Although right now we’re a bit broke, I have to admit that I have been fortunate throughout my life to travel quite a bit. My amazing parents have taken me to different corners of the world – from Paris, Florence, Munich, the Swiss Alps, and more.
We traveled the west-coast taking a road trip from San Diego to San Francisco, hiked the Grand Teton mountains, and have probably scaled the entire east coast. In my years of travel experience, I have picked up a few tricks along the way…ESPECIALLY when it comes to packing. Hope you don’t mind if I gloat, but I have that weekend-in-a-backpack routine down pretty good.
This upcoming weekend I’m actually flying to Austin for a friend’s wedding! I couldn’t be more excited – we paid for the trip a long time ago, and it’s been awesome knowing that I get to have a fun weekend with some of the people I haven’t seen since my own wedding.
As I go about packing for this trip, I thought I would share some of my carry-on packing tricks for you. Here’s how I go about packing for a carry-on:
Plan out your outfits.
I have to admit I’ve always been one to plan out an outfit for every single day of my journey. It helps me to stay away from over packing. Plus, it helps me to not stress every morning of my journey because my outfit is already planned. Sure weather could get in the way of my outfit choices, but that’s why I always do research on the weather before a journey.
Mix-and-match items with different outfits (jeans, shoes, scarves, etc).
For example, if I bring a pair of jeans that means I can plan a few outfits with those pair of jeans alone; blouse one day and a sweater the next. I also like to bring accessories that will go with every outfit, meaning that the colors will always match well whatever outfit I have with me. My scarves, coats, and shoes always go well with very outfit I bring.
Keep it light on the jewelry
Don’t fret about having to bring a different piece of jewelry for every outfit! Instead, pick something you love that can go with multiple things. I pretty much wear these gold hoops Oliver bought me every day along with this pendant necklace (since they basically go with everything no matter what), and also bring a statement necklace or two for fun.
Get serious about your bag game.
I used to have this tiny canvas backpack that was cute as heck but never fit everything I hoped. Recently I acquired this Vera Bradley bag that is my absolute favorite thing for travel in the whole world. The laptop slot in the back helps me to save room in the main pocket, where I can fit up to four outfits, pajamas, cosmetic bags, an extra pair of flats, and my laptop charger. This saves me SO much room in my purse where I can keep traveling needs, such as books, wallet, headphones, and of course my journal.
Wear your harder-to-pack outfit on travel day.
For example, for a weekend trip I always bring a pair of flats and boots. Flats are way easier to pack than boots, so I wear the boots the day I travel. My typical travel outfit includes boots, jeans, a sweater, and carry my scarf and jacket with me for colder weather. It makes packing my bag way easier.
Hope these tricks help! If you need something to save (either on Pinterest or just to your phone) here’s a small guide for you:
Leave a Reply