Tips For Packing A Carry On For An International Trip
Our family chooses carry-on suitcases for all of our International trips for many reasons, here are a few:
1. You do not worry about lost luggage
2. You can oftentimes bypass the check-in desk at the airport
3. You can make tighter connections without worrying about your luggage not making it.
4. You get out of the airport faster
5. It’s easier to get around with a smaller bag
6. You don’t pay fees for checked luggage
Here are 5 easy tricks to help you pack light for a family international trip …
Find a local Laundromat/Dry Cleaner : For our longer trips, we find a local dry cleaner/ laundromat and have them do our wash mid-trip. In Ireland, we had 5 days worth of clothes for the 4 of us and it cost around $30 to do our entire bag of laundry! We took 5 days worth of our family’s clothing to a local laundry in Zermatt, Switzerland and had a nice stack of clean clothes within 8 hours for around $50 total.
Utilize those packing cubes! By using packing cubes, you can fit 10 days worth of summer clothes and 5-7 days of winter clothes in a carry-on suitcase. Crazy, right! We even packed our ski clothes, gloves & goggles on our Swiss winter trip. You can find my favorite Monogramed Packing Cubes HERE.
Purchase Carabiners : We use shoe bags to roll/store our winter coats and clip them with carabiners on to our carry-ons to double as pillows on the plane & trains. Find the Carabiners HERE.
Backpacks: I am also a big fan of a duffle bag or backpack with a sleeve that can securely slide onto the handle of your suitcase. This makes walking through airports and train stations much easier! On most planes you can bring two items- your suitcase and a personal item. This is usually how you carry your valuables like laptops and cameras. But you can also fit things like your makeup, laptop, and chargers in there. Click here is a Link to an amazing travel backpack.
Designate a “dirty suitcase” : On the way home I pack the “dirty” clothing into the packing cubes, sorted by color and use one of the suitcases as the ‘dirty suitcase’ and one the ‘clean suitcase.’ This way when you come home you know which clothes need to be washed and which ones that can be hung back up. Try it and I’ll bet you will be converted.
*Bonus Packing Tips :
Roll your clothes before you put them into the packing cubes
Roll socks and underware and stuff them into the little spaces that nothing else can fit in- like inside your shoes.
Plan your outfits and stick to neutrals - Make sure that each piece you have works with exactly what you have. It's a balancing act. The best thing to do is stick to all neutrals. You can jazz up an neutral outfit with a scarf, jacket or necklace.
Leave the toiletries at home - If you are really short on space, don't pack any toiletries at all. You can always buy these things when you get where you are going. Most all hotels have shampoo, conditioner and body wash.
If you are bringing a hat, don’t pack it - wear it on the plane. If you prefer to pack it place it upside down in your suitcase and use rolled up clothing to fit inside the hollow of the hat. This will help protect its shape.