Roll soft, wrinkle-resistant items

Free everyday life tip: Roll soft, wrinkle-resistant items (step 3 of 9 from "Pack a Suitcase for a Week in a Carry-On").

T-shirts, underwear, socks, pyjamas, and activewear should be rolled. Lay the item flat, fold in the sleeves if it is a shirt, then roll from the bottom hem upward into a tight cylinder. Rolled items take up 20–30% less space than folded items because you eliminate the air pockets that form between folds.

Pack rolled items vertically in a packing cube, standing upright like records in a crate. This lets you see every item at a glance when you unzip the cube, and pulling one shirt out does not disturb the others. If you lay rolls flat and stack them, you will unpack the entire cube to reach the one at the bottom.