When you’re living out of your carry-on, the world is your canvas, your life is a rush, and the trip that much more exciting. One common factor that is shared among travelers is that bad preparation can make any trip go sour quickly, while smart packing can be the key to a sweet escape. So what should you pack in your carry on in 2013, the age of technological conveniences?
First and most importantly, pack lightly - the fewer bags you carry the happier you’ll be. Nevertheless, there’s more to packing light than you may know. Here are our tips for packing your carry-on more effectively:
How to be a Packing Pro
- Multi-Purpose – Be sure to include multi-purpose items when you are packing. A hoodie that has a detachable hood turning it into a sweat-jacket is smart thinking. A few pairs of Neutral color shoes that will go with a number of outfits is more sensible than carrying around your entire shoe collection.
- Folding technique – Army rolling your clothes is an efficient folding technique to fit more into your carry on. The technique is simple: fold your shirt or pair of jeans as you normally would, but add an extra final step of tightly rolling the material. The tighter the roll, the fewer wrinkles your garment will have when you unpack.
- Proper Bags – Compression bags can be used for maximizing packing space in your carry-on as they compact your items tightly together. Remember to search for bags that zip, seal, and compress. This way you can neatly store away smaller items.
Other Helpful Hints
Coats and jackets already come equipped with a bunch of pockets. Your coat is a storage unit in itself with lots of hidden space you can use to pack small items—find the right size jacket, coat or sweater that is light enough to throw over your shoulder, but large enough to keep you warm and to store an array of additional items you’d like to bring with you on your trip. The one carry on rule takes a strategic dress code that also includes:
- Wearing a long sleeve shirt, under short sleeve shirt ( if applicable in the case of winter travel)
- Wearing shorts under jeans
- For women: Empty out unnecessary purse items to find extra space
Of course mobility is a concern when travelling, and getting to and fro is drastically easier when you travel light. Carrying luggage can be a strenuous and time consuming stressor that you don’t want to endure. By packing light and travelling only with a carry-on, you can manage delayed transportation and missed connections more efficiently. It also plays a big part when you must engage other alternative means for transportation such as: trains, rental cars, taxis before and after your flight. For security purposes, you are less likely to have your items stolen or damaged when you can take a carry-on onto the plane. You also avoid extra baggage fees. But the most important reason to travel light is to relieve all that extra baggage of stress that comes with your extra luggage. Packing smart will allow you to enjoy your flight with less stress, worry less, and have less to haul around on your travels.
