What we’ve Learned about Travelling, Part 3: Packing.
Something we strongly recommend that seems nuts, but actually alleviates some travel stress: travel with carry on bags ONLY as much as possible. Get your clicker finger ready, we have lots of products to share that help us dramatically with this!
We BOTH used to check big bags, carry backpacks and a small roller bag when we travelled, especially internationally, until we went through what we’ll call a ‘learning opportunity.’
We were off to Scotland in 2019 to visit our friends and renew our wedding vows for our 10th anniversary. Neat, right? Sure, until we got to our first connection in Chicago and found our first flight had been delayed too long due to a storm, forcing back our connection and having us miss our overseas flight to Edinburgh. Bleh. So we went to the Customer Service desk and, after much discussion and pleading, they were able to reroute us so we actually ended up arriving around the same time as we were originally supposed to but on a different flight. Win! So, off we go and, as expected, ended up in the glorious city that is Edinburgh, Scotland. Except, our bags didn’t arrive with us or even shortly after. Neat.
So ensues a very long story with international phone calls (ouch) and going on with the rest of our trip, but the short version is that we also had two carry on bags, each with a few clothing items (always pack an extra outfit in your carry-on if you do check a bag) and Tasha’s dress, thankfully. Yes, we ended up buying a few things, but we also learned that you can do laundry (duh!), either at a hotel’s facilities or you can buy mini travel detergent made to do your laundry in the bathroom sink or tub. This was a game-changer for us. Now, we travel much lighter, only with carry-on bags, and plan on doing laundry if we’re gone for a long enough time. Those bags finally caught up with us on the last day of our trip after many flights around the globe and a trip to the “unclaimed” warehouse in Dallas. When we opened them, we didn’t actually need a darn thing in them. Ahh perspective.
On an upcoming trip, we will be gone for 16 days but are only planning to pack for 4 days. This makes everything so much lighter and less stressful, knowing your bags are right above your head and never needing to wonder if they made it on the plane. Our current favorite tested and beaten bags are the Samsonite Ziplite 4.0 rolling carry-ons (which I don’t think you can get anymore but Samsonite in general is a great brand), and our variety of backpacks: Osprey Daylite Plus, Osprey Daylite and Osprey Porter Travelpack Carryon 30 for longer trips. All three of these backpacks have a padded computer pocket and lots of extra pockets for whatever you need. The Daylite bags are perfect to take along on your daily adventures once you get to your destination. Unpack what you don’t need during the day, pack the essentials and you have plenty of space for anything you may pick up along the way plus a couple water bottles. Jason typically carries a backpack and Tasha sticks with her small Waterproof Crossbody Arden Cove Bag to just carry a couple essentials.
Speaking of packing, our travel has changed the kinds of clothes we buy, even when we’re at home. What we’ve found is that natural fibers work SO much better when travelling. They help naturally regulate your body temperature and keep you warm (especially when the plane reaches altitude and gets a little chilly), can be worn a few times before they look like you’ve worn them, won’t stink, are super easy pack, wash and dry really fast (especially if there’s a heated towel rack), and are usually really good quality. When it comes to natural fibers, we like Woolx (psst…our link gets you $20 off a purchase of $50 or more) and, more recently, Paka. More expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Some things just are. And no my friends, wool isn’t always itchy. It’s by far our favorite natural fiber to live AND travel in. We talked about travel clothing in depth in this post.
Toiletries are a tricky thing when you’re only planning to take a carry-on. Per TSA regulations, you can only carry-on liquids and gels that are less than 3.4 ounces, they all must fit in ONE quart size clear bag per person. They call this the 3-1-1 rule and it’s been in effect since 9/11. This. Is. A. Challenge. One way to combat this is to just pack what you absolutely need once you get to your destination and before you can get to a store. This is typically the approach we have taken in the past. But, as we’ve switched to cleaner products that aren’t widely available, we’ve had to get a bit more creative and selective about what we absolutely need on each trip. We are constantly in search of new products that are NOT liquid – bar shampoo/conditioner, tablet toothpaste, bar soap, and solid lotions are a couple ways to cut down on your liquids. Another way is to take your products out of their original containers, even if they are 3.4 ounces, if you won’t need the entire amount while you are travelling. We’ve managed to go from big hanging toiletry bags to small, flat countertop bags that easily fit into a carry-on by downsizing our containers. Our newest favorite tool for this is the Cadence container. They’re not only cute and practical, they have magnetic sides and tops so they stick together instead of sliding all over your bag and hiding in corners. Genius. Their first trip with us is right around the corner. Vitamins, supplements and prescriptions are important when you’re out of your regular routine (and in it), so we have fun pill cases from Mbark to cut back on giant bottles as well. Tasha’s favorite toiletry bags are made by Makeup Junkie and come in 4 different sizes, endless colors/designs and packs flat, which is great when you forget to leave room in your bag for it – whoops. Jason’s favorite toiletry bag is by a company called Gravel and also comes in 4 sizes. He likes that each item has its own compartment so he knows exactly where they are.
Sometimes it takes a life lesson to make you stop and re-evaluate your priorities and necessities. Hopefully yours won’t come in the form of lost luggage on a 14 day international trip when you’re trying to renew your vows.
In the end we got married, again, had a great time and learned a valuable lesson for the next stage of our life together.
Happy travels!
