Packing Tips from an Ex-Overpacker

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One day in the office kitchen I overheard a conversation between two women who were debating whether or not you can pack for a four day trip using only carry on luggage. In my rush to see who was talking I almost spilled the coffee I had just poured. I wanted to immediately tell them: Yes! You most certainly can pack for four days in just carry on bags! After all, my partner and I had travelled all over Ecuador for ten days with just our backpacks as carry ons. I resisted the urge to interrupt their conversation to give them all the packing tips I could think of, but now I’ll share them with you!

While I have become a pretty light packer in recent years, I had to remind myself that I too, used to overstuff a bag for just a weekend home during college or an overnight stay with friends. Packing for my study abroad program, Semester at Sea, was a nightmare. I knew I’d be experiencing temperatures ranging from freezing cold to steamy tropics (one of my 5 Weird Things About Shipboard Life), but could only bring two suitcases. The best packing advice I could find at the time was to lay out everything I thought I’d need… then cut it in half. Ouch.

It’s really only in the past few years that I’ve began to pack lighter in order to travel carry on more often. It saves time both when arriving at the departure airport and when you land at your destination. Your bags can’t get lost due to delays and layovers if you keep them with you instead of checked-in with the airline. Plus these days airlines are starting to charge more and more for baggage so traveling with just carry on bags can save you money too! Naturally I started to do some research and read countless packing tips, tricks, hacks, and packing lists as I tried to figure out how to start packing light. I’ve also found some of my favorite travel gear that helps me pack more efficiently.

Without further ado, these are the packing tips I follow when packing for all my travels.

Three Basic Packing Tips:

1. Get Minimalist

Start by trying to think more capsule wardrobe, less your entire wardrobe.

It helps to stick to a general color scheme for everything you pack such as classic blacks, whites, grays, and denim. Then add in a few bright accessories for a pop of color, like a red scarf or chunky turquoise necklace.

One of the best things I read was a reminder that when traveling you’re usually not seeing the same people each day so who cares if you wear the same pieces more than once? Most people you encounter aren’t going to notice (or really even care) what you’re wearing. A blow to the ego, but a good reminder that other people are usually more concerned about themselves than what you’re wearing.

This is not to say that you should wear the same outfit everyday. However, you may consider only bringing one heavy pullover sweater and perhaps a light neutral color cardigan when packing for winter travel. This will make a huge difference from packing a cardigan to coordinate with each outfit and/or a heavy sweater for every day of your trip.

Additionally, I try to limit myself to three pairs of shoes for any trip, no matter the length. It helps to stick to neutrals that will go with all the outfits you’ve packed, but bright flats for walking could be a fun way to add that pop of color I mentioned above. I usually mix and match my three pairs from the below types of shoes:

Walking Shoe:

Generally speaking the pair that you’ll be wearing the most during your trip for exploring during the day. This could be a comfortable sandal in the summer, slide-on sneakers or flats for spring/fall, or a flat boot for winter. Bonus points if you have comfortable shoes for walking that are dressy enough to wear into the evening too.

Special Purpose:

Depending on what activities you have planned, you may need a shoe to fit a specific purpose. This might be sneakers/tennis shoes/trainers, hiking shoes or boots, water shoes, or heavy winter boots, etc. This shoe likely won’t see as much wear as the walking shoes above, but you may need it for a specific experience on your trip.

Dressy:

If we plan on going out to enjoy dinner at a nice restaurant, the local nightlife, or have a special event during our travels, I might pack one pair of heels or dressier shoes. Again, I try to select a pair that will go with a variety of outfits. This is the type of shoe that most often gets cut from my packing list as I don’t always need it.

Flip flops:

These will end up in my bag if I’ll be going to beaches, hot springs, hostels, etc. Although sometimes I end up tossing in the flip flops as a (rule breaking) fourth pair if I think I really need them since they take up so little space.

Sticking to this minimalist way of packing and the three pairs of shoes rule has successfully gotten me through many trips including running all over Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands for ten days with carry on luggage, a week in Rome in the late winter/early spring, and even a three week trip around Western Europe in December and January.

2. Get Versatile

When you pack less articles of clothing, the ones you do pack need to get a lot more mileage out of them. You need to pack things that can be worn more than once (preferably in a variety of ways) and items that can be worn for a range of activities. Learn to layer and learn how to mix up the way you wear things. It can be as simple as adding a belt or a cardigan to an outfit or just mixing up which pieces you wear together.

When selecting your clothes, try to pick materials that don’t wrinkle easily as they’ll travel the best and who has time to iron while exploring a new place?

These are some of the pieces that consistently find their way into my bag:

Maxi skirts:

They are a cute, casual outfit for daytime, but can still be dressed up for an evening out. Maxi skirts are good in a range of weather conditions since you can add tights or leggings underneath for added warmth, and appropriate for range of cultures.

Casual dress:

This striped t-shirt dress is the perfect example of casual dress that can be worn all day exploring a city, meeting friends for lunch, or dressed up for an evening out. It’s easy to throw a sweater, flowered kimono, or denim jacket on top or it can be layered over leggings/tights for added warmth in cooler weather. To mix it up, it can also be worn with a black skater skirt or maxi skirt over it to create another outfit.

Cardigan:

Choose a neutral color or one that coordinates with majority of your outfits, and lightweight or heavy depending on season/weather. Always a great piece to bring along, I usually wear a cardigan for travel days as it’s easy to pop on and off while moving between planes, buses, and trains. A cardigan can take a lightweight sundress into the evening or add another layer in chilly weather. It’s also good to carry with you if you’ll be visiting religious sites to cover any bare shoulders that many churches/temples request to be covered during your visit.

Leggings and/or Tights:

Who doesn’t throw a pair of leggings into their bag these days? Or maybe they’re your default flight outfit. Either way, they can be worn in so many different ways and in so many different scenarios. They can be worn when lounging, sleeping, going on a hike, or running around a city. These leggings are some of my favorites right now because the length hits perfectly above the ankle, the high waist doesn’t dig in at all, and the pockets are big enough to easily hold my iPhone! Although I will note this is much more common in the USA than other parts of the world that don’t embrace the athleisure clothing trend. (Looking at you Europe!)

While tights are less commonly thought of, they are especially great to pack for travel from autumn through spring. Not only can they be worn with skirts and dresses to keep your legs warm, but also under jeans or leggings as an additional (but lightweight) layer during the winter months. Bonus points for taking up almost no space in your bag!

It can be hard to look at your wardrobe differently as you try to mix and match pieces you may not normally wear together. However, it will make traveling light so much easier if you can make more outfits out of less pieces. My best friend pointed out that it’s not the outfits you take, but the memories you make that will last a lifetime.

3. Get Efficient

Now that you’ve (hopefully) trimmed down that packing list based on my first two packing tips, you need to pack it efficiently into the luggage you’re carrying with you on your travels.

Organization

Packing cubes have become my go-to item when it comes to packing. I read many, many articles that sang their praises before deciding to purchase some. This set of three eBag’s Slim Packing Cubes I picked fit perfectly into both my travel backpack and wheeled carry on suitcase, and make keeping clothes organized a breeze. 

Imagine this: you can pack specific outfits into separate cubes and even separate dirty clothes throughout your trip. You can fit so much more into the space inside your luggage with packing cubes than when you just cram everything in. While it may seem counter intuitive that putting your stuff in a bag to put inside your luggage will take up less space, but that’s the magic of packing cubes. Since you can compress clothes into the cubes tightly, you can get more into your bag without it exploding every time you touch the zipper.

Being Mindful

I try to also be thoughtful about how I pack things into my suitcase. My shoes usually get put in the bottom of the bag as they tend to be heavier and if I’m carrying my backpack I don’t want them to dig into my back. Then I place my packing cubes on top of them in the bulk of the bag. Anything I think I might need during a travel day or that is more delicate gets placed near the top for easy access.

To streamline airport security I always place the items security requires you to pull out separately (liquids, food, electronics, etc.) in an easily accessed spot. Either right at the top of my carry on bag or in my personal item/purse. My travel buddy and I will also divide up our liquids and toiletries as we share most of them while traveling anyway. On that note, anytime you’re traveling with another person: why bring two shampoos and toothpastes if you can share just one? This ensures neither of us has more than we’re allowed to take through security at the airport.

The keys to being efficient are keeping your things organized and being mindful of what items you might need when. Don’t be that person in the airport that’s emptying out their entire suitcase hunting for one certain thing. Nobody likes that person when they’re holding up the security line for everyone else.

Now Get Packing

It took me a while to boil down all the information I found to these basic rules, and even longer to master following them. In fact it’s still a bit of a work in progress, but I definitely pack a whole lot lighter than I did in the past. I hope you take these packing tips from an ex-overpacker and find them useful when packing light for your next trip! 

Have you ever traveled with just carry on luggage?