How to Store and Travel with a Tie

9 of my 17 ties

I love wearing ties. I have over 17 in my collection now. I learned to appreciate ties by listening to my grandfather, and what he told me was to "store them on a hanger from the dry cleaner (pic at the right) and NOT on a shirt hanger or tie rack, as they will crease your tie in the middle." So, that is how I always have done it. On a hanger from the dry cleaner that has a cardboard tube, 4 per hanger to keep them balanced, and in the closet between a few pairs of pants. But times do change, so should I.

Not only do I love wearing ties, but I worked for a company where I had to travel, and always faced the conundrum of how to pack them in my suitcase without having to iron/press them when I got to my destination. I came across some info for storing and traveling with my ties. It will help me in living in an apartment with limited storage options and assist in packing my suitcase for travel. The best site I came across regarding can be found by clicking HERE. But, since this site was very limited in sharing information, I'm going to share some of my own tips to help you insure success.

Items needed

Items Needed:

• 1 Tie
• 1 Toilet Paper Roll (empty of the paper of course)
• 1 quart plastic bag (sandwich or Ziploc)
• 1 shoebox (for storing the ties, not pictured)

Recommended Procedures:

• Use a long table or counter space to roll the tie
• Start from the LARGE end of the tie, not the small (as shown)



Roll from the other end

• The reduces the wrinkles in the most visible part of the tie
• Do not fold the tie in half and roll that way, roll the entire length of the tie to reduce creases or wrinkles
• Roll the tie tightly against the roll
• Insert into the bag and seal it
• Place all of your rolled ties into a shoebox for storage in an apartment (not shown)

Personal Tips:
✔ You can fit 6-8 ties in a shoebox in the closet.
✔ When traveling, take as few ties as possible. Pack them in your suitcase surrounded by rolled socks.
✔ Be prepared to use an iron set to "steam" to remove the creases & wrinkles. They do age like we do...

Hmmmm.....I wonder if this will work well for my Italian silk suspenders too....

DIY Ice Packs

Being a DIY kind of a hippie dude, I decided to see if there was any way to make my own ice packs. Why? Over the course of my life, I've played a lot of sports (soccer, basketball, diving team, volleyball), remain very active (camping, hunting, rock climbing, spelunking, tai chi, qi gong, roller derby ref), and have a son that plays soccer, futsal, and is taking boxing training. As you can imagine, we have used ice packs a LOT. And yes, I learned from my grandma that using a bag of frozen veggies (peas work best) but now that I don't keep any of them in my freezer, I wanted to find another way to have some on hand, yet reduce the amount of chemicals and toxins that might be in the store bought ones.

Image from Tipnut link

In searching the web, I came across one particular website that gave the best amount of information about making your own ice-packs with items you most likely already have. It was the Tipnut entry about Quick & Easy Homemade Ice Packs. I'm going to save you a little surfing time by putting the key suggestions here and offer some other tips I've discovered on other sites.

Reusable gel type:
Method #1
2 cups water
1/3 cup vodka (80 proof)
Food coloring (any color you like)
Ziploc Freezer Bag

• Pour liquids into Ziploc freezer bag, add food coloring (you’ll know at a glance that it’s your ice pack and not something to consume) then freeze.

Method #2
1 cup rubbing alcohol
2 cups water
Ziploc Freezer Bag (1 quart size)

• Pour liquids into freezer bag, remove air and seal bag. Place bag seal side down into another Ziploc freezer bag, remove air and seal that bag. Place in freezer and use (and reuse) as needed (nice and slushy!).

Method #3
Liquid Dish Detergent
Ziploc Freezer Bag

• Squirt liquid dish detergent in a Ziploc bag until the bag is about 3/4 full, seal and then freeze.

Okay, now some tips that I've come across in all of the comments on the pages and in my research.
✔ Before using any ice pack or bag of frozen veggies, wrap it in a towel. The intensity of the coldness can
    damage the skin or nerves near the surface of the skin (depending on where you are putting it)
✔ Putting the filled Ziploc bag into a second one (turned seal side down) helps insure less "leaking"
✔ When filling the bags, use the amounts suggested because as liquids freeze, it expands a little.
✔  Do not use a homemade ice pack in a lunchbox for kids in school. They aren't allowed to have alcohol there
✔  Pets need these sometimes too

Anyway...keep active...but be prepared to to handle the boo-boos. I'm trying Method #3 but am using a "snack size" Ziploc and laundry detergent, because sometimes I only need a little one...