Travelers will always find a plethora of travel recommendations on the hottest destinations and coolest places to travel. But just as important as where youre going is what you plan on taking with you. Here youll find 15 tips for more efficient, organized, and lighter packing.

1. Create a Packing List – Before you start filling up your suitcase, sit down and create a packing list to ensure you pack everything you will need.

2. Plastic Bags – Pack everything into clear plastic bags (think Ziploc) divided by items, such as underwear, toiletries, etc. This way, your luggage will stay organized if you need to unpack at customs or airport security searches it. Also, it will keep any liquids, creams, or lotions that may leak or open while your traveling away from everything else.

3. Split up Valuables – From your passport to jewelry and cash, split up your valuables as much as you can in different pockets throughout your luggage, wallet, and purse.

4. Dont Over Pack Clothes – When it comes to clothes, it can be easy to over pack so only pack what you know you will wear and if you will be gone for more than a week, plan on doing laundry at some point.

5. Pack a Light Carry-on – Pack an extra pair of clothes and anything else you would need over night in your carry-on bag; that way, if you get stuck on a layover or your luggage is lost en route, youll have clean clothes to use in the meantime.

6. Packing Gifts – Dont bother pre-wrapping gifts; airport security will likely unwrap them.

7. Roll, Dont Fold – You can fit more clothes into a suitcase if they are rolled instead of folded. Roll them in tissue paper to reduce wrinkling.

8. Minimize Toiletries – Use travel size toiletries or even better, purchase reusable travel size containers to fill with your favorite cant-live-without items.

9. Important Info – Travel experts have long recommended keeping photocopies of important documents and contact information. To keep such details secure, save the information in a web-based email account that can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection.

10. Dirty Laundry – Pack a separate laundry bag to keep clean clothes separated from dirty laundry while on the road.

11. Pack Overnight Bags – If youll be staying overnight in several different places, consider packing smaller overnight bags in your suitcase. This way you can easily grab the overnight bag with everything you need instead of unpacking your entire suitcase.

12. Cameras and Computers – Make sure you take any film, cameras, and laptops you have in your carry-on; they may be damaged during the flight or prior security screening.