How to I.D. my luggage from yours???

[radee2go]

I make a "squiggly" line with different colors of neon slick fabric paint on ALL sides of my luggage. The design is mine alone - I really can't draw so it has to be simple. Don't forget the bottom - where the wheels are. When we arrived home last week, it seemed the airlines placed all luggage so the wheels were sticking out toward the passengers. The handles with all the brightly colored tassles were hard to see.;) :) ;)

[Kaye from Chicagoland]

We use those round scrunchy shower/washy things (don't know what they're called) from Target for 99 cents each and tie them on the handle. We use purple - so get a different color - thanks. They work well and it's easy! So many good ideas here.

 

Kaye

[coiran]

We have RED duck tape in various places on ours - never had a problem.

 

Ron

[mizanth]

1. I get out the paint pens and let the kiddies draw pictures on our hard-sided suitcase. They have fun and no one else has luggage like ours.

 

2.

You know Junebug has a point. I thought about telling this board how we mark our luggage but then I thought maybe someone else would take our idea and run with with so I am sorry but I am not going to tell anyone either.:D

 

Marilyn

 

p.s. By the way it did work last week when we came home from our cruise. Spotted that luggage right off the bat.

 

what was the point of your post then? You forgot to add nanny-nanny boo-boo to the end.

[coiran]

As I said, I use red duct tape - if everybody goes to this my next step will be to use "Clear" duct tape - that should fool everybody!!

 

Ron

[MaryPoppinz]

1. I get out the paint pens and let the kiddies draw pictures on our hard-sided suitcase. They have fun and no one else has luggage like ours.

 

That's a great idea. You have designer luggage that showcases original works of art!

[bradspeck]

:eek: I use fabric paint on my soft sided luggage. I personally painted flowers and surrounded them with pokka dots. And put my initials on them. I used all floresent paints. Turned out really pretty. You can draw stars, wiggly lines, hearts, circles etc. Designer luggage. Fabric paint (the kind from Walmart) come in so many colors. You can even use a paint brush and paint the entire luggage but that would take lots of paint and time. I've used the paint as a glue (it dries like rubber cement if used heavily) and glued on spongy flowers and other shapes.

 

For my husband's luggage, I just outlined the creases with a royal blue. Conservative but still stands out.

 

And then I take a picture of the luggage with my digital camera, printed it out and put it in my purse. Also used the paint to paint my name, cell phone number inside my luggage in a place it would be seen if opened.

 

I've seen those bowes etc but they can come off during handling.

 

Thanks for the idea to do the bottom by the wheels.

 

I've never seen anyone look at my luggage funny but have had a few people ask where I bought it.

 

I like the idea of bright pink, green, yellow luggage but always thought it would get too dirty too quickely.

[P.A.]

Here is an idea that I have not done yet, but will make these very soon for our next travel.

 

Print however many pieces of luggage you have of a 4x6 print of your favorite picture...kids, pets, you & your spouse, or whatever....then get them laminated. Then punch a hole in it and attach it to your luggage. There should be no discrepancy in which luggage is yours!

 

Also, be sure to put luggage tags from your airline or cruise line just in case your tags come off.

 

Enjoy your cruise! We'll be enjoying ours in Oct 06 for our 30th anniversary!

[MoneyGuy]

....I can see it coming down the luggage carousel from a mile away. ;)

 

Wow, you have very long luggage carousels. :D

[chasetf]

Just went out and purchased red luggage after realizing that the majority of luggage in that huge room is black. awfw

We did tooo....:) Now I notice there are a lot of red bags showing up.:(

[Titan(ic)5.6]

I use teething toys held on by plastic cable ties. They are extremely durable, easy to spot, and unlike yarn, not everyone else is doing this.

 

[Terre]

I have large flourscent orange and red ribbons tied to the handles. In addition, I found some iron-on patches at WalMart that are bright orange flames...yes I have flaming patches on my luggage. It does stand out. The best luggage I've seen was navy blue with white polka dots...haven't seen any more like that.

 

Last year we took my son and his girlfriend on a cruise and it being her first cruise, she did not put tags on her luggage the last night. We thought we'd never find it, but low and behold, while coming down the escalator, there was one small area with luggage that didn't have tags. There was Sara's all alone and very easy to find!:D

[cloveygrl]

I just bought some new luggage and since I was so fed up with the "black suitcase dilemna" the set is powder blue...take that!

[Cruiseteach]

Here are the things you want to keep in mind:

1. You need to be able to spot your luggage from at least 12 feet away. Otherwise, even if you spot it as it comes close, you'll never be able to catch it in time and have to stand there while it goes all the way around again. Gr-r-r!!!

2. You need several identifying things- tape, something hanging from the handles, etc., not just one thing.

3. Your "identifiers" need to be on both sides of the luggage so that it won't matter which way it is lying on the carousel.

4. Whatever you use should be something not likely to get caught in the several conveyer belts on which your luggage will travel.

Here's one suggestion for the sides of your suitcase: get those things you stick in your bathtub to prevent falls. They come in great and colorful shapes, and stick like crazy.

Now, if someone will explain to me the following: When you put two suitcases in at the same time, why does one invariably come out within the first two minutes, while the other one comes out dead last?

[D4]

Many people mention how to spot your luggage on the airport conveyor belt. That's usually pretty easy if you use any of these ideas.

 

However, for people who have never cruised before, try to imagine a huge warehouse type building with thousands of pieces of luggage in rows with narrow walkways between them. Each piece is usually sitting on a thin side with one handle facing up. The luggage is pretty tightly packed in each row. Plus there can be duffle bags and garment bags on top of regular suitcases. That's how your luggage is after your cruise. You're pointed to a certain section, but it can still be very overwhelming. The suggestions that involve putting something very visible on all possible sides are the best ones for cruises.

 

In addition to making my luggage very visible through methods other people mentioned, I add another homemade bright tag to each handle that says for example "1 of 4" which means it is the first of 4 bags. I include carryons in this numbering system. I also bring a couple extra tags because sometimes we return with extra bags that had previously been packed in other luggage. This helps us keep track of making sure we have all our bags every step of the trip.

 

If I have enough time and know which luggage pieces I'm bringing prior to a trip, I take a picture of all our bags and have a few prints made. It really helps when you can not only give the airline a description of your missing bag, but a photo they can keep.