your suitcase! 👏🏼✈️ The vacuum bags + air pump are Iinked in my shop my! I love these vacuum bags for packing bulky things like sweaters, jackets, and travel pillows + blankets! But I personally find them much more hassle than they’re worth for everyday clothing items. For those, I much prefer my compression packing cubes. But let me know which you love more! Are you team vacuum bags I’m not usually a big fan of vacuum compression bags when it comes to packing everyday clothing items. But I do really like them for bulky things like jackets or, in this case, when I’m feeling very extra and I want to bring my Lululemon blanket with me on my 52-hour train ride across the United States. So to do that, I’m gonna be using one of my small vacuum bags. So when I go to pack it in my carry-on bag, it won’t be as bulky or take up as much space. Because yes, I can pack my items in here, but you don’t have any say into what size and shape it turns into. You can see this bag came out really uneven, one side is a lot flatter than the other. I’m left trying to fit this awkward, bulky shape into a suitcase that already has a pre-defined size. One mistake that I see people making a lot with these vacuum bags is that they’re closing and compressing them outside of their suitcase, which does successfully flatten the items inside. But you don’t have any say into what size and shape it turns into. You can see this bag came out really uneven, one side is a lot flatter than the other. I’m left trying to fit this awkward, bulky shape into a suitcase that already has a pre-defined size. Ideally, I’d love to fit it in sideways. You can see it really bows out the sides of my suitcase. I’m trying to fit it into a shape that’s too big. You can see it also comes all the way up to the zippers on the side. And yes, I could turn it the other way, but this leads to a couple awkward gaps on the side of the bag. Thankfully, there is a much more effective way at fitting these vacuum cubes into your suitcase. And that’s to actually pack them in your suitcase before you even close them. So once you’ve packed your items inside, put them into your suitcase in the shape and the orientation that you want. Use your hands to fit them into any awkward nooks and crannies between the suitcase and the bag. And that’s when you use the vacuum to vacuum out all of the air that is inside. What this is going to do is it’s going to mold your vacuum bag into the exact space and size where you’re going to pack it. So it’s essentially custom fit to your suitcase. Here’s a reminder of what it looked like before. It was literally pushing out the sides of my suitcase versus how much smaller it is when I vacuum compressed it. It’s a solid rectangular brick, which also means it evenly filled out the bottom of the suitcase and wasn’t an uneven. It actually sits much shallower now versus before it came all the way up to the edge of my zipper. So just a little tip if you plan on using these vacuum bags for an upcoming trip. Like I said, I don’t use them very often. You’ll typically only see them in my pack if I’m packing a jacket or a blanket or something really bulky. Personally, I find them a little too cumbersome to manipulate for just everyday clothing items. For those, I much prefer my compression packing cubes. But everybody has their own preferences. The brand that I use linked in my store front and stay tuned to hear all about my train trip that’s coming next week.