apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Travel light and you won't need a rolling bag. Wheeled bags are a self-fulfilling prophecy: the wheel/handle mechanism adds weight and bulk to the bag, which makes it harder to carry. But if you use lightweight, soft-sided luggage and pack relatively light, you won't need wheels.

Smallish soft-sided bags can easily go under the bed or in a dresser drawer (in both cases, stuffed with out-of-season clothes, guest linens, or other stuff you don't use regularly).

I have a large, large soft sided suitcase I used on my wedding/honeymoon.

It's big enough for an average sized adult to fold up into, I put all my other bags, totes and backpacks into it and it sits in the back of my largest closet.

If I got rid of it, I'd have to find a place for my other bags.

I use my luggage to store out-of-season clothing and put it on the upper shelves of my closet. It's not easy to get stuff down from there, so I get more mileage using the space for items I'm not going to use for a while (like the winter coat that I'm desperately hoping to confine to storage by the end of the month!). As long as the clothing is folded neatly, it's a tidy storage solution.

When I need to use the luggage, I just leave the out-of-season clothing stacked on top of my bed. It's a good reminder to unpack immediately when I get back from my trip, and to put everything away again.

I also use mine to store smaller bags and extra sheets and blankets. Mine is a rolling bag that is acceptable as a carry on but is actually a bit too unwieldy for that. It lives in the corner of a spare bedroom behind the door (usually open).

It's too big to go under a bed or in the closet, and I do have a downstairs storage closet, but it's too big of a PIA to store something in there that I need on a regular basis b/c the building manager has to unlock the door.

I lived in an apartment with 0 closets (literally!) so luggage was used to store out of season clothing and seldom used purses and shoes. Then I tucked them behind a large chair so they'd be out of sight.

I store a carry-on filled with some Christmas knick-knacks inside a larger roller suitcase, with sheets in between the two. My large backpack from my globetrotting days (after one experience trying to get giant rolling bags up the stairs of a London Tube station, I will only use backpacks abroad) compresses easily and goes under the bed.

buy luggage that can be stored inside each other like russian dolls. i have 2 suitcases, a rolling tote, & a backpack in my closet.

i don't really trust the basement storage. all four apts can get to everything.

I bought some vintage samsonite luggage. I put the suitcase next to my dresser. It's both decorative and holds the things I always forget to bring on a trip: swimsuits, swim excessories, baggie with sunblock and mosquito spray, earplugs, sleep mask, cell phone charger, etc.

I'm lucky that i have a spac ein the basement. Actually one , let's called it "big walk-in-closet" comes with each appartment in my building. Only the inhabitant of the appartment has the keys to his storage and the front door which leads to the basement. So, my luggages are stored in there, along with a lot of other things (junk?!). Will have to sort through that, too, but first i'll do the kitchen!

I actually have the luggage in the picture. I use it to store my lingere and tights.

Get a high bed that only requires a mattress (no box springs) and there's plenty of room underneath for suitcases. For example, the beds from Room and Board. Most people do their packing with the suitcase on the bed, right? So it's right underneath when you need it.

Failing that, if you're short on closet space, a neat way to make a closet is to put a decorative screen in one corner of a room, then stow items behind it. Also keeps a messy little home office or vanity table out of sight. One friend has made two such corner alcoves in her large bedroom, charmed up with items like scarves and boas artfully tossed over the screens.

I've had the wheeled luggage that took up just way too much space in my closet and got rid of it. I moved on to a soft carry on that when not in use I can fold completely flat and store in a small corner of a shelf in the closet.

Just a note about packing on the bed...yeah, it's easy, but think about how potentially gross that could be. Who knows what you're luggage has touched?

I'm always tempted to do it (just like a automatically want to set my purse on the kitchen table or on my bed), but then I think of all the germy stuff the outside of my purse touches every day.

And imagine your shoes! All those nasty germs. Maybe you should store those in the luggage. They could trap all the stuff that's trying to get out and do you in.

I keep my luggage on the top shelf of a beautifully-lined cedar closet. I put stuff in them so they serve a purpose, then when I come back from my travels (usually Southeast Asia, Europe, South America or Rockford) I have all this crap on the bed I have to reload into the suit cases and hoist back up into my unbelievably gorgeous closet. Did I mention my closet could hold a Porsche?

I got this suitcase in orange: http://www.heys.ca/xcasexl/main.html it’s amazing!

I keep toys that I make in it- and when I go to shows I just bring it along. Because it’s so light, and attractive I use it more than other luggage I’ve had. I even bring it to over-night excursions. When I’m not using it, it sits in my closet. And I don’t mind seeing it when I open the door. No lie, it’s less then 5 pounds.

I used to buy vintage suitcases and use them as tables and storage. They looked fabulous! But old suitcases are so hard to carry around. I ended up always checking my bag at the airport (pain).

i leave my gigantor suitcase in my boyfriends basement.

Being the owner of a rather small bedroom, I take advantage of my suitcases and keep any out of season clothing in them. They fit right under my bed for perfectly handy storage!

Until recently, I slept on a futon with a frame that folded in 3 places along the narrow axis. This made it very easy to lift up the end and store all kinds of things under it - from luggage, to fans in the winter, butterfly chairs I had no place for, even a kitchen table with the legs unscrewed. So convenient and easily accessible I took to calling it my root cellar.

Wonderfull idea to store unused blankets in luggage - I was having some trouble figuring out where to put them while keeping them clean.