My Mom Has Been A Flight Attendant For More Than 15 Years. Here’s How She Packs Her Suitcase.

Menu Tips + NewsPacking Tips + Gear By Aislyn Greene   •  October 21, 2026 My Mom Has Been A Flight Attendant For More Than 15 Years. Here’s How She Packs Her Suitcase. After packing and unpacking her suitcase more than 4,000 times, my flight attendant mom knows how to stay organized when traveling. Copy Link copied Facebook Pinterest Twitter Print Don’t be afraid to edit your packing list. You often need much less than what you first put in your bag.

This article was originally published in 2016 and most recently updated on October 20, 2026, with current information.

After more than 15 years as a flight attendant, my mom has packed and unpacked her suitcase more than 4,000 times. She swears by rolling her clothes, putting a tag on her bag, and carrying three travel essentials. Here are all of her tips on the best way to pack a suitcase and, most importantly, how to avoid leaving things behind.

Make a packing list, either written down or in your head. If you’re not a list person, try laying out what you think you’ll need. Then be realistic about what you’ll actually need—and pull the unnecessary items from the pile. ”Editing down the contents of your suitcase can be difficult, but it’s always best to avoid overpacking.”

Find the best suitcase that actually works for you, whether you’re committed to to packing everything in a single carry-on or are a die-hard checked suitcase person. “After more than 15 years as a flight attendant, I’ve learned to cherish bags with 360-degree rotating wheels and external pouches,” my mom intones. “Whether you’re looking for sleek carry-on luggage or a larger suitcase you can check, I’ve found that compartmentalized rolling bags are the best way to save space and travel with ease.”

When packing a suitcase, my mom swears by rolling her clothes rather than folding. “If you pack folded clothes flat in your suitcase, you may be wasting some valuable space. Rolled clothes can fit right down into the crevices of your luggage, and arranging them in packing cubes or compression bags helps you stay organized and save an incredible amount of space. Plus, I find rolling is better than folding to prevent wrinkles. You may still have to fold a couple of bulkier items (like pants), but rolling most of your clothes will help you efficiently use every nook and cranny.”

Related: 19 Travel Packing Tips From Frequent Travelers

If you have TSA PreCheck or Clear, or if you’re going through a TSA lane with a CT scanner, you won’t have to take your toiletries out of your suitcase. That’s in the U.S., though; in many other countries, you’ll need to place your bag of toiletries in bin at security, so make sure it’s easy to access.

My mom says, “I always pack three different pouches for toiletries. One holds my major shower and grooming stuff (deodorant, razor, face lotion), one holds my toothbrush and toothpaste, and one holds my makeup. This way, I can find what I need easily—plus I can quickly pack things away as I’m done with them in the morning.”

Related: How to Gift a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry Membership—for Free

Before leaving home or your hotel room, confirm that you have anything that would be difficult to replace, like glasses, any medication, your passport, etc. “My first five years as a flight attendant, I literally didn’t leave home—or my hotel—without going through my packing list. But now I just ask myself, What are the things I can’t replace or live without? For me, the necessities are my work ID, my passport, my glasses, my phone, my laptop, and my jewelry. Everything else is expendable, as much as I would hate to lose it.”

Flight attendants often arrive late and leave early, and a packing and unpacking routine means you’re less likely to forget something when you’re rushing out the door. “When I get to my hotel room—it doesn’t matter if it’s midnight or two in the afternoon—I always unpack and repack in exactly the same way,” my mom says. “For example, I keep a small dish in the external pocket of my suitcase so I can immediately take off my jewelry. I also take out my toiletry bags, phone chargers, and anything I’ll need for the next day.

“Then, when I get up in the morning, I do the reverse. As soon as I get out of bed, I unplug my phone, put the charger away, and clear off my nightstand so that I don’t have to revisit that part of the room again. I put my pajamas away before I take a shower, not after. Following this system means that I can avoid having to scrounge through my bag to ensure that I’m not forgetting anything. I’ve left one shirt behind over the years because I threw it back on the bed and I forgot to check the covers—never again.”

“I carry a specific bag for my cords and chargers. When I unpack, I take out all the chargers I need, then leave this bag on my dresser with my room key, so in the morning when I’m packing up again, I have a visual reminder: Don’t forget your phone cord.”

“Securing liquids inside a resealable or reusable plastic bag is always a good idea. I keep my toiletry bags on the top left side also so I can take them out right when I get to the hotel. No matter how much you protect liquids, every once in a while the cabin pressure gets weird and the tops pop off. Packing this way ensures that should something leak, nothing gets wet that I don’t want to get wet.

For my liquid toiletries, I use GoToob Travel Bottles (from $10), which have a nice wide mouth so that you can fill them quickly and easily. They come in multiple sizes, and they’re really soft and squishy, so they get smaller as you use them.”

More tech-forward travelers might use an Apple or Samsung luggage tracker, but my mom the flight attendant has an old-school system that works for both carry-on and checked suitcases. “So many bags look alike, so I use a ribbon to identify mine. I just buy ribbon at the fabric store or cut up an old scarf and tie it on. Sure, you can buy really neat luggage tags, but many of those even look similar! It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while, somebody does walk off with the wrong bag.”

There are three things my mom always packs: a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated on the go, a power bank, and a stain stick. “My mophie powerstation ($45) portable battery is the best thing ever. You can charge it from your laptop with your phone cord, and it holds a charge for a week or two if you don’t use it. It’s small, it’s compact, and it charges your phone so quickly.”

Note that power banks can never go in your checked luggage, and some airlines ask passengers not to put batteries in the overhead bin. My mom most essential travel accessory is tiny and indispensable: “I always, always, always have my Tide stain stick ($3.50) with me. I’ve even been able to clean red wine out of a passenger’s white coat with it. They’re amazing.”

Related: What to Do if You Get Injured or Sick While Traveling

As a flight attendant, my mom swears by rolling clothes when packing a suitcase. But when Afar staffers put both rolling and folding clothes to the test ourselves, we found that a combination of rolling and folding works best. So do whatever feels right to you.

A top-heavy suitcase will tip over. My mom puts her heavy things on the bottom left (the back side of the suitcase when it’s standing up) to keep her bag from getting top-heavy.

The easiest way to stop liquids from leaking in your suitcase is to make sure your toiletry containers are well sealed. My mom recommends GoToob Travel Bottles and puts them in a resealable bag for extra protection, and then packs her toiletry bag at the very top of her suitcase.

TSA’s liquid rule, which is followed in many other countries, is 3-1-1: 3.4-ounce (100 milliliter) liquids to be carried by one passenger in one quart-size bag (one liter internationally).

External batteries can never go in your checked-bag. Anything of value, such as jewelry, or items that would be difficult to replace, like medicine, any IDs, glasses, chargers, etc., should also go in your carry-on suitcase.

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