Hi all, I've recently been walking to work to get a change of scenery and fit a little bit more exercise in the day. The problem I'm having is getting my clothes to make it safely work. I would walk to work in what I wear all day, which is dress pants and a dress shirt, but with the rainy weather, I fear they wouldn't make it. I've got a couple of shirts and one pair of pants that I can fold up and put in a backpack that make it there without coming out all wrinkled. But this results in me only being able to walk a couple of days of the week. Does anyone have any advice on how to pull this off with the rest of my business casual clothing? I use a Level 3 Assault backpack shown here http://www.cheaperthandirt.net/PACK121-1.html
Maybe a vacuum storage bag? Possibly you might want to include a cut piece of cardboard or the like in the bag as a stiffener. Depends on how much effort you want to put in each night getting ready for the next day, I would think.
One of these - fold up everything per the directions inside, pack, lots fewer wrinkles http://www.eaglecreek.com/packing_solutions/packing_folders/Pack-It-Folder-18-41069/
Oh, I forgot about those! I have one somewhere from when I had to wear dress clothes to work. They work well. Good call, Doc.
+1 these are great. The only thing I would caution is they are less than ideal if your clothes have to look crisp like they just came off the steam press/
I also agree that these are great for keeping business clothes compact and relatively wrinkle-free. Another alternative depends on your situation at work -- if you have an office or locker at work, you can drop off your business clothes at work when you drive into work at the beginning of the week, walk to/from work during the week, and then pack them home at the end of the week. I have several friends that cycle to work and they do this routinely.
I've been looking at one of these: http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/departments/-specialty-shops/travel-clothes-and-luggage/bags-and-luggage/35638.aspx?feature=product_13 I recently learned that I have so much other stuff that I carry in my backpack that I might have to carry clothes in something like one of these. Still deciding .......
Thanks for the ideas guys. I was afraid of having to bring in extra clothes on Monday as that requires a little bit extra planning aside from having to lug around clothes on a hanger, but that idea did cross my mind. I like the pack it folder is more what I'm looking for. I don't mind if they don't come out perfect, I don't iron my clothes anyways. But as long as it doesn't look like it was shoved into a backpack. I'm going to take some measurements on my bagspace when I get home to see if it would fit. I also love the One Night Stand idea, although more for weekend trips rather than this idea.
Eagle Creek is good, but by default leave an extra set of clothes at work nicely folded, rotate the clothes once a month or when you do drive in due to weather. I keep mine in 2 vertical folders, 2 inch capcity, in plastic bags in the back of one of my file cabinet drawers.
I've had pretty good luck folding my clothes and the rolling them up.....if neatly rolled, they seem to stay somewhat wrinkle-free. The idea to stage a few clean outfits at work is a good one. I do this at the club where I play golf.....if I'm smelling funky after a round it' nice to have a shower and put on a change of clothes. Nate
I just packed up my wife's Tom Bihn Aeronaut for a 8 day trip to Ukraine. I used this method: http://thisguylovestoparty.com/the-rational-packing-method-how-to-pack-your-clothes-for-light-travel/ She told me that amazingly there were no wrinkles when she unpacked there. We were able to also maximize every square inch in the bag vs taking it up and adding more weight with cubes, folding boards, etc...
i have the duluth overnight roll up bag... it's awesome for shirts. Only problem i run into is that my trousers/slacks are too long for the bag. I'm 5'11" and wear a 32 inseam... bag must be like 30 inches long or something, have to fold or roll the legs. but aside from that, does a great job of keeping clothes looking good. the side shoe bag and toiletries kit are nice, too.
I've been using the folding method linked by 1holegrouper. Thanks for that link. It's a bit different with dress shirts as I have to fold them around the collar and I certainly don't fold them as much as the guy suggests. But I do take a large ziplock back and use that to keep it in place, making sure all the air is out of the bag before sealing it. The L3 assault backpack I use (linked in my original post) is much more of a 'flat stuff' kind of backpack so this method works perfect for me when I keep it nice and flat in the bag. I think I'd invest in the overnight bag if I foresee myself needing something better, but for the time, this is working. My clothes come out a bit wrinkled where I folded them (I am by no means an expert at folding, but I will get better with time), but I always buy no-iron shirts, so by the time anyone else rolls into the office I'm looking like I would on any other day.
