How To Pack The Perfect Long Weekend Carry-On

Traveling is so much fun–maybe you’re getting out of town with family, friends, or a significant other. Regardless, it’s always a good time to go somewhere for a long weekend. However, traveling can also be stressful and expensive. Checking your bag, going through the airport, etc. Not to mention packing is something everyone has waited until the last minute to do at least once (don’t lie). If you’re going somewhere for a long weekend, it doesn’t make sense to have to check a bag and pay the extra money.

I’m no expert, but in the past 6 months I’ve found myself on a lot of long weekend trips (forcing myself to just bring a carry on). Being a girl on vacay is hard, especially trying to fit it into a small bag, I’ve picked up on a few tips and tricks that are most definitely helpful when packing the perfect carry-on bag.

Don’t wait until the last minute

 It seems obvious, but seriously don’t do it. This is the number one rule that you have to follow if you want to pack a successful carry-on bag. How often have you turned in a successful paper written the last hour before it’s due? Probably never, or not often. It’s the same thing with packing. Plus, you’ll just be less stressed when the day comes you actually have to travel.

Plan your outfits

 This is another mistake girls think they can just do and expect all of their stuff to fit in a carry-on. Wrong! Take the time to figure out what you’ll be doing on the trip, where you’ll be going, etc. Plan each outfit day by day, and maybe bring one backup top. This is the number one way to make sure you’re only packing what you need. If you have to, even try on the outfits. This includes shoes too–which I’ll bring up later. Trust me, you don’t need two outfits for one day (I learned this the hard way).

Rule of three

 Pack three items you can wear more than once. Typically that’ll be a pair of shoes, jeans or bottoms, and a sweater of some sort. Depending on where you’re going, this helps a ton. Instead of packing two pairs of jeans, just pack one and wear them again with a different shirt. It helps when you do this with items that are more basic (i.e. black shoes, a medium wash jean, and a black cardigan).

Try and buy what you can, there

 Again it sounds obvious, but people overlook it too often. Try and just buy travel stuff (shampoo, conditioner, etc.) once you get to your destination. If you need a beach towel or sunscreen for whatever reason, just buy it there. It may not seem like mini travel size things would take up a lot of room, but a small space can make a difference! If you’re going somewhere where you’re visiting a friend or family member, you can even use some of their stuff (if they’re ok with it obviously). Besides, you would have to buy travel stuff anyway if you decided to not buy it there–might as well save the extra space and buy it there and just throw it out before you leave.

Actually fold your stuff–tightly.

 I hope you fold your stuff regardless of it being a carry on or not, but actually fold your stuff tightly and make it fit all nice and neat. It’s essentially a game of Tetris when you pack–look up some YouTube tutorials on how to tightly pack your stuff. Ah, you gotta love the internet.

Next time you’re geared up to go on your next weekend trip, you’ll be a master-packer for a carry-on.

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