The Carry-on Only Challenge

My biggest concern while traveling is that the airline will loose my luggage. And when traveling to different countries where passport check-ins are required I'm concerned with getting through that, collecting my luggage and making it to my next gate in time. For our upcoming travel we have a hour and a half layover in Frankfurt before we depart for Amsterdam and I'm not sure that we'll have enough time to get our checked bags after passport check. So, I accepted the carry-on only challenge!

NOTE: All these outfits are in assumption that the temperature will be in the 40 degree Fahrenheit range...far too cold for this Texan! If that temperature changes then these outfits will most likely change too. 

Our trip is 7 nights long and 8 if you include the overnight travel. I was able to pack 8 tops, 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shoes, a light jacket and a few other things all in my carry-on suitcase. I have to say I was pretty impressed. I'm also taking on board my one "personal item" which will be a backpack. All my outfits can be interchanged pretty easily; all the tops go with jeans or my black pants. On the plane I'll be wearing the outfit that is second from the left, on the top row and I'll be taking the purple jacket with me.  

{All 8 Outfits, also included are my jackets}

{the shoes that are coming with me}

{putting one pair IN the other saved some space!}

When packing I used the rolling method (I rolled all my clothes instead of folding them) and I have to admit, it seemed to work! I was able to fit all my tops and a pair of pants (plus some undergarments) on one side of the suit case! After seeing I had more room is when I decided to bring another pair of pants just in case. 

p.s. I actually found the outfit picture taking helpful because it turned out that the blue polka-dot sweater was a bit see through with a flash on...so an undershirt was packed too! 

{Almost full!}

 I put plastic bags around my boots so I don't get my clothes dirty.

{My one "Personal Item"}

After packing my converter/adapters, Microsoft Surface, camera, toiletry bag and make-up bag I'm sure I'll be able to fit my dress shoes and a few other items into my backpack.

How many days have you been able to pack in a carry-on bags?

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Packing the Essentials in a Quart Size Bag

If your goal these days is to only travel with carry on luggage then you'll need to fit all your liquids in 3.4oz containers that fit inside a quart sized bag. This might seem difficult but I promise you if I can do it then you can. Here are the products I bring in my bag:

3 hair care products

4 facial care products

toothpaste

contact solution

hand/body lotion

anti bacterial

perfume and make-up

And here it is all in its bag!

And here is my husband's bag: (thank goodness if I have any overflow I can put it in his bag!)

Our bags

Here are some other things that I bring on trips with me:

What do you bring on your trips?

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Travel Size = Fun Size

One of my favorite things to do before a trip is get all my travel sized toiletries ready. Depending on where we are going and for how long depends on what I take. Bust most of the time I do the wasteful thing and buy the $1 fun sized bottle of shampoo and then toss the bottle before packing to return home. I do this mainly to save room (typically we'll leave with 2 toiletries bags in our carry on and arrive back home with only one). The only thing I will keep are things like my heat tamer spray…and it usually leaks. Here is a picture of my travel sized stuff.  

Jen over at iHeart Organizing recently went on a family vacation and posted how she preps and packs her travel sized items. She is so organized and makes even this look pretty and amazing! Clearly I need to take a few pointers from her since hers look amazing and awesome and mine look like a hot mess!

 {Source}

Do you love the tininess of travel sized stuff? How do you pack your toiletries? 

Wardrobe Changes on Vacation, 1, 2, 3 times?!?!

photo credit

While surfing the web this week I stumbled upon an article that talked about how women always over pack. I feel that this is somewhat in our nature, we plan for the unknown outing. The article said that while on vacation the average woman changes 4 outfits a day! WOW! I find that to be a lot but at the same time not unbelievable either. I would say, while on vacation, I typically change outfits twice a day…maybe three depending on what we're doing that day. If we're hiking then of course I'll wear something athletic for hiking and then something nice for dinner. On the occasion I wear three outfits would be if we are doing something in the morning (site seeing for example) and then we go swimming in the afternoon and then my third outfit would then of course be for dinner. (Thinking about it...we already pretty much wear 2 outfits a day, work and then what we change into after work.)

The article continues to say that 1 in 10 women will make 7 wardrobe changes in one day while on vacation and that 8 out 10 women admit that they don’t wear everything they bring - Guilty there! – I always bring WAY too many shoes and probably 2-3 outfits that don’t get worn. I know I don’t need them all when I pack but it’s the whole, "I don’t know what I'll need" and "you never know who might see" thing. This next trip to Hawaii will definitely take some strategic packing on my part. We are bringing gear for hiking and that includes things you wouldn’t normally pack for a vacation (hiking boots, water bottles, flashlights, walking poles, etc.). I can't wait to organize and pack it all!

…Back to the topic of outfits…So if I go on a 10 day vacation that would mean, at a minimum, I would need 20 outfits (don’t forget 20 undergarments too). And based on what that article said I would need 40!!! That is a lot!

What do you think? How many times do have a wardrobe change while you're on vacation? – Leave a comment!

~Happy Travels

How to Pack Light

Packing light can really help you when it comes to traveling and getting trough security quickly. And now that airlines charge you for the bags you check it makes you think, "do I really need to take that?" If I am traveling for a week or more I am definitely taking a large bag and checking it. But I make sure to carry everything I really need in my carry-on (one of my biggest fears is the airline loosing my bag).

In my carry-on I bring:

• toothpaste & brush
• all my make-up (I don't want to spend $100's replacing it)
• hair straightener (again, don't want to spend $$$ replacing it)
• one pair of clothes
• few pairs of undergarments and socks
• swimsuit (if I'm traveling to a tropical destination) 
• all the electronics we have (cameras, recorders, iPads, etc.) 

Traveling for a long weekend can prove to be a little more difficult when only trying to travel with carry-on luggage. But now there are also so many cool new jackets that can second as your suitcase or even your carry-on. Check out these from Scottvest. 

for more info on how to pack and what to pack check out OneBag.

Happy Traveling!