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Virgin territory: Packing a carry-on for a trip

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I’m going into virgin territory packing a carry-on for a trip. Of course, I’ve flown before and packed a carry-on. However, I don’t normally need to pack an entire week in a carry-on. It’s madness, I tell you! Especially since Southwest Airlines only allows me an itty bitty sized carry-on. The measurements acceptable to them? Brace yourself, here they are: 10″ height X 24″ length X 16″ width.

Packing a carry-on for a week long trip

Yeah, a week’s worth of clothes, shoes, accessories, and unmentionables packed into an “itty bitty living space.” Need a visual? Here you go, this is what I’ll be packing up very soon.

Tips for packing a carry-on, to save on checked luggage fees

Know airline rules for carry-on luggage

  • The first thing I learned, and this is very important, know what size carry-on the airline allows. Every airline is different, and some have weight limits, not just size restrictions. Luckily, Southwest seems to only have a size requirement. If you’re flying on an airline with weight limits on carry-on luggage, invest in a little item called the Air Weigh LS-300 Portable Digital Luggage Scale – trust me, you’ll thank me later!

What climate are you traveling to

  • Do a little research on the climate you’re heading to. If you’re heading to a warm climate, packing is a little less bulky. It’s important to know weather conditions, and pack accordingly. Check the weather in the area before you pack, even if you have a list of what you want to pack. Check on the precipitation forecast. You may not want to pack just your swimsuit, but also a light raincoat if rain’s in the forecast.
  • Perhaps an extra pair of shorts, or pants, in case you get caught in a bit of rain.
  • If it’s going to be super humid, ladies, bring the best quality hair products that’ll keep the fly-aways at bay! There’s millions of great products out there just like Oribe Hair Care – Impereable Anti-Humidity Spray – 5.5oz – find the perfect one for you!

How will you spend your time while away

  • It’s kind of mandatory to know what types of activities are planned for the trip!
  • Will there be hiking, walking, the beach, the pool, or a trip to a local amusement park? Pack the right things!

packing a carry-on for 10 days away

Color scheme packing

  • A huge tip that makes a ton of sense to me, is to pick a color scheme. Basically, choose a neutral palette for your wardrobe for the trip, and add pops of color with cute flats (which pack well,) jewelry, scarves, clutches and maybe a cute hat. Whatever works with your style.
  • Always include a cute pair of jeans: long leg, or capri, but SOME kind of jean. Jeans go with everything!

Take a hint from Joey from Friends

  • Remember the episode of Friends when Joey comes in wearing all of Chandler’s clothing? Yup, wear bulky items onto the plane. Basically, if you want to bring a pair of boots, even though going through security is a pain in the butt, wear the boots onto the plane.
  • Perhaps you want to bring your favorite cozy sweater, or a wrap. Wear it on the plane.
  • Dress in layers, and make the most of your “body” when flying and only bringing a carry-on!
  • Get a jacket with ample pocket space. An amazing lightweight jacket from Scottevest, will provide tons of extra packing space! It has a ton of pocket, and one of them will fit my iPad if I really want to put it in there. Love it. It’s great for me even after the trip, as I spend a lot of time going into New York City these days, and I hate carrying a ton of things with me. This jacket will fit my new camera, and my wallet, and keys. Wicked excited to fly with this jacket.

Maximize your personal bag

  • Personal bag. Southwest allows passengers to bring a personal bag onto the plane, even if you have a carry-on. Amazingly helpful. I’ve got a new bag for the trip. It’s going to serve me very well, as it’s a camera bag that’ll fit not just my new camera, but also my iPad. It’s smaller compartments are perfect for little extras, such as: chapstick, memory card, charging cords, and more. It took me a while to pick a bag I knew I’d love, and want to carry around, because I hate pocket books with a vengeance. Pick something you’ll enjoy carrying that fits all the items you’ll want access to during the flight.

Camera bag that can be used as a Personal bag

Packing Cubes

  • FINALLY, the tip that intrigues me the most is the use of packing cubes. People claim it keeps things super organized, compact, and helps with keeping things from getting wrinkled. I may just use this for the “unmentionables” so they aren’t all out there for all to see if my bag is opened, and looked through. Not that TSA is going to need to whip open my bag, but if they do, it’d be nice to not have all of my stuff sprawled out for all to see. Although, nothing embarrasses me, it might embarrass those behind me? We’ll see. Have you seen them, or used them? I’m partial to orange, what do you think of these Packing Cubes – cute, right? Blue is another option, it is my favorite color….

As this is the first trip for me in a very long time, I’m looking forward to the fun part of it….the parking part isn’t as much fun.

Would you love some extra help becoming a savvy, expert traveler? You’ll love the Expert Travel Insider! Order and download your copy today and start planning, packing, and exploring like a BOSS!

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By | 2023-01-23T12:14:35-05:00 January 23, 2014|Travel|1 Comment

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One Comment

  1. Angela Traveler February 18, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    Good luck, I hope the packing went well. :) It took me quite a few years to get the hang of “carry on bag only” packing, but once I did it was so so worth it! It’s so freeing to not deal with the hassle of checked luggage and excessively large and heavy bags.

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