I used to take a large suitcase on every domestic and international trip.
I’d pack a pair of underwear and different outfit for every day that I was going to be away, and left room for shopping trips to buy even more clothes and souvenirs. On the journey home my bag would only just squeeze under the luggage weight limit, and I would take forever to unpack and wash everything once I’d arrived back. While this method suits some people just fine, I’ve since realised that it makes travel a whole lot harder when you’re lugging around a bunch of ‘stuff’.
On my most recent trip to Bali, Rob and I packed one carry on bag that fit our clothing, toiletries, and appliances for two people. Yep, TWO!
I sometimes check in luggage depending on the type of bag I’m taking and how long I’m going for, but the majority of the time a carry on bag is a way better than check-in luggage. Here’s why:
- If you’ve booked with a budget airline, check-in luggage is often a paid extra. You can get around these fees with a small cabin suitcase or a mid sized travel backpack.
- Lining up at the airport to drop off your luggage is often a long and painful process. I’ve been in that check-in line for over 45 minutes before, and by the time I left the counter I had to run to the boarding gate.
- Once you arrive, you have to wait for your bag to be unloaded. This can also take a ridiculously long time when you could be immediately on your way to your accommodation.
- If you are travelling to a place with uneven roads/footpaths or staying in hostels that don’t have elevators, you’re going to seriously regret lugging around a large suitcase.
Convinced that a carry on bag is the way to go? Great! There are a few essential things you need to know before you start packing: here are my methods for fitting a week of items in a carry on bag.

Clothing
- Consider a capsule wardrobe. This means packing minimally and including only items that match more than one other item. There’s no point taking a tee that you’ll only wear once because it only goes with one pair of shorts. Ideally, everything you pack should have the potential to be dressed up or down depending on what other items you match it with.
- Don’t pack unnecessary shoes or accessories. Consider whether those heels that you may only wear once or that fancy handbag are actually worth bringing along. Take 2-3 pairs maximum including comfortable sneakers and sandals, and 1-2 bags such as a handbag and a day pack. No arguments.
- Prep for washing your clothes often. Take an elastic clothes line and a small amount of washing powder. This will take up very little room, and means you can halve the amount of clothing you take as you can wash after a few days.
- Pack smart. Begin with the chunkiest items (such as shoes) first, then roll each clothing item and stack neatly. This will take up less room and makes it easier to remove items without the need to unpack your entire bag. Pack toiletries on top as you’ll likely need to access them first.

Toiletries
- Never take more than you need. Almost all large bottles of liquids you have (shampoo, moisturiser, sunscreen, etc.) can be squeezed into smaller, more space-efficient travel bottles. Aviation laws in many countries allow only a maximum of 100ml/3oz if you’re taking liquids in your carry on, so each bottle will need to be smaller than this.
- Buy travel sized items. Those that can’t be repackaged into smaller bottles such as deodorant and hairspray are usually available to purchase in smaller travel sizes. Yes, I know the value for money isn’t very good, but it will take up much less space in your bag.
- Separate your medications. Don’t take the entire container of your pills when you’ll only need a few! Extract the exact amount of medication you’ll require and place it in a click zip bag for safekeeping.

Appliances
- Ditch the books for an e-reader. I’m a huge fan of reading novels while travelling, but physical books take up so much space and will quickly have you exceed your luggage weight limit. Purchasing an e-reader (I use the Amazon Kindle) will allow you to load multiple books and just download a new one when you’ve finished what you’re reading.
- Choose travel-friendly appliances. Taking hair appliances can be a waste of space but I do like to look good in my travel photos, so I recently invested in a GHD styler which means I now have a hair curler and straightener in one. And if you’re going to take a hairdryer, I highly recommend getting one in a compact travel size! I use a travel hairdryer by VS Sassoon.
- Combine your chargers and cords. Chargers can be an absolute mess when you have to take a different cord for each of your devices. If you can, get USB chargers so that you can use either your laptop USB ports, or take one USB wall plug. Another option is to have multiple devices that use the same charger – for example my Kindle, HTC phone, and portable speaker all accept a mini USB cable so I can take the one charger for these devices.
One last thing to remember is that if you don’t pack something but end up needing it later, you can usually buy it when you get to your destination! There are stores at airports that stock most emergency items that travellers need.
Apparently you can get ghd that is usable on wet hair. No dryer needed, more space!
Whaaaat! That’s phenomenal. I wonder if it’s much more expensive than the classic ones?
I’m going to have to argue on the shoe comment. 😛 Sandals and sneakers are great if you’re going somewhere warm and doing something athletic. I think a good rule is to just bring the shoes you need for the weather and occasion. I totally agree that if it’s only going to be worn once, leave it home.
That’s entirely true, it does depend on where you are visiting. I used my trip Bali as an example, but if you’re planning on hiking through mud or heading somewhere with snow then sandals or sneakers would be very innappropriate – you’ve just got to plan ahead for the conditions and ensure you take only what is necessary!
Great tips! I used to be like you too, I’d pack an outfit for nearly everyday of the trip and found that to be really a big space waster. I always look for clothes that can be multi functional, dress it up or dress it down, same with shoes (that is my weak point I love to bring a lot of shoes!)
Thanks Samantha! It’s a very hard thing to do – I know we’ve all had that moment where we want to take a nice outfit or nice pair of shoes but have to leave it behind as we know we’d probably wear it just once. Multi-functional clothing is definitely the winner when it comes to packing lightly!
I used to have a chronic overpacking problem. I was so proud of myself for my last 10 day trip that I was able to get by with just a carryon!
I think everyone has experienced the overpacking problem at one stage or another! 10 days with a carry on is a great achievement, well done!
I’m pretty good at cramming all of my stuff into a carry-on, but always manage to forget an essential! Good to remember that you can always buy it when you get there — and if you REALLY need to, you can also buy another bag.
I think that’s one thing most people forget – their destination will normally have shops to buy anything that might have been forgotten!
Great tips!
For short trips, carry-on is definitely the way forward. We’re on a two year jaunt at the moment and there are many days when I have haul my massive pack off and on numerous buses – travelling lighter would make things a hell of a lot easier!
I couldn’t agree more Emily, it’s especially annoying carrying around a heavy backpack when you’re moving about all the time!
Loved this post even more so for the Black Books reference. Now feeling the sudden urge to put down my Shakespeare, stop writing my essay and watch 6 episodes in a row.
Have bookmarked this page (and about a billion others from your blog) in the vain hope that someday I won’t be a poor student and can use these tips properly instead of just dreaming!
Thanks Nancy, the same thing happens to me every time some makes a Black Books reference! Though I highly recommend you wait until you’ve done some work on your essay first 😉
Being a poor student doesn’t have to stop you from travelling, I hope I can inspire you to get going sooner rather than later!
When we were kids my dad would lake us only take carry on, No matter what. Trips from one week to three weeks it was a carry on. Guess he was helping me for our RTW trip i was going to take 27 years later. Thanks for the skill dad!
Very helpful information. I’m going on my first international trip since the 60s so a lot has changed. This is a trip to Kenya and so I will have to Long flights to deal with. New York to London and London to Nairobi with a 4 hour wait between flights.
I’m only allowed 33 lb all together for this trip. Since I don’t know how to maneuver the airport in London, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just have one bag weighing about 20 lb checked in and a 10 lb carry on.
What are your suggestions for such a trip.
Thanks for your comment, Joyce! How exciting to hear that you are heading to Kenya. With those long layovers, it’s always nice to have some clean clothes and toiletries on hand so that you can freshen up in between flights. I’d suggest taking a few of those items in your carry on, and put the remainder in your check in bag 🙂
Love these tips, and I completely am with you! You almost always pack more than you need. I think my motto for 2020 will to be ruthless when packing lol! It’s such a drag (literally) when you overpack. Something else I sometimes do is skip the hair tools altogether and embrace air drying! While I love my heat tools, they are bulky and take up lots of valuable space.
That is definitely true – even now I somehow pack items that I only end up using once throughout the trip. It’s impossible to pack 100% perfectly! I think being ruthless is the right way to go about it. Just remind yourself that if you end up needing something that you didn’t pack, you can buy it when you arrive!