Stuffing your clothes into a cramped suitcase and flying halfway around the planet doesn’t make for the best scent conditions. Fortunately, it’s easy enough to combat stale smells after a long journey by packing in an extra item: a single dryer sheet.
Obviously you’ll want to start a trip with all of your clothes washed before packing but often times we’re left having to mix clean with worn clothes. Being in such close quarters over an extended period of time can transfer dank smells over to anything that was smelling nice, giving you double laundry at your next destination (or worse, making you the smelling one at that arrival party).
Fabric softener, or dryer sheets, combat unpleasant odors which can be present from your luggage itself. (When was the last time you washed your suitcase?) For placement, pack a dryer sheet in between any dirty clothes or if everything is fresh already – in the center-bottom of your bag. This way, you’ll get the most benefit from a single dryer sheet but if you’ve packed shoes as well, it’s worth putting in a sheet in each shoe as well.
To further fight backpack odors you can throw in and keep a silica bag (those little packets that come with all of your electronics) which do an excellent job of absorbing moisture and preventing the growth of mold. Of course travel enough and you’ll end up with smelly socks at some point which might make for a good ad-hoc mosquito trap.