HOW TO PACK IN A CARRY-ON FOR A WHOLE WEEK!

06/07/20

By this stage my husband Jeshua and I are master packers, and before our ‘long term travel’, whenever we went for a trip we would ALWAYS only take carry-on. There’s something about not having to wait for your luggage at baggage claim that always led us to packing so light. We even only took a carry-on for a 3 week trip to America! Here’s a few tips we have picked up along the way, tried and true ones for us. 

Pick A Colour Scheme

Make sure all of your clothes match! Pick a colour scheme, whether it’s all warm earthy tones pairs with white and black clothing pieces, or maybe it’s just fifty shades of grey. Whatever floats your boat, but make it match, as it really allows you to pair anything and everything together. This means you can simply have a capsule wardrobe and not need to take a whole bunch of options. With just 10 pieces of clothing you could make 20 outfits if you can literally mix and match each piece with the next! At the very least, make sure that one item of clothing can be at least paired and worn with three separate outfits. Leave that sequin dress behind!

One Pair Of Pants, And One Jacket (Unless It’s Winter)

If your destination is a fairly warm one, just bring one pair of jeans and only one jacket! You really don’t need much more. Of course bring a few dresses, some shorts and a few different tops but definitely don’t overload on the bigger items. Also – wear these on the plane! Then it won’t add too much weight to your carry-on.

You Don’t Need To Pack ‘Nice Clothes’

Unless you actually already have a fancy dinner planned, don’t pack nice clothes ‘just in case you go somewhere nice’! Just make sure you simply have a decent-looking clean but casual fit, and pair it with your casual every-day shoes and you’re good to go for dinners out. As long as your group or your date are dressed in a similar manner, you’re totally fine. Most restaurants don’t have a strict dress code. If there’s one that does, pick a different restaurant mate!

Leave The ‘Just In Case’ Items Behind!

If you’re going somewhere sunny but you’re tempted to pack a rain jacket or an umbrella *just in case*, don’t! These items do take up a lot of room unnecessarily, and on the chance that you do need it, you can just purchase something very cheaply (like an emergency poncho or a $3 mini umbrella) or even borrow something from your hotel! The rain thing is just an example but there are so many ‘just in case’ items that you likely won’t even need, and that also isn’t hard to source if you really find that you do need it. 

Be Smart, Don’t Overpack On Anything

The last tip is plain and simple. Bring one bathing suit. Bring one pair of sunglasses. Don’t bring your whole makeup kit, just bring the bare minimum. Bring a hair straightener if you need to, but not a curler! Apply the above tips, and just be smart about packing light and it’s super easy to last a week on just a carry-on. Face it, when you overpack you don’t end up using half of your stuff anyways, so save yourself the hassle and challenge yourself to packing super light next time!