A few years ago, MJM (I think that’s what I’ll start calling the hubs from now on) and I took a European vacation. It was magical. We were galavanting around for only a week, but we moved through a lot of countries in that short amount of time. In preparation for that trip, I looked up ways I could travel light since I would be traveling by planes, trains, and automobiles. I also wanted to ensure that I would have clothes to wear, because we all know how luggage can get lost when flying. I packed all of my belongings for a seven day trip in one carry-on bag, the one I’m about to show you. It was winter, mind you. Ever since then, any time I’ve flown anywhere, I’ve traveled the same way: carry-on only. It’s the only way I like to fly now. Last week when we went to Cancun, this is exactly how I packed and what I took. How do I travel with only a carry-on and my purse? I roll my clothes.
Disclaimer: This way of traveling is not for the mama traveling with kiddos. I’ve never traveled by plane with Charlotte yet. I’m fairly certain this is not how I would be packing. But if you get a chance to travel solo, or you’re single, I highly recommend rolling your clothes to travel with a carry-on bag only.
This is my step-by-step packing process:
1. Plan your outfits.
Consider your destination, check the weather, know what events you’ll be attending, and plan accordingly. Plan, plan, plan. I lay out all of my outfits for the day/night and shoes to go with each ensemble. For this trip to Cancun, I only needed sandals; it made packing a breeze.
Consider your destination, check the weather, know what events you’ll be attending, and plan accordingly. Plan, plan, plan. I lay out all of my outfits for the day/night and shoes to go with each ensemble. For this trip to Cancun, I only needed sandals; it made packing a breeze.
2. Roll all of your clothes.
Here’s where the rolling comes into play. Piece by piece, you’re going to roll your clothes. Each type of garment will need to be rolled differently. For instance, a dress is going to be rolled like this.
This concept will be done for most blouses, too. Lay the garment flat, face down. Make sure it’s nice and flat and try to get the wrinkles out. Fold in 1/3 of the way on the right side and 1/3 of the way in on the left side. Then roll the garment up from the heaviest part of the garment. For dresses, roll from the bottom. For blouses with collars, I usually start rolling from the collar.
You’ll end up clothing sushi rolls.
For my pajama shorts, I did the same process, except I started rolling from the waist side.
Line up all of your clothes to stay put.
For my bathing suit, I folded it in half, hot dog style (any elementary teacher’s out there? that’s your lingo) and then roll from the heavier portion, the bottom.
For my regular shorts, I folded them in half, hot dog style, and rolled from the waist again.
Once you have everything rolled, it should look something like this.
3. Pack all of your rolled clothes into a soft duffle bag.
For me, packing in a soft duffle bag is the key. It allows me lots of flexibility in packing my bag because it’s easy to be manipulated. I tried rolling my clothes using a carry-on suitcase, and it didn’t work. There wasn’t enough space. Somehow, a duffle bag is the Mary Poppins bag for packing. It works every time! I use the Vera Bradley large duffle bag, and I love it.
Make sure you make a base with all of your clothes at the bottom of the bag. Put the heaviest items at the bottom, and then work your way up. You can place your undergarments on the top or wherever they fit nicely.
4. Pack your shoes on the sides of your rolled clothes.
5. Pack your toiletries.
Place any liquid (remember airlines won’t let you carry-on any container with more than 4 oz.) or lotion in a quart size bag and leave that out for easy accessibility.
And you’re done!
I then pack my purse, which is huge, with my electronics and anything else I need at my feet during my flight. I pack all of my chargers and electrical gear/wires in a Ziplock bag as well just to make it easy on myself. I usually mark what I’m taking with a Sharpie, too, so that I won’t forget anything. I left my hat out and placed it in my purse, and I packed a light throw blanket in my purse too.
That’s it! That’s how I travel light. Outfit planning and rolling my clothes has saved me from checking a bag and spending the extra cash, several times now. Hopefully it’ll work for you, too.
Do you travel light? If so, how do you do it?
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I love this!!! I will be trying this for my upcoming Florida trip!!!!!!
Thanks, Ann! I hope it helps with traveling light. :) And have a blast on your trip!
You are so organized! I also love to pack light, but have never tried rolling my clothes. Great idea! While we lived in England, we did lots of European travel. I had a simple formula for packing – jeans, dark shirt or sweater and colorful scarf. It was kind of a uniform. And usually I was wearing a coat, so the colorful scarf is the main thing that would show up in pictures. Love your blog. :)
Haha, just with packing. ;) I packed a very similar wardrobe when we went to Europe, dark jeans, long sleeved tshirt, and a scarf…and of course my coat. And thank you so much for the compliment! Glad you like it! :) Hope you’ve had a great weekend!
I’m too cheap to pay the checked bag fee, so I pack light! This summer, we took a week long vacation back home to Texas with our 4 month old. Total we had, 2 rolling carry ons, a Vera Bradley weekender I called her diaper bag, car seat, and a backpack. It felt like a lot carrying it through the airport, but we were within the limits and didn’t have to pay fees;)
Haha, us too! It sounds like you have the packing down to a science! It’s good to hear that someone can travel with a baby and still travel with only carry-on items. That’s awesome! Please share your wisdom! :)
I think the biggest things are to pack as minimalistic as possible for the adults and wear a lot on the flight! I’m always cold on the plane anyway so I like to wear layers and my biggest items to save space in the bag. We bought a lot of our toiletries once we arrived, which is kinda a waste but still cheaper than checking a bag! Same with diapers and wipes, I only carried enough for the day with us:)
I’m looking forward to rolling my clothes next time and seeing how much that helps!
I love this! I especially like how you can easily see all of your clothes instead of digging around for stuff that’s folded. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Claire! Yes, it is easier to see everything in your bag this way for sure. When I get to my hotel room, I usually unpack and hang everything up. It takes a little bit of extra time to re-roll everything, but it’s worth it. :)
I could see how this would be so much easier!!! But you’re right, this is jot how it works flying with kiddos!! We’ve done it twice now with Palmer and it’s not easy!! Maybe now hat she’s potty trained it would be a different story!?!?
Apparently traveling with only carry-ons can still be done with a baby! At least that’s what someone else said in the comments. :) I’m all ears.
I love this post! Maybe you’ll consider packing for my Disney trip in November? :-) Pretty sure that I’m going to have to do some serious packing for that. (And the rest of the family!)
Anyway, I just stumbled upon your blog and I’m loving it. Keep it up!
Hi Gretchen! Thanks so much for that. :) And Disney packing in November sounds like tons of fun! As long as I can tag along, I’d be all over packing for you. Lol. Hope you’ve had a great weekend, my dear!
This makes me want to go on a vacation without kids. Every single time we’ve flown since 2012 has been with children. And that has been probably 20 times. UGH. I can’t even remember what it is like to pack like this. We do have our family packing down really good, though.
Well you should definitely teach us your packing ways! We have one more vacation scheduled for just the two of us in November, then I’m sure it will be crickets for about another three years. Lol. However, a trip with a toddler could possibly happen in 2016. We shall see! ;)
I used to roll my clothes while in high school…but then for some reason I totally forgot about it. These are some great tips – though because I am a germaphobe my shoes have to go in separate bags!
Thanks, Ashley! I am non-germaphobe, so that does’t bother me too badly. Lol. However, my husband packs his shoes in separate bags, too. :)
I am impressed! I am the worst packer and over packer. But I’m definitely going to roll my clothes for our next trip!