Teacher Travel: How to pack light- a guide from a semi-reformed over packer

This is the second post in my summer series on Teacher Travel. You can also check out the first post for information about planning & budgeting for your trip.

If you’re anything like me, packing for a big trip is both exciting and stressful. Today I would like to share how to pack light and avoid the stress of overpacking. None of the links I am sharing to anything are affiliate and I get absolutely nothing if you purchase them. They simply are products that make my life while traveling way easier! 

Two weeks in a carry-on sized suitcase. A decade ago I would have laughed in your face and said it wasn’t possible. Today, this sentence doesn’t fill me with any sort of dread. In fact, my new goal is to see if I can one day do a backpack or European sized carry-on for an extended trip.

So how did I go from being the girl whose suitcase was always bulging to being completely nonplussed about packing? One thing: practice. Actually, two things. The second is becoming fed-up. Being an over packer can be miserable, and lugging your bag around is not fun. Please read this really clearly: if you are traveling to multiple countries/ cities, especially in Europe, you WILL (seriously) have to carry your bag. A lot. In airports, train stations, hotels/ Airbnbs, through streets. If you can’t easily carry all of your stuff up multiple flights of stairs, you need to make adjustments.

Choosing Luggage

For my most recent two week trip to Europe, I brought my standard U.S. carry-on sized suitcase and a backpack. I make a note of the size because while my bag is fine for carry-on stateside, it does NOT meet the requirements for carry-on for most international travel, mostly due to their very strict weight restrictions (it is fine size wise). I did pre-pay to check our suitcases on the way there and back. It was well worth the peace of mind because if you have to check at the airport, it is well over 150 Euros per bag on most airlines.

My suitcase is a Samsonite spinner that expands and locks. I got my husband and I the same one (his is black) at T.J. Maxx in 2017 for about $80 each. We used them for the first time on our 10- day honeymoon to Greece, and for this trip and it did not fail me either. I did get a new backpack specifically for this trip (find it here) since my old one did not have very padded straps. I love this backpack!! It is surprisingly roomy and very comfortable to carry.

Travel Essentials

Before I get into the clothes and shoes that I brought, I would like to share three travel specific items that I cannot live without for long international travel. All of these I packed in my backpack along with my Kindle, a coloring book & colored pencils, travel documents, and toiletries.

• Trtl neck pillow: My husband watched YouTube reviews of neck pillows for hours before this trip because neither of us have ever really been able to sleep on planes. We purchased a two pack of these pillows on Amazon the week before the trip and it was one of the best decisions we made. We BOTH slept on the plane ride there. This pillow fully supports your neck and allows you to sleep in multiple positions. It was so good and we used it on the trains too. They just came out with a new, even better version. You need this if you have a long flight in your future.
• Sleepy Ride Footrest & Comrad compression socks: My legs have always hurt really badly on long flights until using this footrest and wearing these socks on this trip. The footrest is great because it gave my legs a different, elevated position to be in. I alternated between having my feet on the ground and elevated in this and it was wonderful. The compression socks helps with circulation and keep your feet and legs feeling awesome. I wish I had bought these sooner.
• Turkish Towel: They sell these everywhere in Europe, but I got my husband and I them in 2017 and they are awesome. On the plane, this is my blanket. At the beach or pool, it is my towel. At a church, I can use it to cover my shoulders or legs. So versatile and rolls up so small.

Clothes & Shoes

Alright, now on to the part that always tripped me up: clothes and shoes. I love options. I mean, I have a style Instagram and blog so that is probably obvious. I get stressed thinking about all the what-ifs when packing. There are many people out there who discuss the 5-4-3-2-1 rule, which states that you should bring five tops, four bottoms, three accessories, two shoes, and one bathing suit.

Yeah, about that. This is why I call myself a semi-reformed over packer. I have yet to actually been able to follow the 5-4-3-2-1 rule on any trip I have ever taken, but I have gotten a lot better. So here is what I packed for two weeks in Europe in the summer, keeping in mind that we did mostly cities, so I wasn’t packing beach wear. Also, please excuse that some of my clothes are wrinkled as I actually took these photos as I was unpacking rather than packing because I just didn’t have time since we left two days after school ended.

Thoughts/ notes on what I packed

• Shirts: I had way too many shirts. I don’t know why I felt that I needed so many because I could have left at least four at home. I am really glad I packed the linen button down shirt though because it was really versatile.
• Bottoms: I actually felt that this was the perfect amount of bottoms. Exactly what I needed.
• Leggings and joggers: Hands down essential. I wore the joggers (got both of mine from Athleta right before the trip) on the planes, trains, and just any time I needed to be comfy. Leggings were great for the day we went biking in Paris, and although we ended up having to cancel it, would have been great for a hike we had planned as well.
• Dresses: I didn’t wear the maxi and could probably have done without it, but I did wear the other two dresses and they made me feel pretty.
• Outerwear: I wore my jean jacket everywhere, including on the planes and trains. I didn’t wear my cardigan at all. The rain jacket was clutch and we always had ours on us. That sweatshirt I actually bought at a GAP in Paris because it was freezing and I didn’t pack anything really warm. Lesson learned. I wish I had had a scarf with me too because it would have helped immensely (Although, in retrospect, I am not sure why I didn’t use my Turkish towel as a scarf. Ultimate fail).
• Shoes: I will sing the praises of Allbirds every day because they are so comfy and wonderful for travel. They are light, easy and small to pack, and you can wash them. The two styles I packed were Tree Runners, which I already had, and Tree Skippers, that I bought specifically for this trip. The runners are more comfortable and the skippers are cuter. That is not to say that the skippers aren’t comfortable as well; I wore both most of the trip and walked miles in them. My brown sandals are Born, which I bought for this trip, and the white are from Target. I didn’t really wear my white sandals much and probably could have gotten by with just my brown ones. They were really comfy and I was able to walk all over the place in them without any pain.
• I obviously also had underwear and socks in my suitcase. All of that was on the left side with my shoes.

Rolling? Packing Cubes? Both?

Some people swear by packing cubes, but they have never worked right for me. I tried to use them on this trip and I couldn’t close my suitcase. Once I went back to my method of rolling, everything fit. I neatly fold big items like jeans and then roll everything else so I can fit it all. I like rolling because I can fit clothes in every nook and cranny of my suitcase and I feel like my suitcase stays more organized.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I was pretty happy with the way I packed for this trip. I was able to carry all of my stuff, whether that was up seven flights of stairs up to our Airbnb in Barcelona, or through the Paris metro stations, I was self reliant. I know that I can get better with packing and I by no means consider myself an expert, but I do think that I have been able to mostly reform my overpacking ways. When I’m packing, I try to stick to a color palette, which is why you’ll notice that most of what I packed was in the blue family. I could mix and match a lot of the pieces. I opted to bring more solids than prints so that putting different outfits together using those pieces would be easier.

One more thing to note is that we did do laundry several times on the trip. All of the Airbnbs I booked had washers except for one, and we utilized them to make sure we had clean undies and comfy clothes the whole time. European cities all have laundromats, so even if you stay somewhere without a washer, you can certainly do laundry while you are there. When I was in Colombia for three weeks back in 2016, I actually had the hotel do my laundry because it was so cheap. It was wonderful to have clean, pressed, and folded clothes magically appear back in my hotel room! Basically, if you can pack about a week’s worth of clothes, you can make that last any length of time that you need.

I hope this post helps some of you pack for your next adventure! If you have any questions about packing, please feel free to ask away; I love to help. <3