May 25, 2023

What I Packed… Carry-On Only Clothing Packing Tips Post!

Good evening!!!! I mean morning… this post is going up at 6am but right now it is Wednesday at 10pm and I am finishing up my last few blog and work things before we head out tomorrow for our big Summer adventure! I cannot believe so many things… that I started this whole crazy Summer thing seven years ago already, that we are already halfway through 2023, and that the school year is over! Does it not seem like yesterday that we all felt like 2020 would never be over and now we are halfway to 2024! Truly unbelievable!

Today I won’t chat near as much as my last packing post but I’ll try to explain my light packing ways as it pertains to clothing as best as possible. My last packing post was much more thorough so if you are interested in tips on everything from how I pack so light, why I pack so light, what I do with all of my toiletries and everything in between… READ THIS POST!

On that post, I said I was going to do an entirely separate post about clothing, so this is it. I honestly don’t have too much to say or share, but I will give you a few pointers on how to pack light when it comes to clothing. As I chatted about on that post, I reserve pretty much my entire carry-on for all clothing since my underseater fits everything else. That really does free up a good bit of space for clothing! This time around, I was able to fit six dresses, two long skirts, two pairs of jeans, five pairs of pants, two pairs of leggings, and twelve tops. Plus, eight pairs of panties, eight thongs, and one bra! And… I will be wearing a dress with two cardigans around my waist to the airport and of course wearing a bra, so that is extra things for my trip as well that don’t have to fit in my carry on.

One thing I will say again that I did mention on my last post is that we absolutely do laundry while we are gone! John and I will be gone for 42 days so there’s literally no way to pack enough and not have to wash some things. Between Airbnb‘s and even possibly a stop at a laundromat, we will definitely be re-wearing quite a bit. And I know stopping at a laundromat might not sound dreamy for a vacation but it’s really not that bad at all. We’ve done it before and we just grab lunch at a close by spot, and it goes by super quickly!

When it comes to packing light, you kind of just have to have a different mindset about it all. For me, the trip is more about relaxing, adventuring, and being away from… so many things. For that reason, I really do love just having a small light suitcase, where I can easily zip from place to place. Since we are washing and re-wearing, it’s not necessary to bring multiples of the same item. That’s why I only packed two pairs of jeans for the entire time, two pairs of leggings and things like that.

My biggest tip overall for making clothing go further is to pack lots of fun bottoms, whether it be flowy pants, skirts, jeans or leggings and then lots of basic tops. Or, if you’re going to much warmer weather… skirts, shorts, and such! The fun bottoms and basic top method leads to so much good, mixing and matching!

Here’s a peek at most everything I packed with the exception of a few pairs of shoes I won’t be bringing as well as the jean jacket pictured below. As you can see here, so much of this can be mixed and matched. I brought a few extra tops that are not pictured here, but this is almost everything!