This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bryant chapter.
We all know how hard it can be to pack. There’s just so much stuff you want to take! Follow these guidelines and you’ll avoid the common “what should I bring or leave behind” stress of packing. Keep in mind, although these tips are for those who are traveling somewhere warm, you can apply many of them to any trip!
- Most airlines allow you to have as many containers (that are 3.4 oz. /100 ml or smaller) that fit in a quart size bag. All liquids that you bring must fit in this quart size plastic bag and although that seems like very little, that is really all you need for a week-long trip. Throw in a travel size shampoo, conditioner and body wash and you are pretty much set! If you need any other liquids, make sure to buy the travel size because they will throw away your products if they exceed the size limit!
- Another tip is to roll all your clothing. Rolling your shirts and pants allows you to fit more in your small carry on. This is a strategy that a lot of backpackers use to fit as much as they can in their small backpacks, learn from the pros! (this also helps to limit wrinkles!)
- Limit the amount of shoes you bring. Bring only the necessary shoes. One pair of your favorite heels for those fancy nights out, as well as your favorite sandals. Also wear you heaviest and largest shoes (usually sneakers, or some type of clothes toed shoe) to the airport. This will allow you to save more room in your carry on.
- Only bring one pair of pants and one sweatshirt or cardigan. You most likely will only need these for one cool night and you can always re-wear these items if you need to. You will also probably be wearing some type of warmer item on the plane in case it’s cold, so don’t forget you will have that all week as well!
- Limit your make-up bag! Take out only the necessities from your makeup bag and place them in a smaller bag. We all know we can collect tons of makeup in our makeups bags, but all those extra mascaras and eye shadows won’t be necessary for just that one week. Simply bring your favorite necessities.
- Only pack the clothes that you know you will wear, forget about the “maybe” shirts. Set up outfits for each day where you can reuse a pair of shorts or a skirt. Make sure you don’t bring any items that don’t have anything else to match with. That item will simply sit in your suitcase and waste space.
- Don’t forget you can take a carry-on bag and a small personal item (on most airlines, check online ahead of time to make sure this is the case). This means you can take a small luggage as well as a backpack! Stick all your last minute items in your backpack. This could be all the stuff that you actually want with you on the plane for example, hand sanitizer, tissues, a book, headphones, some chapstick and a couple of granola bars or other snacks.
- Last tip for traveling in general, don’t forget your most important documents like your license, (passport if travelling out of the country), your boarding pass, and of course any cards or money you will need. Keep these items easily accessible so traveling through the airport is easy and you don’t have to go digging through your carry-on to find them last minute.
With all these tips you should have no problem packing for a week-long trip with simply just a carry-on! It’s hard to believe, but trust us you don’t need as much as you think. HAPPY TRAVELS!