Guide to packing smart and simple in a carry-on

Good day Spooky Bats!

I want to touch on something I didn’t yesterday in my Planning a Disney Vacation blog, but I feel is pretty important no matter where you are traveling to; how to pack smart and simple.

When thinking vacation, a lot of people tend to over do it when it comes to what to bring. Over the years, I’ve figured out how to make the most of my suitcase, while not bringing things I probably won’t use.

Lets just jump right into it then.

This is the most important thing when it comes to packing. The first question you need to ask yourself is: How long is this trip going to be?
For a trip that is 2-4, usually a regular backpack should be plenty of room, but for trips longer then that I would recommend either a 35L+ backpack, or a carry-on size suitcase. In my honest opinion, I don’t think there is a reason(besides when bringing large medical supplies) to use a suitcase that is any larger if it is just a normal trip.

Here are two bags I am quite fond of:

KAKA Backpack

Rockland Luggage 22 Inch Rolling Duffle Bag

We actually own 4 of the Rockland rolling duffle bag and use them for almost every trip we go on. They are very spacious, but don’t take up too much room in our trunk. When we went to Disney World in 2016, we were able to fit a weeks worth of clothing for all four of us in ONE of these bags.

There is no other travel item I love more(well, besides my neck pillow of course). Packing cubes help save you room in your luggage, and keep it more organized.

TravelWise Packing Cubes

We own two sets of these, which gives the four of exactly what we need. The kids and I use the medium sized ones while the husband uses the larger one.
Us adults usually use ONE regular sized one for our clothing, then ONE small one for undergarments for a 7-day vacation, while the kids only need ONE medium size for everything. For a week trip, everything tends to fit in one with room to spare.
Depending how full we pack these, we can usually fit 1 large, 3 medium, and 2 small inside one of our rolling carry-on bags.
Another great thing about them is when you get to your hotel, or wherever you are staying, you can pull one of these out, unzip it and place it in a drawer with everything already organized. No more shuffling through your bag, messing everything up to find that one top.

Always look at the weather leading up to your vacation. I suggest checking back the day before leaving to make sure you don’t need to change anything out in your suitcase.
Here are things I think you should always pack no matter the trip:
A light sweatshirt
Sneakers
Water wicking clothing

I didn’t bring sneakers one time when we went to North Carolina and boy did I regret it. I didn’t think we were going to be walking as much as we did. Tip: you will always be walking more then you think.

That seems to be the age old question of pinterest. We have tried all three, and the results were pretty obvious. No baggies, and a little of the other two.

When using the packing cubes, we fold the pants and tshirts, and roll the other tops, swim suits, socks, and undergarments. I feel the pants and tshirts take up more room if they are rolled.

The baggies were a huge bust the one trip we tried using them on(before the cubes). We put all the kids separate outfits in baggies so we could just grab one instead of digging through and making outfits. It turned out to be more work in the end with a ton of garbage afterwards. Most of the baggies ripped, and no one is going to take the time to put the clothes BACK in the baggies before heading home. Their bag was a jumbled mess of dirty clothes by the end of the trip!
The only time I use baggies is if just the two of us are going somewhere for a night or two and don’t need many toiletries, they go in the baggie instead of the full toiletry bag.

When packing your bag, always start with the larger items first. Pants, large tops, dresses, shoes.

There are many options when it comes to a toiletry bag, but my favorite has to be this one:

WANDF Expandable Toiletry Bag

Its big enough for everything we need,and hangs up nice to save counter space. From what we have experienced, its waterproof inside and out also, which is always nice.

To go with our bag, we also use small bottles for our shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bottles. These fit in the bag with a lot of room left over. They are leak proof, and come in a TSA approved sized bag.

8pc travel bottles 

One more special buy travel item are these toothbrushes:

Travel Toothbrushes

These are pretty cool in my opinion. They fold up small, but can be used as a regular sized toothbrush. We buy this pack because it comes with four, and all of us can get our own color so there are no mix ups.
They are also available at the Dollar Tree! The ones there are sold separately, but also come with a travel sized tube of tooth paste.

For the rest of your toiletries, always try to buy smaller, travel sized ones to save room in your toiletry bag. For sunscreen, we buy these:

Travel size sunscreen 3 pack

We keep one in the toiletry bag, one in the beach bag, and one in our car!

This goes for both flying, and driving. When we go on a road trip, everyone has that something they like to do in the car to entertain themselves. Our trips are usually between 12 and 21 hours, depending who we are visiting, so that’s a long time to entertain kids.

Each kid has their own mini backpack full of whatever they want to do in the car, and downtime at our destination. Their bags usually consist of:
Tablet
Ds
DVD player & DVDs
Coloring stuff
Small toys

I don’t care what anyone says, electronics are amazing when you need them to be entertained for hours at a time.

Usually my husband brings his DS to play in the car. I tend to just have my music on my phone because I get car sick when doing anything other than looking out the window or sleeping.
If we were to fly though, I would fill my personal bag with:
Kindle & Charger
Gum
Earbuds
External battery pack
Phone & Charger
Eye mask
Neck Pillow
Snacks
Foldable water bottle

I have found a hoodie that is supposed to hold anything you need. I’m planning on buying it at some point to see if it truly is as good as the hype says it is. Eliminating a piece of luggage would be amazing!

Baubax Travel Jacket

If you are NOT using a personal item when traveling, make sure to pack your chargers and anything else in your luggage.
***Make sure all electronics and liquids are easily accessible for security if you are flying.

I hope that covers it all and helps the next time you are packing for a vacation!
Like always, if you have any questions or suggestions, leave a comment!

Stay Spooky,
SL

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google