One morning last week I packed 70 suitcases - for three guests. But for most people the days of trunks, porters and lots of different cases are over, so knowing how to pack your one or two bags well is crucial.

Americans are great at packing, but somewhere along the line the British seem to have have lost the knack. No one has ever taught them properly. True, there are challenges - trying to fold those gypsy skirts with material everywhere is a nightmare. But if people take five minutes extra to pack properly they'd get a lot more in, and arrive with clothes prim and proper, ready to wear without ironing.

First, you need to invest in tissue paper. At the hotel we have our own specially embossed paper, but any tissue from a stationery shop is fine, and even, at a push, grease-proof paper. Tissue maintains the clothes in their original shape, helps avoid creases, and protects them from damage.

Layer the bottom of the suitcase with tissue, then start with trousers. Lay the waistband inside the case on the right-hand side, leaving the legs dangling over the edge of the case on the left. Lay the second pair of trousers the opposite way round, waistband on the left, legs dangling over the right.

Next, fold shirts and women's blouses in the normal way (folding tissue inside them), and lay them and any sweaters on top of the trousers inside the case. Now fold the legs of the trousers back into the case, so they are resting on top of the shirts and sweaters. The secret is to keep it even.

Then, towards the top of the case come jackets and dresses. With a man's jacket, just put a sheet of tissue paper inside it, then roll tissue up and stuff it down the arms, before folding it in the normal way (that is: with the arms folded in across the chest, then the jacket folded in half horizontally). The collars of women's jackets tend to be more delicate, so you should roll tissue paper then insert this underneath the collar all the way round, thus helping it keep its shape.

Women always overpack. Please, don't. If you shove in too many clothes, you might as well not fold them in the first place because they get in such a state you have to iron them anyway. Also, don't believe the myth about rolling up clothes to pack them. You'll get more in, but they will all be crumpled.

Dresses should go at the top. A long dress should be held above the case, then lowered into it, laying it one way, then the other, so it concertinas into the case. Any sequins or other detailing should be wrapped in tissue. I think back to the Eighties in horror because of all the frills and flounces, all of which required great care and lots of tissue, so I'm very happy they're gone. The modern materials used in today's womenswear have made packing much easier.

Now, with the clothes in the case, you should have space in the corners and around the sides. Use this for the remainder of your things - underclothes, hair-dryers, shoes (which need to be stuffed with tissue and put inside a bag), books etc.

But please, please, take care with toiletries. A couple of months ago, I was unpacking a lady guest and took out her most beautiful fur coat. A bottle of nail polish had exploded in the case and was all over it. It was ruined. It still gives me nightmares.

It wasn't our fault, of course, it was the careless person who packed her - but my job was to go and find the right piece of the right animal to go into this coat.

The moral is, if possible take a separate vanity case for toiletries and make-up. If not, put them inside one of those sealable plastic bags, or even a small bin liner.

If at all possible use a traditional suitcase with square sides. Soft holdalls are OK and are packed more or less in the same way.

Backpacks? Well, I have packed them, but not often. Avoiding creases in a backpack is very, very hard.