I’ve traveled a lot in my life. It’s a hobby I love, and I’ve visited 45 countries so far. I spent a good portion of my 20s on planes, for work and for fun. For most of that time, I had no idea how to travel light. I aimed to make my checked luggage exactly 50 lbs, maximizing what I could bring while avoiding fees. On top of that, I’d bring a heavy carry-on and a large backpack on the plane – stretching airlines’ definition of “personal item” to the limit.
I mentioned in my minimalism story that when I arrived in country with the Peace Corps, with my maximum allotment of 2 50-lb suitcases, a large roller carry-on, and a stuffed backpack, that I had brought more with me than my host family owned. This was a shameful eye-opener, but not yet enough to make me change my ways.
The downsides of traveling this way were numerous. Obviously, lugging heavy bags around was a strain. I once even threw out my back launching my suitcase onto a rack on a bus in Costa Rica. Beyond that, I had so much stuff – rolled, stuffed into pockets, squeezed into packing cubes – I often couldn’t find what I needed.
I used to watch people at the airport – usually very put-together women – traveling in heels with just a carry on. One that wasn’t so stuffed they had had to sit on it to close it. I would stare in awe and wish it could be me.
Well, I’ll never go to the airport in heels. But I do now travel just as light.
Some common advice for how to travel light I’ve seen on minimalist blogs and channels is the “5-4-3-2-1” or “5 to 1” method. It suggests packing 5 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 dresses and 3 pairs of shoes, 2 swimsuits and 2 bags, and one of each accessory (hat, sunglasses, etc.) Feel free to try that out if it works for you, but it wasn’t helpful for me.
Instead, I evolved a few methods over the course of many trips. These are the tips I discovered that transformed me from an over-packer to a carry-on-only traveler.
1. The first rule to travel light: Make a List
I do this naturally because I’m a list-maker, but not everyone does. If you hate it, go ahead and skip this part. But I find it useful because I have lists from past trips and I just repurpose them each time, rather than trying to remember and guess what I’ll need. This also allows you a little time to think through what you actually need – to add and delete from the list – before you start throwing things in your suitcase.
I recommend that you not use a premade list. You can reference one for ideas but make your own list. Someone else’s list is always going to have things that aren’t relevant to you. You’ll pack lighter when you focus on your specific needs.
2. Think in terms of outfits, not pieces.
Besides making a list, this was the biggest game changer for me in figuring out how to travel light.
Look at your itinerary. How many days do you have? What are you doing each day? Choose 1 outfit for each day or event. For example, if you’re hiking in the morning one day and going out in the evening, you’ll need 2 outfits.
And be smart about the outfits you choose. Try to make them all work with one pair of shoes, for example. Shoes take up a significant amount of space in a carry-on. Packing just one pair – or better yet, using only the ones you wear onto the plane – will save quite a bit of space.
Also, plan outfits that can mix and match the same pieces. Even if you usually like to have variety in your wardrobe, you’re going to appreciate ease over variety at least while you travel.
For jewelry, if you don’t already have a jewelry capsule, at least choose a couple of basic pieces that will match most of your outfits. And only pack those. Or consider not bringing any at all!
3. Buy a smaller suitcase.
This is such a simple tip but doing this years ago set me on the path to being a light traveler. I used to buy huge, cheap suitcases and then they’d break after one or two trips.
When I decided to invest in something durable, I was preparing for a three-week work trip to Indonesia. Contemplating the largest size hardcase suitcase from a certain brand, I realized I was going to majorly overpack if I gave myself that much space. I imagined how embarrassing it would feel to show up with a gigantic bag and make local colleagues help me haul it to the various cities we were going to visit.
I decided to go for a medium size instead. And that created a barrier against my natural impulse to pack a 70-lb suitcase. Even if I wanted to use compression bags and wrestle my bag shut, there was still a hard limit to what could fit in there.
If you have an extra-large suitcase, you’re going to feel the urge to fill it up. To travel light, buy one that’s smaller than you think you need and then readjust your packing strategy for that.
4. Use a carry-on whenever possible.
I’ve traveled enough in my life that my luggage has been lost quite a few times. Not really trusting airlines with my checked luggage, nowadays I’ll usually travel with just a carry on I can keep with me on the plane. This habit led me to think of new and creative ways to travel light.
Like the tip above, using a carry-on size bag will make it literally impossible for you to overpack for most trips. You’ll be challenged to keep liquids to a size that’s allowed through security, and I’ve found it’s great to have that limitation in mind while packing.
There are other perks to this strategy, too. You’ll spend less on checked luggage fees, save time checking in at the airport, and be able to breeze out of the airport without stopping at baggage claim when you arrive.
5. Use mini bottles for toiletries.
Forgive me for adding a bit of an obvious one to this list. But I know several people who travel with their full-size shampoo bottles, toothpaste tubes, etc. So, I figured it was worth including here. Buy some travel toiletry tubes and take a few extra minutes while packing to fill them up. This will allow you to travel light with only a carry-on, as you’ll be able to take the liquids through security. It will also save a lot of space and weight.
My one caveat here is that I’ve never found a travel toiletry squeeze bottle that will reliably stay closed in a suitcase and not squirt all over your other belongings. I recommend taping each bottle shut and keeping them in a sealed Ziplock bag.
6. Don’t pack your entire beauty routine.
If you don’t have an extensive beauty routine, great! You can skip this tip. If you do, consider taking a vacation from your beauty routine while you’re on vacation. I’ve written before about the merits of quitting your skincare routine. But even if you don’t want to do that, consider that a few days without all those steps isn’t going to hurt anything. As I mentioned in a previous post, the times in my pre-minimalism life that I accidentally forgot to pack certain beauty products on a trip ended up being a relief. I enjoyed taking a break from the usual regime.
I do travel with makeup, but to travel light, I keep it to the basics. Even if you normally change things up, you can get by on a trip with just one look.
7. Remember that if you end up not having something you need, you can always buy it.
I used to pack an extra of almost everything just in case. This habit started during my Peace Corps service, when I genuinely would not be able to find products I wanted in country.
I kept the habit up for years after until it finally clicked that if I’m traveling in Europe and run out of toothpaste or tampons, I can just…go to a drug store. Obviously, you don’t want to waste money by buying things abroad that you already have. But remembering that this is an option can give you the peace of mind you need ahead of travel to avoid packing extra of everything.
8. If you’re staying at a hotel or Airbnb, do some research about what’s provided.
If you’re staying a hotel, you may be surprised by how much it will provide for you. Hair dryers, for example, take up a lot of space in luggage, but most hotel rooms provide them for free.
I’ve found the same to be true for Airbnb accommodations, which often have quite a few toiletry and other items available.
Check the hotel website or Airbnb listing to see what amenities they include. You can even call the hotel or contact the host head of travel to be sure.
9. Check the weather forecast for your destination.
In this day and age, we have the incredible ability to just look up the forecast for our destination – even if it’s on the other side of the world and a week in the future. Take advantage of this! This tip may seem obvious, but in the past I often found myself thinking, “Well, I’ll pack this dress because it will be hot, but also this jacket and pants in case it rains….” Now I just look up what’s in store weather-wise so I can pack more with more certainty. Trying to prepare for different types of potential weather will always lead to over-packing.
10. Don’t pack too early.
I know this one seems counterintuitive. Especially since I’ve seen “don’t pack last-minute” on other lists of tips for how to travel light. I’m a planner and I used to like to start packing a couple of days ahead just so I wouldn’t feel stressed. My suitcase would sit open in my room for a day or two. The problem was that, despite my packing list, I would see something in my closet and think “oh this thing could be useful.” And I’d throw it in the open case. I ended up with more stuff than I needed or had planned.
So, while throwing things in a suitcase in a last-minute panic while you’re late for your flight could also lead to overpacking, you don’t want to start too early. The day before you trip is a sweet spot.
11. Consider the little things. Don’t assume anything “might as well” go in your suitcase.
I remember years ago overpacking a suitcase and weighing it, finding it was 5 lbs over the airline’s limit. I didn’t know what to take out, so I started with a few “extra” items I had thrown in: a couple extra shirts and pairs of underwear, an extra mini toothpaste tube, an extra outlet converter, etc. All very small things. I weighed the suitcase again and it was somehow 5 lbs lighter. What this taught me was that all those little things I was throwing in because I “might as well” really added up.
So, think about those little things when you pack. Do you need to pack your entire wallet, or just a few cards and your ID? Do you need to throw in your whole key ring, or just separate your house key and bring that? Is a book really necessary for the plane, or could you use an e-reader app on your phone?
You’ll be surprised by how much space you can save just with these tiny adjustments.
12. Do a “postmortem” after your trip.
If you travel often, it’s worth taking a few minutes to look back at your packing list after your trip. Was there anything you didn’t use at all? Note it on the list. Did you pack multiples of something and only use a few? Note how many you used. The next time you prepare for a trip, copy this list to start your next one. You’ll have those notes at hand from the beginning, telling you exactly what you need and don’t need.
13. Remember that you don’t need nearly as much on the plane as you think you do.
Even as someone who loves travel, I hate being on planes. I’ve been on planes where they forgot my vegetarian meals and I had no food, where my entertainment screen didn’t work, where someone spilled a drink on me, where the temperature felt below freezing, and on and on. For a while, I used to “learn” from each of these misfortunes by packing more to deal with these eventualities. I’d pack extra food, extra entertainment, extra clothes – just in case.
Eventually I realized that this habit was only creating a burden. The huge backpack took up space where my feet should be, leaving me cramped for hours. When I wanted one of the “just in case” items, reaching down behind the leaned-back chair in front of me and trying to feel for it amidst everything in my bag in the dark, I often couldn’t even find it.
So, I changed my ways. Now I pack one snack and one bottle of water, and just my phone and ear buds (with downloaded podcasts and an e-reader app) for entertainment. Recently, I was on an 11-hour flight and my TV screen was broken, the charger at my seat was broken, and they ran out of vegetarian meals. I ate my snack and the non-meat items from the meals, set my phone to low-battery mode, and alternated reading a book on my e-reader app and sleeping. I was a bit hungry and conscious of using up my phone’s battery, but in the end…it was fine. The time passed and it frankly wasn’t that bad. It was a great reminder that I really do not need all the little “just in case” items even when things do go wrong on a flight.
The Bottom Line
That’s my story of transforming from a notorious over-packer – mocked by friends and family, even – to an expert on how to travel light. If I can do it, trust me – you can, too if you follow these tips and change your approach. After one trip with less stuff to schlep you’ll be sold on keeping up this strategy forever.
What about you? Do you have tips for how to travel light?
I’d love to see any tips you have in the comments!