So you know what to pack but exactly how do you pack? That’s one of the challenges when it comes to efficiently packing a single carry-on bag. But it’s so much easier than you think, but only if you do it in the right order.

Travel season is here and if you’re jetting off soon, the tips below will help you occupy every inch in your bag and skip the checked baggage counter and those fees.

But first, refer to this post on exactly what to pack {Fashion Hacks to Make Travel Easier and Your Bags Lighter}. Now that you know what to pack, it’s all about how to pack. These tips are the best ways to layer, stack, wrap, roll and stuff your carry-on for maximum storage.

Shoes on the Bottom
The order in which you pack your bag is a major key. This can mean the difference between fitting a few days worth of clothes and a week+ worth of outfits. Shoes take up serious space in your bag, especially if you have sneakers or heels. Instead of packing them last, use them as the base of your bag. And if you want to keep your dirty shoes from mingling with your clean clothes, placing your kicks in a shower is a sanitary and cheap solution!

Stuff Your Shoes
Speaking of shoes, don’t let the space inside of them go to waste. But turn it into extra storage. I like to stuff socks or a bag of accessories into sneakers. You can also store your extra eyeglass case in here. Bottom line: you can’t really control the amount of space shoes take up, so make them work for you, by utilizing them as storage.

Roll and Tuck
You’ve probably heard this advice so many times, so I won’t go in depth, but it’s so important that it’s worth mentioning again. While you might not think rolling vs folding clothing can make a difference in space, it really does. So just roll your clothes. And don’t just loosely roll. Really roll them as tightly as possible and layer them in your bag, with one item stuffed tightly next to the other and keep doing this until your first row is complete. You really want to make sure everything is in a nice tight row, because if there’s too much space between, the tight rolls that you made will just loosen up. Also, I would suggest rolling your underwear. Sometimes they’re a last thought, but these can take up space too if not rolled properly.

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Fill In the Spaces
So now that your shoes are at the bottom and your clothes are in a nice rolled layer, it’s time to fill in the gaps. This includes a thin belt, pair of undies you forgot to roll or maybe a silky top or bikini bottom. No matter how tightly and efficiently you roll, there’s always a crevice you can fill. Maximize that space with any and everything that might fit!

Limit Toiletries
Finally, besides overpacking clothes, sometimes {many times!} women tend to overpack beauty products and these can take up major space! You already know about transferring your face wash, lotion and more into small travel size containers, but sometimes those 3 ounce tubes are even too big! If you’re only going away for less than a week, try using contact lens cases for the products you only need a dime size amount of {face wash, night cream, spot treatments, etc.}. A few squirts of the product into a contact lens case is enough to keep you covered. You can find these at any drugstore or dollar store.

If you don’t need to carry a lot of makeup, just use the contact lens case trick for your foundation and concealer. Also, I love this hack from Cosmo for your eyeshadow or blush. Just use a Q-tip. Swab it on to the pigmented shadow or blush, store in a Ziploc bag and then swipe over your skin when you’re ready to use. So much better than carrying your blush or eyeshadow compacts.

These simple, easy tips can really help you maximize space when packing your carry-on bag.

Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4