One of the biggest problems I've run into with my packing is that I run out of space quickly. Admittedly, I tend to pack a little on the heavier side. So, I've had to come up with a few ways to help save some space.
Packing Cubes
I've talked about these before; they're basically little zipper pouches that keep your clothing organized and create some compression. Obviously the more you fill them up, the more of a compression effect they will have. The organization factor is a huge bonus as well, especially if TSA has to go rifling through your bag; they'll be less likely to leave a complete mess when they're done.
Pill Containers
When you're out on the road as much as I am, it's nice to have some of the essential medications on hand like Advil and Tums and what not. You can throw all of the little bottles in your bag, but it's easier to build a little kit with everything that you want inside so that instead of having a few small bottles scattered throughout your luggage, you only have one container. It also makes it easier to grab what you need quickly if everything is in one place.
Bag Organization VS Containers
Some bags have excellent organization contained within, and some bags have only a couple big pockets. I tend to prefer bags with a lot of organization inside because I can distribute all of my little items across the smaller pockets instead of having smaller organizer pouches for everything. I obviously just advocated for packing cubes so I'm not so much talking about those. The most obvious example for me is electronics organization. I used to have a small organizer pouch that contained all of my charging cables and external battery and the like, but it was pretty bulky and ate up more space than necessary. Nowadays, I just distribute those items across the smaller pockets within my bag which saves quite a bit of space. I like pouches and organizers so this is not as fun, but they just take up too much space. Simply put another way, taking advantage of how your bags are set up internally is often the most efficient way to pack them.
Electronics
These days we have so many devices that need to be charged that it's easy to feel like you need a bunch of charging cables and power bricks and what not. One way to help with that is just to buy a multi-port power brick so you can plug in multiple devices at once. This will eliminate some of the clutter in your bag.
One super random space saving device that doesn't really fit anywhere else in this article is buying an e-reader for your books. You'll be able to bring your whole library with you in a compact device instead of needing space for each book that you want to bring.
Bring What You Need!
Kinda obvious, but just bring what you need. If you have some items in your bag that you pack all the time but never use, consider eliminating them from your load out to free up space for other items you'll actually use. I try to evaluate my load out every few trips to see if there's anything I can do to optimize what I'm bringing along.
Notes
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