I spend half the year living out of my suitcase.  Our home is in a tour bus rolling down the roads of the world.

When we start a tour, we fly in to an airport, and we’re generally in that city or country for just one day before the tour bus picks us up and we head out for the next city. Because of this – I like to pack my carry-on suitcase with as much essential stuff as possible, just in case the other bags get lost.

Here’s five fun tips to pack your bags the rock and roll way:

Packing Tip #1: It’s called rock and roll, it ain’t rock and fold.
Trust me on this one. Roll your clothes. It saves space and it prevents wrinkles in the cute vintage slips I love to bring on the road with me. It also keeps everything more organized, so when living out of it on the road, I don’t have to shuffle through stacks of folded clothes and mess them up again. I just see what I want on the top and pick out my neatly rolled option, throw it on and I’m good to go. Believe it or not, I was able to fit all my clothes for tour in my carry-on. TRUTH. Even in my tiny vintage Starline case, this is 7 days worth of clothes rolled in!

Packing Tip #2: These Boots Are Made For Walking.
And walk they do! My good ol’ vegan Docs have walked many a mile, adventuring from the other side of the world and back. And if you read this blog, you know that I love some out-of-the-way, throwing myself over barbed wire fences, running down alleyways and hopping abandoned trains adventures. I love every second of it, but that doesn’t mean I want the bottom of those boots all over my clothes! When I was little my Mom would snag the complimentary shower cap from the hotel bathroom and use it to put around the bottoms of shoes when we packed them. I still use this today.


Packing Tip #3: Smellin’ Delicious, Feelin’ Delicious!
I buy a slice of my fav soap, Karma from Lush and put in a mesh bag to hide in the luggage and make it smell delicious. There’s nothing that will make you feel refreshed and more at home, than opening up your suitcase at your destination and everything smells of your favorite soap. I do this trick in my drawers at home, so why not in my suitcase?

I also love to bring a vial of oil with me to freshen up my pillows in hotels or on the tour bus. I love Contessa’s wild orange oil the best (and the bottles are so cute!)

Packing Tip #4: Luggage Tags Will Save Your Life.
If you’re a seasoned traveler – you already know that buying a generic black bag will look like every other bag on the luggage carousel. So I invested in some adorable purple and very distinct luggage, but when I landed in London last time, I saw my familiar purple luggage and went to grab it. I was confused because I didn’t see my cute luggage tag, but it was definitely my bag. Or so I thought. Seconds later, a woman ran over to me and explained that she nearly grabbed my bag but saw the luggage tag and realized it wasn’t hers. We just had the same set. Thank you, Andy Wilkinson, for giving me these awesome Fluff luggage tags as a gift…lord knows I don’t want to burn anybody’s eyeballs out by seeing what’s in my luggage!

Packing Tip #5: Turn a Vintage Tin into a Portable Mini-Accessory Box.
While I can’t bring my full wardrobe on the road with me, I pack fun basics that I love (vintage slips and punk rock skinny jeans/cut up to fit t-shirts) to wash and wear again. Adding different accessory flair is what’s going to make it seem like you brought 18 suitcases with you rather than just one. To protect my accessories and keep them in one place, snag a vintage tin at a flea market or on Etsy. Throw in all your vintage pins to spice up outfits, your necklaces, sparkling costume jewels and hair flowers and you’re good to go!

The road is calling! In 18 days, we hit the road for our Kickstarter dream of REVOLVER, our feature film. I’m already rolling clothes and putting in some goodies for those of you I’ll meet along the way. Stay tuned to this blog and my Twitter to find out all the details!

If you’re going to be traveling, too, check out my How To Create a Portable Altar post
and
sneaky rock and roll tricks about what to do when you left your chargers at home.

Dish out some good road tips of your own in the comments. I’m listening!