How to Pack: Experts Share Their Secrets

by Laurel Cardone

How to Pack Tired of Schlepping?  Get Organized!

Aiming to trade your jumbo suitcase for one that's merely medium-size?  Trying to fit everything into a carry-on?  Do you always pack too much, too little, or the wrong thing -- and obsess about it?  This volume is a must-have.


Strategies that even an army general would envy

Foolproof pretrip to-do lists
The packer's #1 time-saver -- travel kits
How to arrive wrinkle-free -- it's easier than you think!
Tips for packing tricky items
Help for moms and dads
Carry-on packing -- all the secrets
How to pack for the way back
What to take no matter where you're going

How to avoid the overpacking trap
Clothing checklists for men, women, and kids
Packing checklists for every kind of trip
How to buy luggage

Essential advice on major decisions
Quality check -- how to tell the good from the bad and the merely ugly

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, How To

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Claire Binkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am done with this, I am just keeping the library copy for reference for now until I am done getting ready for my next trip.

Nevertheless, I copied out some illustrations both for reference and for muscle memory.

It's so exciting to imagine preparing for the next unknown.

Edit: I didn't consider that it might be out-of-date, which some of the other reviewers commented, but that's just what happens sometimes when a book sits on a shelf for a while.

[Michele Cacano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some decent ideas for packing lists and a few good tips, .mostly useful for new or infrequent travelers. But so out of date! Skip most of the plane travel stuff, it's just not accurate. It is kind of nostalgic to be reminded of things from the past, though.... film canisters, food serves on airlaines, free checked luggage (unlimited! Wha..? Was this ever a thing?)...

[Alyssa Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay, got some good tips, but kind of boring, and I knew most of it anyway.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen a couple reviews say this is outdated, but then again, it's never too late to read a reminder to pack your toothbrush.

This has a couple of other helpful tidbits like international pin configurations, which you never really think about until you're trying to put something designed for one country into another's outlet, and a couple more things. I had to buy a converter in the thick of things. (I don't even know where it is right now, but by the time I'm out of the country again, this will get resolved.)

I appreciated all the easy-to-photocopy checklists and readily-redrawn charts plainly laying out how to do it.

In the back there are a few blank pages labeled Packing List you can also photocopy, if you'd like.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has not aged gracefully at all. Even so, it tries to take on too much and fails at its stated goal of helping people pack. It will be utterly bewildering for someone who has never done anything and laughable for someone who has gone on just a few short trips. The only reason this didn't get the one star it deserves is there were a few small points it brought up that could be valuable to anyone. Yet these good points were so surrounded by poor advice that it really negated anything. You are much better off asking other travelers pacing advice than reading this book.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok book - a few good pointers I haven't thought about like photocopying passports and important docs to leave at home with loved ones. Book is outdated though - I believe my version was written in 80s.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose I've had this one on my tbr shelf for a good long time, but pulled it out now given covid's retreat. Somehow the idea of travel isn't as seductive as it once was but if it was, Cardone gives packing instructions for every possible kind of travel.

[Sean Evans]

How To Pack by Cardone (1997)

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Pack by Laurel Cardone (1997)

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This edition, published in 2003, provides some great packing tips, but is seriously out of date in regards to airline travel.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to have a quick read before packing for a trip!

[Becki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good in terms of helping you choose a new suitcase or create packing lists. Not so helpful in helping you cram a month's worth of clothes into one suitcase and one carryon lol

[Cathy Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

lots of good advice; the chapter on luggage selection a little long and repeatative; folding diagrams very good