Trying to figure out how to pack your shoes? Are they a bit dusty or dirty for the just-washed clothes in your suitcase?

Or perhaps you've just made it back to the hotel after a torrential downpour and your shoes are wet -- you have a spare pair, but how do you pack the soggy ones?

Answer: grab a shower cap from the bathroom and pop the shoes into it, soles first.

The elastic around the shower cap should hold them tight, while the plastic keeps the dirty soles away from your clean clothes.

A shower cap doesn't really weigh anything, and unlike rolling shoes in a used shirt or t-shirt you won't have the problem of needing to get that stubborn stain your shoes picked up out of them when you get back home.

I actually have a shower cap packet filched from a hotel tucked away at the bottom of my suitcase. It comes in useful every so often -- and not just for shoes. Damp bathers that haven't dried properly after a quick swim in the hotel pool or gym kit that hasn't had a chance to air out: the shower cap trick works for them too.

Don't miss more travel tips, hacks and insider tricks from the AusBT team -- just bookmark ausbt.com.au/tips for a handy reference guide to them all.

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