Packing a car so you can actually find things
Load order, what belongs in the cabin, and why most people pack the trunk exactly backwards.
Pack by when you need it, not by what it is
The most common packing mistake is grouping items by category — all the camping gear together, all the clothes together — when the useful grouping is by when you will need it.
Things you need at the first stop go in last, on top. Things you need only at the destination go in first, at the bottom. It sounds obvious and almost nobody does it.
Heavy low, heavy forward
Weight distribution affects handling more than most drivers expect. Heavy items go on the floor of the trunk and as far forward as possible — toward the rear axle rather than behind it.
Never stack heavy items above the seat backs. In a sudden stop, anything above that line becomes a projectile into the cabin. This is the single most important rule in this guide.
The cabin bag
One small bag in the cabin should hold everything you might want without stopping: phone chargers, a water bottle each, snacks, medication, wipes, a phone mount, and any documents.
If you have to open the trunk to get a charger, you packed wrong. A well-built cabin bag is the difference between a trip with three unplanned stops and one with none.
Soft bags beat hard cases
Duffels and collapsible bins conform to the odd shapes of a trunk in a way that rigid suitcases never will, and they fold flat on the way home when you have less to carry.
Fill the gaps deliberately. Soft items — jackets, towels, sleeping bags — should be stuffed into the voids around rigid gear so nothing shifts. A trunk that rattles is a trunk that is going to rearrange itself on the first hard corner.
Visibility and the last check
Whatever you pack, you need to see out of the rear window and both mirrors. Give up the space rather than the sightline.
Before you pull away, walk the full circle around the car. Check that everything on the roof is strapped at four points, the hatch is fully latched, and nothing is on the roof that you put there while loading.