Packing Light: How to travel with just a carry on & a backpack

One of my favorite things is to travel as light as possible! I do this for two reasons: 1. It’s easier to be responsible for less & 2. I love shopping when traveling, so this leaves room for coming home with some special & memorable items. For our family, now that the kids are older (11 & 8), each person is responsible for a carry-on bag & a backpack. We never check bags (if we can help it). The only time I’ve had to check a bag since the kids were babies was when I came back from Nepal & the airline required that my carry-on was weighed. Since I had purchased stuff in my travels, they made me check my bag. Otherwise, no risk of bag checking in this family!

Packing Strategy: My rule of thumb is to pack for half of the time that we are gone. I also bring items that have multiple purposes. We all ALWAYS wear sneakers on the airplane, pants, t-shirt & a sweatshirt. Layers are key. If we’re coming or going to a cold climate, packable puffers (I linked the Amazon ones for kids) are a must. After trying several recently for myself, I selected the Duluth men’s puffer. UNIQLO’s packable puffer was a close second. It is also packable. I always make sure we wear the bulkiest items on the airplane. Everyone is allowed 1 additional pair of shoes. Another favorite that we bring almost EVERYWHERE With us are packable rain jackets. We all have them! Both of my kids have these Columbia Packable Rain Jackets. UNIQLO has adult packable rain jackets as well.

Packing Cubes: I’m sure everyone has heard of these by this point in time. They really help to organize packing & keep things compact. There’s tons on the market now, but I prefer the ones that expand & come with multiple sizes. TravelWise Packing Cubes. I also like to use different colors for the kids to keep things organized. For South Africa, I purchased the Compression Bags for packing & they were fantastic! They saved a ton of space.

Laundry: No matter how we are traveling, I always make sure that if we are gone for more than a week, we have access to laundry facilities at some point in time. This allows us to still pack super light. On the cruises, there are usually laundry facilities or you can pay to have laundry done. I also hand-wash smaller items in the sink or bathtub & hang them to dry. I bring along a couple of the Tide Sink Packs. If we are staying in an Airbnb, which we often do when traveling, then I ensure it has laundry facilities.

Toiletries: Everything I bring along is mini. I rarely bring shampoo & conditioner with me. I just use whatever is provided wherever we travel. If I need to bring shampoo & conditioner, I either purchase travel sizes or put my own from home in travel-safe containers. I like these for shampoo/conditioner GoToob Large or Small. I put my face products in mini travel containers. I purchase all of my travel size containers from the Container Store. They actually have a great selection of travel-friendly items.

How to Pack: The method of packing matters, in my option. I roll everything. It saves space & allows for more room in the suitcase!

Backpack: I recently decided to get a new backpack for my trip to Nepal in December 2023. I ordered a bunch to try & went to REI to try even more & the winner was: the Patagonia Stealth 30L. My backpack necessities include my computer (my backpack came with a computer sleeve), headphones, a BagsSmart Travel Case, which holds all of my wires & pugs, etc., a small bag with Kleenex, gum, wipes & a pen, another small bag with anti-nausea meds (I get motion sickness), my favorite neck pillow, TRAVELREST, and a book. A note about the neck pillows: This is such a personal choice. Knowing that I would be flying 12-15hrs to & from Nepal, I also did a neck pillow test & tried a bunch from Amazon. The Travelrest is by far my favorite!

This was my son’s suitcase & backpack for a 2-week trip to Europe. I was able to add family-items to his suitcase b/c he had lots of room left over to share space. The sweatshirt is for him to wear on the airplane.

Below is my daughter’s suitcase & backpack for a 2-week trip to Europe. As you can see, she has room to bring things home. The sweatshirt was for her to wear on the airplane.