The average American woman has eight pairs of shoes. The average man has three.
If you’re like me, you have far more than that. And if you’re traveling, those numbers can get even higher!
How To Travel With Multiple Shoes
I’ve been toting the same purse for years and years. But when it comes to my shoes, I have no qualms about buying new ones and tossing out the old. I always travel with at least two pairs of shoes — one dressier pair, and one casual pair. But sometimes I need more than that — especially when traveling long-term or if I’m going somewhere cold or rainy.
Here are some tips on how to pack multiple pairs of shoes:
Traveling with multiple shoes is a little bit like packing for a multi-week trip. You have to think about what you’re going to wear, what you won’t wear, and how much space it’s going to take up. If you’re not careful, you’ll wind up with a bag full of clothes that you never end up wearing.
The best way to avoid this problem is to pack strategically and be ruthless when it comes time to decide what goes in your suitcase and what stays behind.
I’m going to show you how I pack my shoes so they don’t take up too much space in my bag.
When you travel, you have to pack your suitcase with a lot of items. It can be difficult to find room for all of your clothes and other essentials, but what about shoes? Do you really need to take more than one pair?
The answer is yes — if you are going on a trip where you will be doing a lot of walking or climbing stairs. If you have a pair of hiking boots and a pair of running shoes, then taking both pairs is completely reasonable. But if you are just going on vacation or business travel, then it is probably unnecessary to take multiple pairs of shoes with you.
If you do decide that it is important to bring multiple pairs of shoes with you when traveling, then here are some tips for packing them so that everything fits in your suitcase:
Use shoe bags or cases for each pair. These will protect them from damage from other clothing items or from being crushed by other items inside the suitcase. If there isn’t enough room in your suitcase for both pairs plus shoe bags or cases, consider packing only one pair in a bag or case while keeping the other two out and ready to wear during the trip. Then once at your destination, put those two pairs into bags or cases before heading out again so they
Traveling with multiple shoes is a little trickier than it sounds, but it can be done.
The first step is to pack your shoes in a bag specifically designed for them. There are several companies that make such bags; I use a Travelon bag that has room for two pairs of shoes, plus my regular toiletries bag.
Once you have the right bag, you need to wrangle your shoes into their respective compartments. If necessary, wrap your shoes in plastic bags and then put them in their own compartment in the bag. This will keep them from getting too scuffed up by other items in the luggage during travel.
If possible, try to arrange the shoes so that they will not have to be moved once they’re packed — this means putting one pair on top of another or side-by-side (depending on how much space there is). This will help prevent damage caused by having to repack later on if you decide to take an extra pair or two out of their case while away from home.
Whether you’re traveling with a suitcase or a backpack, shoes can be the trickiest items to pack.
It’s tempting to cram them all in together, but that makes it impossible to find what you need when you need it. Plus, if one pair of shoes gets damaged, then they all could.
Here are some tips for making sure your shoes are packed safely so you don’t have any problems during your trip:
- Put each pair of shoes in its own plastic bag or mesh laundry bag before putting it into a larger bag (like a suitcase). This way, if something spills on one shoe, it won’t ruin the other pairs. It also keeps them from getting dirty or scuffed up while they’re sitting together in your bag.
- Use hard-sided luggage where possible; soft-sided bags tend to crush easily and damage delicate items like shoes and clothes.
- If you’re traveling on an airplane and can’t fit everything into one piece of luggage, put your shoes in the outer pockets of your carry-on bag so nothing gets crushed by other items inside the main compartment of your luggage where there’s no support for fragile items if something happens during travel (like bumpy roads or turbulence).
