10 Dollar Tree Travel Hacks That Completely Changed How I Pack!

Okay, be honest, do you love traveling but hate packing? Me too. I used to just chuck everything into my suitcase. It was so full. Trying to wrangle it closed was always a challenge. Then finding everything when I arrived at my destination was also a challenge. But over the years, I have learned some simple and budget-friendly Dollar Tree hacks to pack my suitcase like a pro. I'm going to be traveling this month, so I thought it'd be fun to share with you these hacks that you can make your packing easier too. You know those fancy packing cubes that everybody swears by? They've become so popular. You categorize all of your items for your suitcase and put them inside. Well, I have a more budget-friendly hack for this. You can purchase the Dollar Tree Mesh Laundry Bags. They're $1.75 each here in Canada. So budget-friendly, they come in a pack of three. And rather than those packing cubes, you can use these instead. So I like to categorize everything by type. I put all of my socks, underwear, swimsuits, and pajamas in one. And then I put my t-shirts in the other and my pants and skirts in the last one. I usually roll up all my items and place them inside. Everything is nice and neat and organized in my suitcase. The mesh bags keep everything nice and compact. And then when you get to your hotel or your Airbnb, everything is so much easier to find. I also like to pack an extra mesh bag in my suitcase for dirty laundry to bring home. It's like a nice organized mini closet in my suitcase, and it leaves more room for all the fun stuff, right? Like some home decor finds I might find on the travels and some fun little souvenirs. Confession time. I used to just chuck my jewelry into my suitcase and I always thought, oh, it's going to be fine. But then when I got to my destination, it was usually tangled. I couldn't find one earring. Always a mess. So this Dollar Tree hack has helped me so much. I love these snack containers from Dollar Tree. I've used them for gifts and all sorts of organization projects. And they are perfect for travel too. What I love about these is that they have three different compartments, the top, the bottom, and this little container in the middle. You can put smaller items like earrings in one of the larger sides. You can put your charging cords, which I also like to have handy. I find those usually get tangled up. So I have my phone charging cord and my Fitbit charging cord in mine. And then in the other side, you can place necklaces. This connects together so nicely and you can pop it in your carry on or your personal item. No more digging through my suitcase, looking for that lost earring. Everything is here. I'm safe. This is one of those hidden gems that looks so simple, but it's actually really smart. This Dollar Tree 4-in-1 travel container set is perfect for keeping all of your hair essentials organized without taking up a ton of space. I love how it has four bottles and the top lid keeps everything together. So in these, I pack my shampoo, my conditioner, my body wash, and my hair gel. And then I don't have to carry giant bottles and everything is the perfect size for travel. And bonus tip, if you're not big on hair products, you can use these for lotion, sunscreen, face wash. It's pretty much a DIYers dream for saving space and avoiding spills. If you love to bring an extra pair of shoes on your travels and you want to keep everything else clean, this next hack is for you. I love this one. I always like to bring a pair of extra shoes. So usually I'll wear my runners to the airport and some socks, and then I'll bring my sandals to enjoy at the beach. You can use a Dollar Tree shower cap. You can buy a whole pack of these at Dollar Tree for $1.75 and simply flip one over each shoe. This is going to keep your suitcase nice and clean and protect everything in your suitcase from whatever is on the bottom of your shoes. Practical, easy, and budget-friendly. All of my favorite things. You know how I love organizing everything in little bins, boxes, and compartments. This is another one of my favorite hacks for travel. You can find pill cases at Dollar Tree or this one, which I like is actually from Amazon. And rather than using them for pills and vitamins, you can use these for skincare. I find that bringing all of my even small bottles of skincare on my vacation takes up a lot of room. It's hard to close my toiletry bag when I have all of these. So I just put the amount that I think I'm going to need for the week into each of these pill compartments. Now, I have my own system where I know which is which, but you might want to label yours. I put serum in one of them, moisturizer, sunscreen, face cleanser, and I even put some foundation in one. And then I don't have to bring all of my big bottles. Everything stays super neat. The pill containers close really nicely and seal well, and I don't have to bring so much stuff. Okay, hear me out. These sheet grippers are not just for sheets. You can use them for traveling as well. What I like to do with these is use them to hold my bulkier clothing items in rolls. So for example, if I'm bringing a hoodie or a sweatshirt, I fold that up, roll that up. It doesn't necessarily stay like this very well in my suitcase or my bag. So you can use one of these sheet grippers from Dollar Tree and just simply pull it around the roll and then attach one of the ends to the other. These act like mini compression straps so that you can fit even more in your suitcase with these. Plus, they are double duty, which I love. So if you are at a hotel or an Airbnb where the fitted sheet comes up, you can use them to hold on your fitted sheets as well. I love this next one because it is super simple. Classic DIYer using something simple for a much better purpose. You can find either shower rings or carabiners at Dollar Tree. And what I like to do with them when I travel is simply slip one over my backpack strap and then hook my water bottle onto it. That way I don't have to carry my water bottle around. It's hooked onto my backpack and it's really easy to access. You could also use a shower ring or a carabiner for other items to hook to your backpack or personal item like your hat, sunglasses, or even a smaller pouch. Okay, if you love snacks like I do, this is a must. And let's face it, the snacks in the airport and definitely on the plane are usually not that great. We're going back to this amazing Dollar Tree snack container again. I like to fill mine with some salsa or some guacamole in the middle, some tortilla chips on one side and some fresh fruit on the other for a snack that I can enjoy in the airport or on the airplane. And like all of these hacks, just make sure to check to see what's allowed and what's not allowed on your carry-on where you live. Now these tiny travel containers from Dollar Tree might seem like they're only for skincare or hair care, but I've got a fun DIY twist. I use them to create my own mini first aid kit, which I find that we use a lot, especially when we travel as a family. So inside one of these, you can put everything from band-aids to pain relievers, and everything fits perfectly inside. And if you're crafty like me, you could also use one of these for a mini sewing kit. So you can place things inside like thread, needles, buttons, safety pins, just in case you have any wardrobe issues when you're traveling. It's a small, super budget-friendly way to be prepared for absolutely anything, because let's be honest, you never know what's going to happen when you travel. When you're either going to need first aid supplies or a needle and thread when you're on the go. Now here is one of my favorite things at Dollar Tree. I could not believe it when I found these a little while ago. They are vacuum sealed bags. So you can get a ton of clothing in one of these. These are absolutely magic if you have bulky items that you want to bring on your trip. I put my dresses and my robe in here. So what I do is I unzip the top of the vacuum seal bag, fold up my dresses just like this, and place them inside. Then I zip up the top of the bag. It's essentially your classic zipper top bag. And then open up the valve right here. Now the instructions on these say to use a vacuum to suck out the air, but of course we're not going to always have a vacuum available when we travel. So what I do is simply fold the bag and push that air out. Then I fold it again, continue pushing, fold it one last time and push all the air out. And then I add the cap back onto the valve. Usually I can get most of the air out and look at how compressed this is. And I can easily fit two maxi dresses and my travel robe in my suitcase using this vacuum seal bag. You could also bring an extra one of these in your suitcase if you want to do some souvenir or home decor shopping and you want to be able to fit even more in your suitcase. Now my suitcase is packed, ready to go. I was able to fit all of my items for an entire week in this small carry-on suitcase and my personal item. I'm so excited to be traveling this month. And I hope that these Dollar Tree hacks help you when you're traveling next to be able to pack in a budget-friendly and organized way. If you love Dollar Tree organization, you've got to check out this video. I'm going to leave for you right here. I'm sharing so many more easy, simple Dollar Tree organization hacks that you can use in your home to make it extra organized on a budget this year.