How to pack: Clothing

Versace jeans, Armani shirts, Yves St. Laurent dresses, Dolce & Gabbana accessories: Face it, you're a clothes horse. Your closet is overflowing with designer couture, and it's time to find a bigger place. But what's the best method of packing all your duds to keep them wrinkle free and uncreased on their trip to the new place?

First things first: Separate your clothing by material. Natural fabrics are more easily creased than synthetics, so you're going to pack them differently. Move the cotton Ts to one side, the polyesters to another, the 50/50 blends in the middle and anything with Rayon to the garbage - you don't need that stuff anyway. The trick is going to be avoiding creases in your clothing. Natural fabrics are more susceptible to creasing, so be careful how you pack these. There are a number of different techniques.

Garbage Bag Method: This technique works well on items hanging in your closet, and is among the easiest methods out there. Simply section off a dozen or so items in your closet, making sure there's room on every side. Then take a large drawstring garbage bag and pull it up over your clothes. Depending on how long the garments are, you may be able to cinch the bag closed over the hanger below the hook, offering greater protection. This technique is great for unpacking, too. Just hang up the clothes in a new closet and take off the bag. Voila!

Bundle Wrapping: The light-packing aficionados at OneBag.com advocate this method as one of the most effective ways to avoid creasing your more delicate items. First, pack a tiny pouch with smaller items like socks, underwear, swimsuits, etc. Then, on a large flat surface, begin laying out other items to be packed in your bundle. Start piling them on top of each other in order from largest to smallest. The folks at OneBag recommend starting with a jacket, then skirts and dresses, long-sleeved shirts, short-sleeved shirts, pants, sweaters then shorts. Place your pouch in the middle of the pile and begin wrapping each item around it in succession until it's all been encased in the bigger jacket. This should keep clothes crease free.

Wardrobe Boxes: Some moving companies offer special packing materials for moving clothes, like wardrobe boxes. These boxes are tall, sturdy and have a metal bar running across the inside near the top where you can hang clothes. This solution is perfect for expensive, delicate items.