Fact: Dust Bags Are the Answer to All Your Packing Problems

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published 28 July 2016

If your packing style is returning home from an Iggy Pop concert at 2 a.m. and not-so-soberly crawling around your room throwing everything *but* underwear into a weekender (opens in new tab), literally same. Why are we like this? Nobody knows, but there *is* an antidote, and it maybe involves pulling the trigger on the Mansur Gavriel Volume clutch (opens in new tab) you check on every day like it's a Tamagotchi. 😬

Given our shared interest in procrastination and forgetting the essentials, we would do well to remember that dust bags, those drawstring pouches that usually come free with leather goods purchases, are god's gift to girls who would rather scream the lyrics to "Lust for Life" than plan their vacation outfits the night before. This is because dust bags are the key ingredient in the Compartmentalization Method, which, in turn, is the key ingredient to always being ready to go (opens in new tab).

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Case in point: Eva Chen, who rotates Paco Rabanne bucket bags and different apples every day but somehow still manages to keep her belongings straight. How? Keep the one-offs (wallet, keys, etc.) in designated pouches, and only move the pouches when you switch purses. (No dumping things back and forth.) She may rely on furry-browed Sophie Hulme clutches (opens in new tab), but you could easily do the same with Cuyana (opens in new tab) or Glossier (opens in new tab) or the titular dust bags, which, again, you already own. For trips, bring a larger one for laundry, keep your shoes separate in a few others, and roll up a few extras to stuff in any empty spaces in case you acquire souvenirs. (Or receipts. Always receipts.)

It may feel a bit shallow (but also really chic) to derive satisfaction from having a suitcase organized by Proenza and Chloé and Loewe, but then again, maybe it's just finally getting what they mean when they say "a place for everything, and everything in its place."

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Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at MarieClaire.com. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.