How to pack for any trip in a carry on
Can you fit everything you need for a week into half of a carry on?
Yes, yes you can friend.
I shared a photo from our trip to Jordan of my bag and people went nuts. Everyone had so many questions as to how I packed.
So here is my secret: Take less stuff.
Yeah I know. Eye roll. Me too.
It’s taken me a long time to get here and by here I mean - in honesty.
I’ll be very honest: I have 2 closets full of clothes and I wear about 7 items 90% of the time.
Oh wait, you too? That’s what I thought.
I don't know what it is about going a trip that sends our brains into this frenzy of ‘I might need ALL these things!!’. But if you fight it, focus it and have a plan you too can be a world class packer and travel super light + always have room for souvenirs.
Truly, traveling is exhausting. So having less stuff to deal with, less decisions to make and having only the best/your favorite things makes the overall experience so much more enjoyable. My goal is always to be able to lift and carry my bag easily for long stretches if necessary, to pack up and go quickly, to find stuff easily, to make no choices, be happy with what I brought.
Here is how I make clothing choices when packing to travel:
- Research where you are going + the weather. I look at Pinterest, google images, read blogs, etc to get an idea of what other people are wearing.
- Decide how many ‘outfits’ you need. This is normally half the number of days you are traveling and never more than a weeks worth. Im currently traveling for 6 weeks and have less than 2 weeks worth of clothes with me. For a week I’ll take about 3 outfits.
- Choose what you love + what mixes and matches.
How I pack all the ‘stuff’.
This is where I tend to go overboard. I can narrow down my clothes, but then I think I need everything but the kitchen sink - and I'd take it if it fit and came off the wall and I don’t even honestly like our kitchen sink.
- Walk through a normal day. What do you need and use? Do this for all your routines that you will need to do on the trip (showering, getting ready, working, creating, lounging, sleep, etc).
- Boil those routines and items down to the absolute necessities. If you only have 5 minutes to get ready what do you HAVE to have? If you only have a few minutes to make art - what do you grab and doodle with? What is your most important item that helps you sleep? etc.
- Find an electronic or local option. Like to read? Download a book on your phone. Always use soap in the shower to shave? Use the hotel soap. Like to draw - get a digital drawing app on your phone. You will always have your phone, so make it multi task. Use things that are already at your disposal.
- Use travel sizes. You do not need a full tube of toothpaste or bottle of shampoo for a weekend trip. Buy the smallest, most efficient travel containers you can find. Truly - I think of how many times I will wash my hair on a trip and then squeeze out the amount of hair cream I use each day for however many days/washes I plan. I still always come home with extra and never feel like Im in need.
And my biggest secret: Packing cubes.
Terrell has been preaching the packing cubes gospel for years. Finally I got on board. With the right suitcase + right cubes/pouches you will be amazed at how much stuff you can get in and how organized it all is and easier to use.
I say this because I have a weekend trip backpack I use that is NOT packing cube friendly because it is small and oddly shaped.
But, for 95% of our trips I travel for WEEKS with only my SMALL
Everything has a cube or pouch: clothes, shoes, toiletries, electronics, art supplies.
Here’s a look at what I took for a week in Jordan where we moved every night and experienced all different kinds of weather:
Clothing:
- 3 t-shirts/nice-ish tops
- 1 dress
- 1 pair of tights
- 1 ‘nice’ pair of shoes
- 1 pair of tennis shoes
- 1 skirt
- 2 pairs of pants
- 1 sleep dress
- 1 jacket
- 1 small scarf to change up my look
- Underwear + socks: if less than a week take exact amount, if more than a week take half and wash half way through
(disclaimer I was very cold a few places due to weather swings and I would have traded out a short sleeve for a long sleeve and added in another jacket layer)
My shirts matched all my pants + my skirt, my jacket matched everything. I wore everything almost twice. I was able to trade my pants for my skirt each night when we out for dinner and wore my dress on both flight days. Both sets of shoes matched everything and worked for day or evening attire and also who cares - comfort is MOST important for your feet!
It also helps to take similar things, so you can see I took 3 of similar style t-shirts, so I knew they would mix and match well. When you start taking vastly different things then you start having weird bra issues or matching problems and accessories get overboard, etc. Also, let’s all admit how many times we re-wear stuff…..#alot.
The beauty of this system: All of this fit into 1 packing cube!
I do admit you have to do some brain work, but the more you do it (and the more you cull your closet), the easier it gets.
Pro tip: always wear your ‘largest’ outfit on the plane. So your bulkiest jeans or shoes, etc if you need to save room on packing.
The rest of things in my bag:
- Toiletry kit (separated out by things that security would and would not check, so
make up , comb, meds, toothbrush vs liquids) (Creams travel container pictured) - Camera + charger
In my backpack:
- Passport
- Wallet
- Sketchbook
- Art kit (fits into a pouch)
- Book
- Electronic kit pouch (charges, cords, headphones, SD card phone attachment, etc)
- Snacks
- Notebook
- Travel Meds (I mix things like Tylenol, Benadryl, motion sickness, etc into one small bottle and always have this on me)
- Sunglasses
- Tissues + hand sanitizer
Want my tried and true packing list?
This packing list has everything you’ll need to pack for any trip + room to add in anything specific to you, helps you plan for your needs like I mentioned and is printable so you can print a new one for every trip you take!
I developed this list from traveling for years to 6 of the 7 continents - it has served me well and will you too. And it’s free - duh.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and I’ll send it to you + weekly updates on our travels, new podcast episodes, share creative challenges and get really honest and share what
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There you have it. That’s how I pack light and travel well. Any questions? Any even more ninja suggestions for getting even less in + taking smaller bags?!