Do you want to know how to effectively pack a bag for a commute to a city, town, or other day trip location?

Are you looking for practical tips to make the process quickly, easy, and painless?

Packing a bag requires some forward thinking and planning.

While you may know how to pack a bag for a car trip or vacation, packing a bag for a daily commute is a completely different story.

You must physically carry everything you pack and navigate the busy urban jungle with your belongings.

In this blog post, you’ll find practical tips to help you pack for the concrete jungle, keeping both comfort and safety in mind.

Before we begin, thanks to N.S.I. for suggesting this blog topic!

Use your schedule to help you pack.    

Save yourself from emptying out the entire contents of your bag on the go; pack your belongings according to your schedule.

Items used during the commute should be relatively easy to access. Items related to your destination, be it work or school, should be tucked away for the trip.

For example, you can keep a paperback book or smart phone in an easy to access part of the bag. Pack your lunch and work-related materials in the lower or side part of the bag.

Store valuable items inside and out of sight.

I’ll never forget the time I saw a woman walking down a busy city street with a brand-new smart phone stuffed into a mesh holder on the outside of her backpack. Honestly, that was a theft just waiting to happen!*

Think of your bag as a bank vault.

Pack and store valuable items as close to the center or deepest part inside your bag as possible, preferably in a zippered or other tightly fastened compartment.

The idea is to keep things out of sight and out of the hands of potential thieves.

Remember, if it’s relatively easy for you to retrieve, then it’s all too easy for someone else to steal.

Be forward thinking about food.

Do you take lunch or snacks with you on your commute?

To prevent spillage and other mishaps, take a second to inspect the dimensions of your bag.

How much expansion space does the bag have (in addition to your other personal effects)? Are there any rigid compartments? Does the bag get turned upside down or shaken side to side during the commute?

Taking these items into consideration can help you prevent spilling or otherwise damaging your bag.

Use smaller, sturdy, leakproof containers instead of larger ones to maximize space, double bag foodstuffs where necessary and so on.

Pack water sparingly (to save your back).

Newsflash! Water is heavy. Especially if you carry around a water bottle in a backpack or purse for long periods of time.

A quart of water weighs in at little over 2 pounds, and a gallon of water clocks in at about 8 pounds.

Save your back and only fill the container halfway and refill at your next destination.

Or keep the bottle empty and have it on hand for water-fountain fill ups.

*I did approach the woman and asked her if she knew her device was on display for all the world to see. She thanked me and quickly tucked the device away inside her bag.

How about you? Which of the above tips are you going to use in your commute? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!