First, make sure you have sturdy luggage. Good quality soft-side bags generally work very well. But having a hard-side bag is useful for packing items that are breakable and that might need a bit more protection.

Pack anything that might leak into sealed plastic bags. Keep in mind the airline security restrictions about what you may and may not pack in your carry on bags.

If you are traveling with another person, pack some of your clothes in their bags, and some of their clothes in your bags. That way if one of your bags gets lost or delayed, you will both still have clothes to wear.

Remove old airline tags and labels as they may confuse the baggage handlers, and cause your luggage to be sent to some city where you are not currently traveling to.

Place a label or a piece of paper inside each of your bags with your name, address, and phone number. Also place a copy of your itinerary. This way if the bag is lost, and the tags on the outside are damaged, they may still be able to get your bags to you.

Make sure you have sturdy ID tags on the outside of the bag. Tags usually come with cheap chains, or plastic straps to attach them to the luggage. These can easily break. Replace these with sturdy plastic zip-ties that are much less likely to break.

Make your bag stand out, to differentiate it from the many similar looking bags on the luggage carousel, by tying a piece of colored ribbon to the handles of the bag. We used 2 inch wide ribbon that was left over from our wedding.

After packing your bags, you might want to weigh them. Airlines have started to enforce weight restrictions on bags. If you go over 50 pounds, you might have to pay an extra $25 or more. So weigh the bag on a bathroom scale. Because bathroom scales are designed to weigh people and not luggage, it might be difficult to get the bag on the scale. In this case, simply weigh yourself, then weigh yourself again while holding the bag. The difference is the weight of the bag. You may not want to pack to right the weight limit. If your scale is off by a pound or two, it could cost you. Also leave some room if you are planning on bringing home souvenirs.

The weight restrictions are something to keep in mind when selecting luggage. I have seen some bags that are very sturdy, and well made, but they were heavy. The heavier the bag, the less stuff you can pack before hitting the weight restrictions.

Finally, if you are going to lock your bags, be sure to use only TSA approved locks. There are several different kinds of these locks. But the TSA baggage screeners have master keys to these locks so they can open then for screening if necessary.

Rob Jacob loves to travel and runs a travel related blog at http://www.TravelWithRJ.com