Packing Light

So many of you probably will look at my suitcase and what I am bringing for a 10 day trip to Spain and say to yourself, “she thinks that is packing light?!” Well for me it is a major victory. There will be no bell boys, assistants or parents on this trip to cart around my luggage, it’s just me and whatever I can carry. And quite frankly, I’m tired of heaving around my large luggage up narrow European staircases, or squeezing into impossibly small elevators. The time has come to downsize.

Hence the carry on size bag, packed to the gills of course. I have no plans of actually carrying my bag on to the plane, especially since I had to undo the extendable zipper to add a smidgen more room. But the fact that I was able to get all my clothes, shoes, toiletries and a second bag (for souvenirs) into the carry on size bag is a miracle.

Here are the contents of my bag and the resulting win getting into smaller luggage.

Clothes to go into packing cubes (I talked about packing cubes in an earlier post, I absolutely swear by them!): 1 black and white sweater, 1 bulky sweatshirt, 1 long sleeve button down, 5 short sleeve shirts for layering, 5 long sleeve shirts for layering, 4 pairs of pants, 2 camisoles, pj top and bottom, Global Educators long sleeve, 2 pairs of shoes (1 comfortable/supportive flats, 1 low could walk in them all day boots), 1 scarf. I tried to stick with solid colors so I can mix and match as needed. Also being thrown in is my packable jacket from Lands End. It is great because it is very warm and takes up a small amount of space.

Not pictured but things that did get their own small packing cube: underwear, bras and a bathing suit.

My travel day outfit: leggings (to be worn during the trip), long sleeve shirt, full zip sweatshirt (also to be worn other times), puffy vest (perfect for layering), blanket scarf and riding boots. Normally I would wear comfy flats on the plane but in order to pack small I will have to wear my boots since they take up so much room.

My resulting bags. Success is mine! I am so proud of getting everything packed in a smaller bag for this trip. Hopefully you will be inspired to downsize too. 🙂

TravelTeachLove,

Katy