Beginner's Guide to Packing Carry-On Only (Like Ever) Part 2

How to pack, the usual approach:

1. Lay out all the stuff you want to bring.
2. Despair.
3. Sit down and stare aimlessly at your bag while contemplating
1. your life up to this point
2. how the guy who invented zippers ever got that idea
3. how is it that physicists have not developed shrink rays yet
4. what’s for dinner
4. Attempt to fold things neatly and place them strategically in your bag.
5. Repeat step 4 multiple times.
6. At some point, resort to using your own weight to force the case shut.

***

This is Part 2 of our two-post series on how to pack carry on only.

In Part 1, we looked at ways to reduce the amount of stuff we need to bring with us on a trip. In today’s post, we’ll be tackling how to pack the stuff we do bring. All with the help of this nice organized illustrated (wow!), step-by-step guide.

From Part 1, here's what we need to pack:

Oh, is that all?

1. Set aside clothes you’ll wear on the plane. Pro tip: wear all (and I mean all) of you bulkiest items on the plane. Jeans, coat, sweater, hiking boots… It’s typically pretty cold on a plane anyway so you might benefit from the extra layers. Yes, you might look a bit silly - a close friend of mine was asked if she was going skiing once while waiting in the security queue in May - but who cares!? You’re going on an adventure! Besides, your pre-journey smile is 52 times more attractive than any outfit. Typically, I'm wearing jeans, a short sleeve tee, a long sleeve tee, a sweater, hiking boots, and I use my puffy coat stuffed in its bag as a neck pillow and my plaid scarf as a blanket.

Set aside your bulkiest clothing items to wear on the plane.

2. Pack up your cosmetics and toiletries in small bags for optimal organization, and don't forget to put your liquids in one of those plastic baggies for the airport folks.


3. Roll up your socks and unmentionables, and stuff them in shoes. Using up every inch of space available! If you aren’t packing any shoes or just strappy sandals, that’s fantastic, you’re gaining a bit of space!

Put your toiletries in small bags and your socks and underwear in your shoes.

4. Roll up your shirts and pants as shown below. This makes them easier to access and to stow away without disturbing the rest of the contents of your bag. [And now an ode to Packing cubes: packing cubes are so incredibly useful to keep your clothes organized and the inside of your bag from looking like a fallout zone. Seriously consider getting some.] If you've got packing cubes (yeah, high five!), store your rolls of clothes in there. 

Roll up your clothes to make them easier to access and stow away.

5. Line the bottom or sides of your bag with your shoes. As a rule of thumb, keep the stiffer bulkier items around the edges, and the mushy stuff in the middle. (Note: when I’m carrying a sleeping bag, I put it where the shoes are shown in the picture, and put the shoes along the sides of the bag.)

6. Place rolled up items or packing cubes in middle.

And we're packing, and we're packing, and we're...

7. Next come the toiletries, towel, makeup, medical supplies, you name it, to line the edges around your clothes. (You're probably thinking it would be best to switch steps 5 and 6 if you've got loose clothes and you're right!) Bonus tip: use solid shampoo, conditioner, and sunscreen to avoid having to pull out a large baggie of liquids at security, not to mention one bar of solid shampoo lasts way longer than a bottle occupying the same volume.

8. If your airline doesn't permit a personal item in addition to a carry on, roll that day pack of yours up and place it along the top edge so you can pull it out as soon as you get off the plane.

9. Some items actually end up taking more space when rolled up. Any bulkier or stiffer items of clothing, like waterproof pants or a tshirt dress, I like to fold and lay on top of everything else at the end.

10. Place a copy of IDs and important documents somewhere in your bag in case they get lost.

11. Place things you want easily accessible in the outer pouches of your bag, such as a travel journal and pens, headphones, paperback, electronics, and sunglasses.

12. Place your duct tape, combination lock, bags, safety pins, anything that could help in an emergency, away in a side-pouch. Put your liquids where they are easy to reach; no one wants to hold up the security queue.

Duct tape and emergency supplies hidden away. Liquids easy to access.

And there you go! Ready for your next big (but lightweight) adventure.

Bon voyage!

Gen