For the last part of my 2013 Travel Series, I decided I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could pack for a 3-night trip with carry-on luggage only. As many of you may already know, I am not exactly a light packer. What you bring with you on a trip is unique to suit your needs. I find I generally use anywhere from 90-100% of what I pack, which tells me that I am packing appropriately for myself. That being said, I don’t often (if hardly ever!) pack carry-on luggage only. I thought it would be fun to see if I could fit everything I would actually want for a 3-night trip into carry-on bags. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome!
Airplane passengers are generally allowed one bag and one “personal item,” such as a shoulder bag, backpack, or laptop bag (I suggest checking the airline’s website for specific measurement requirements before traveling). I decided to use my Vera Bradley Weekender bag as my main bag and my Longchamp Le Pliage Large Tote as my “personal item” for this challenge. I purchased the Weekender earlier this year as a soft-sided duffle-like option for car trips or light travel. It is an extremely versatile bag! There are quite a few built in slip-pockets around the interior walls of the bag. The Weekender also has a generously sized zip pocket on the front exterior, and two small slip pockets flanking a “trolley sleeve” that allows you to easily slip the bag over the telescoping handles on wheeled luggage. It’s extremely lightweight but sturdy and is easy to carry either by the reinforced handles or the adjustable over the shoulder strap. I have already explained the many marvels of the Longchamp Le Pliage Tote as the perfect travel bag in my recent post about My Favorite Carry-On Bags. I will just reiterate its simplistic yet extremely versatile design that makes it the quintessential shoulder bag for travel.
I used my favorite packing organization aids to help me fit all my clothes, accessories, toiletries, and makeup into my Weekender. My favorite Eagle Creek Pack-It Cubes came in handy to keep my clothes compact, separate, and wrinkle-free. I used an Eagle Creek Half Cube to stow my flip-flops and Shoe-Ins to protect my dress shoes. I always like to prepare for the event that I might have to travel home with some damp items. I have a wet suit bag to keep my bathing suits separate and a large ziplock for my loofah, hair towel, and head wrap that I use when washing my face. I managed to pare down my toiletries and cosmetics to a few smaller cases. I break down what is in each case below:
I was most concerned about fitting my liquids and gels into a quart-size clear case. Imagine my surprise when I managed to get all of my necessities into my Vera Bradley 3-1-1 Cosmetic Case, which can be used it place of the quart-size ziptop bag required to pass through security. Having sample/travel sizes of my staples definitely helped! Here’s a breakdown of everything I fit into the case:
1) Hand Sanitizer
2) Hand Cream
3) Toothpaste
4) Toner
5) Hair Oil
6) Daytime Eye Cream
7) Nighttime Eye Cream
8) Face Wash
9) Daytime Moisturizer
10) Nighttime Moisturizer
11) Makeup Baggie #1 with Setting Spray, Brush Cleaner, Perfume, and Eye Makeup Remover
12) Makeup Baggie #2 with Eyelid Primer, Face Primer, Brow Gel, Concealer, Mascara,and Liquid Eyeliner
13) BB Cream
14) Body Sunscreen
15) Face Sunscreen
I packed all of my non-liquid toiletries into my Purse Size Terry Bag from Glitzy Glam, including:
1) Makeup Remover Wipes
2) Pouch filled with Face Cottons & Cotton Swabs
3) LUSH Solid Shampoo
4) LUSH Solid Conditioner
5) Razor
6) Deodorant
7) Hairbrush
8) Baggie filled with Hair Ties, Bobby Pins, and Decorative Clips
9) Nighttime Lip Balm
10) Tongue Scraper
11) Floss
12) Toothbrush
13) Multivitamins
I tucked all of my non-liquid cosmetics into my custom 1154 Lill Studio Leslie pouch, including two lipsticks (#1 & #2), eyelash curlers (#3), an eye and face palette (#4), eyeshadows (#5 & #6), a disposable spooly brush (#7), a brow highlighter pencil (#8), pencil eyeliner (#9), two blushes (#10 & #12), face powder (#11), and cotton swabs (#13).
I recommend watching my Carry-On Challenge video (shown below) for a better look at my packing prep and how I packed each bag:
All in all, I am quite pleased I was able to successfully complete my Carry-On Challenge without sacrificing any of my travel must-haves. 🙂
I am excited to be hosting a special 2013 Travel Series Giveaway including some of my favorite packing aids that I shared in this blog post and the coordinating video. There will be TWO winners, each of which will win a Vera Bradley Weekender bag, an Eagle Creek Pack-It Cube, Half Cube, Tube, & Half Tube, a Sealed Wet Bag by Travel Happens, a shoe bag by Reisenthel, and a Vera Bradley 3-1-1 Cosmetic Case. Follow the directions on the Rafflecopter widget below to be entered to win. The giveaway is open internationally and will run until Friday, August 30, 2013 at 6 PM CST. I will contact the winners directly via email in addition to announcing them on this blog post and on Twitter. Good luck!
*** GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED ***
Congrats to Ashley P. and Serenity H. on being selected as the winners of my 2013 Travel Series Giveaway!
The Travel Series Giveaway Poll Results for *What is your packing style?* out of 3046 entries:
Admitted Overpacker – 48%
Everything in a pouch, Case, or Container – 34%
Proud Minimalist– 11%
Shove random things in a bag & hope for the best! – 7%
Anti-Packer (let someone else do the packing!) – less than 1%
Sometimes Rafflecopter experiences technical difficulties. If you can’t enter for some reason, try again later and it will probably work.
*This is not a sponsored post or giveaway. I purchased all items shown myself, including the giveaway prizes. All opinions are my own.*
