It's been a while since I did a pack with me post. Earlier this month, I flew to Las Vegas for the Travel Goods Show and I packed everything I needed in a backpack, because I'm a short, weak person, and I don't like to struggle to get my bag into the overhead on the plane. Now, I also brought a roller bag with me, because I knew that I would be bringing quite a bit of stuff back, but it literally only had a rain jacket in it.
I posted this video on my IG and had people asking me how I do it, so I decided to do a whole post on it. I know a lot of people struggle with packing light, so I'm here to show you how I pack when I travel alone. This backpack fits under the seat and has a lot of organization. In fact, the bag I took (similar) is bigger than the one I am packing the same items in in this post.
Here are some of my outfit of the day pics, because I like to see what I wore and what I didn't, but also I like to show you how to use your small wardrobe to mix and match options. As I said in my IG post, I packed more than I usually do on this trip, because I had a fancy dinner planned, but I also wasn't sure of the weather or what I might end up doing last minute, so I definitely didn't need a dress or one of my extra pairs of pants. I debated not bringing a rain jacket, but I'm glad I took it, because it rained 2 of the 5 days I was there and it barely took up any room.
Here is my pajama set and then my plane outfit: jeans, 3/4 sleeve shirt, hoody, and not pictured is the athletic jacket that I left out in case the plane was chilly.
I only had two pairs of shoes with me and they went with everything. I wore the sneakers on the plane and the flats were easy to shove in any open space in my bag. Now, let's talk actual packing:
Then roll each item and do a layer of the bigger pieces on the bottom, the smaller ones on a second layer, remembering to use all the available space, and then I just folded my pajamas and laid them on top. You don't need to do that part if you don't want. These would have made my layers uneven, so I just wanted to keep it even. Also, nobody cares if my pajamas are wrinkly, especially since I was traveling alone.
I had a second, smaller, packing cube for my underwear, socks (including a pair of compression socks), and I put my makeup mirror on top before zipping it all up.
Here's what I ended up with for clothes and the smaller bag above them is for my charging cords.
Here's a small sampling of my toiletries. This is my entire makeup palette though. Everything else in the bag is haircare, toothpaste/brush, contact solution, glasses, and shower needs. This Nomatic one that I picked up at the show is actually bigger than the Travelon one I took with me, so it takes up more space in a smaller bag. And now we move on to actually packing our backpack:
Here I've placed the bigger packing cube in the bottom lengthwise, then the smaller on standing up, so then I've made a space for my shoes. My toiletry bag goes on top of the big cube, then I added my electronics bag on top and a spare tote in case I need more room to bring things back with me.
That's it. I was able to take everything I needed, plus some extra pieces, and kept all my belongings with me from home, to car, to airport, to plane, to destination. My bag (minus the water bottle, which I put in the seat pocket, because I had a smaller leg space in the aisle) fit under the seat in front of me and I was able to easily get off the plane once we arrived.
I'll be doing another post soon on just toiletries and a whole review of this backpack and the toiletry bag. So, if you want to learn how to pare down your cosmetics and other essentials, it's coming in the next couple of weeks. And if you're looking for a new bag, this might be the one for you. I've also packed small for two people in a similar sized roller bag and personal item. If you can't carry a backpack for whatever reason, go check out that post.
What challenges do you face when trying to pack lighter?
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