5 Tips For Light Travelling: Carry On Only

Oh, summertime… When everybody is dreaming of vacations, travelling and visiting new and exciting places. And as it happens, we’re actually doing the same at the moment, as we’ll be going home for an extended holiday.

Buuut this is not just any holiday for us- Alex and I are going back to Romania to get married!! We’re super excited, and my head is in a million places at the moment, but I am taking this opportunity to say that I will do my best to keep you up to date with everything we’re doing. My blog posting schedule will probably be a bit more erratic, but I will definitely post more on my Youtube channel, Instagram and Facebook accounts, so make sure to stay tuned, Subscribe and Follow to be in the loop!

Now, as we are currently busy with packing, I figured it might be useful to share a few tips and tricks with you. 5 tips for light travelling: carry on only, to be more precise. Because lugging your whole house around with you is definitely no fun, not to mention the stress of potentially having your checked-in bag lost or delayed (been there, done that). So if you want to travel light, these tips are for you:

Roll & fold

First of all, use a mix of rolling and folding your garments to optimize space. Rolling your clothes can be great and save you a lot of space when it comes to t-shirts, socks, soft fabric dresses and skirts. However, I find that rolling actually takes up more space in the case of jeans. Plus it can wrinkle your shirts and jackets to within an inch of their lives. Therefore, I recommend rolling any soft fabric items and the ones that you don’t really need to keep their shape completely. Then just gently fold the rest.

After you’re done with this step, it’s time for a little game of suitcase Tetris. First layer the folded clothes, and fill any remaining nook and cranny with the rolled ones. Make use of the suitcase edges and don’t forget to stuff rolled socks and underwear in your shoes! This is a particularly great space saving tip I learned from my mom.

Wear your bulkiest items.

This includes fluffy cardigans, jackets and heeled shoes. Yes, it is annoying to have to take them off at the security check point. But other than that, there are minimal issues with you wearing your wedge sandals or knee high boots and sporting a jacket, versus packing all of them. You’ll have more space this way, potentially even from some great holiday buys!

Check the weather forecast for the place you’re going to.

It might be 17 degrees Celsius where you are (ahem, Netherlands). But your destination might be boasting 33 degrees and brilliant sunshine! You wouldn’t want to have to shop for a whole new wardrobe at your destination or worse, bake under the sun in your long sleeved tops and jeans.

And the opposite can be just as bad. You wouldn’t want to be freezing in your cute jean shorts and strappy top just because you couldn’t be bothered to check the weather forecast.

Think about your holiday activities.

You won’t be packing the same type of clothes, footwear and accessories for a beach holiday in Greece as you would be for climbing the Machu Picchu, or for trotting around the streets of Rome. Adjust accordingly and put functionality first.

Sure, bring a couple of nice outfits if you know you’ll have the opportunity to wear them! But don’t go overboard if your main goal will be covering as much distance as possible each day.

Now I hope you’re all better prepared for packing for your holiday. Just as I hope you’ll be following us through ours as well! And if you’re curious to see what I’m bringing with me in my travel bag, just go see my latest Youtube video (little teaser below).

Happy holidaying, everybody!

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