How to Pack a Carry-On Like Someone Who Has Suffered

I have not checked a bag on a leisure trip in six years. I have also not had an airline lose my luggage in six years. These are related facts.

Buy one (1) good carry-on. Hardside spinner, 22 inches, expandable. The expandable zipper is a lifeline on the way home. Don't cheap out — the wheels are the first thing to die and the only thing you actually care about.

Packing cubes. Three of them. One for tops, one for bottoms, one for underwear and socks. This is not a hack, it's a religion. You will never dig through a suitcase again.

The 5-4-3-2-1 rule for a week: 5 pairs of socks/underwear, 4 tops, 3 bottoms, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 jacket. Wear the bulky stuff on the plane. Layer. Re-wear bottoms; nobody is keeping track but you.

Toiletries in a clear quart bag, ready to slide out. Don't be the person at security holding up the line because their shampoo is at the bottom of a backpack. We see you. We are quietly furious.

One outfit in your personal item. Underwear, a t-shirt, leggings or shorts. If anything goes wrong, you can survive 24 hours. This has saved my entire honeymoon, once.

Roll, don't fold. Yes, really. It fits more, wrinkles less, and looks less like a guilty laundry pile.

Leave 20% empty. Either you'll buy something, or you'll be smug on the way home about how easily everything fits. Either way, you win.