How To Travel With Just A Carry-On

Packing is something that is always talked about in social media groups and people have pretty strong opinions about it. Do I check a bag? What's the weight limit? What should I bring? How to just use a carry on? What if my trip is long?

There are so many questions surrounding travel packing that this entire blog could be about that. LOL

But this post is specifically about using only a carry on!

I once traveled to Italy for three weeks in the spring with just a backpack and I had dresses, yoga pants, trainers, boots, jumpers, and enough for every week. Another time I went to Ireland for three weeks and brought everything but the kitchen sink, and on that trip, we left one place to go to the other side of the country on a train so I decided that I didn't want to lug a huge back all over, so I put enough for 2 weeks into a small backpack-it was a small Kipling bag, not even a big hiking one. I also brought boots, trainers, dresses, jumpers, hoodies, a rain coat, jeans, and enough shirts to last two weeks without doing laundry.

How did I do it?

Rolling?

Packing cubes?

I didn't bring much?

Ha! All of these or a combo of some!

Let's go through one by one.

Rolling your clothes-this is a proven method. You can roll one by one and jam everything in side by side or you can lay all your items on your bed and roll them all into one thing. This is great if you are using a backpack but then you have to take it all out when you need it. If you go to YouTube you can find videos on how to do this.

My father taught me at a young age to lay everything flat, so no folding and no rolling and it works for me. I lay every item down one by one and that way I can get a ton into a bag but rolling also works. Either method will help you save space.

Packing cubes? Well, I love and hate them. I always feel like the material for the cube is an outfit that I could have brought with me, though I got some new ones that I'll blog about later once I've used them this summer for a cruise. They can save you time and energy looking for things but if you watch any packing cube video you will see that they are just particular about packing, folding and jamming it in.

Not bringing much---ding ding ding ding!!! This is the winner!

Here is why.

You don't need much when you travel.

If you combine colors well you can get 17 or more outfits with 5-6 items. I'm not even kidding.

The biggest space waster is shoes.

But let's go back to those 5-6 items.

1 pair of jeans or jean shorts

1 white top

1 blue or black skirt or dress

1 cardigan/blue/black or white or any color to add a splash of color

2-3 light tee shirts.

That's it, all of that mixed and matched will make multiple outfits. Then you have room for extra shoes.

Flip flops with a long maxi dress and a cardi tied around you waist for a casual look.

Nicer shoes, you hair pulled up with some jewelry for evening--same dress two different ways.

Your jeans or jean shorts can be paired with multiple tops and combinations as well.

The facts are that most people overpack because of the "what if I do this?" and usually that what if is something you don't do in real life, so why would you do it on holiday?

This all said, I usually bring about 10-15 items not including socks and underwear.

For a 7 day trip.

7 pairs of underwear

7 pairs of socks

1 pair of trainers/tennis shoes (wear on the plane)

1 pair of pants/not yoga, not too tight (wear on the plane)

1 Jumper or sweatshirt (wear on the plane)

1-2 long sleeved shirts (wear one on the plane)

2 long dresses that can be worn multiple ways

1 mid length skirt

1 pair of shorts

1 yoga pant

1 pair of boots or nice shoes (time of year matters)

1 pair of flip flops

1 nicer top

1 jacket/outwear (wear on the plane)

and that's usually it and then I mix and match.

NOTE: bulky items take up a lot of space so think of layers and wearing lighter fabrics.

I hope this helps and I'll post about this more because I am the queen of carry-on. Even though I come from an airline family and worked for the airlines myself, I loathe checking bags, I like to get off the plane and go!!!

Xo Stephanie

#traveltips #carryononly #flying #packingforholiday #vacationpackingtips #7daytripwithcarryon