How to avoid overpacking or under packing your carry on

My 5 Step Packing process for carry on only travel

This week me and Dave finally got to redo the birthday trip we had originally planned in June that sadly got postponed due to my surprise hospital stay.

If there’s one thing that really gets me going, it’s packing. I specifically enjoy the thrill of packing carry on only and approaching it like a game of Tetris, the goal being to maximize every useable space, without overwhelming myself. The key i’ve learned to packing like a pro is to find the sweet spot between overpacking and underpacking, in a bid to utilize the pieces you pack to their full potential, and still feel like you, vs some fantasy vacation version of you.

The biggest challenge I find with packing for a city break is that I tend to mix up the activities, vs say a poolside vacation where I can pack way less. So in any given day I usually change outfits at least twice when I’m on a city break.

For this trip we would fly to Portland, spend two nights there, then hire a car and drive to Seattle to spend an additional two days there before flying home. I had anticipated lots of walking, wandering around museums and cute streets and neighborhoods, but there would also be a few fancy dinners and cocktail bars. Me and Dave love a good speakeasy. So I needed to pack items that would allow me to create multiple outfits for multiple occasions. 

I like my makeup incredibly edited. See this YouTube video on how I made my own custom palette.

My Packing Process: Five things I always do before I pack

1. Put all the pieces I think I’m going to wear on a rack, including the shoes and accessories. This helps me see off the bat if it seems like a lot. (At first it always is) It also helps me pack from my emotional brain first. I like to observe the selects I choose and then I lean into my practical brain. 

2. I then take photos of all the pieces worn in as many different ways as possible. I have a little fashion show in my bedroom. This helps me identify which pieces will work the hardest, and as a result will help me pack as efficiently as possible. It also highlights very quickly what won’t work or do the heavy lifting required to make it into the final edit. Especially if let’s say I notice a particular shoe looks great, but is too similar to something else I’m already packing, or doesn’t work as well with all the other items I’ve tried it with. I take photos as I go for reference. Is this extra? Yes, but to me this process sparks joy! 

3. Doing this helps me cull usually 40-50% of what’s on the rack based on the weather report, and the type of activities I know we are likely to do. These become my final edit .

4. Then I go to my Indyx app and input all the pieces that made the final outfit inside a packing list. 

5. Then I add the final outfit options using those pieces inside the same packing list within my Indyx app. Now I have a checklist and a visual notebook of outfits banked ready for the trip.

The final edit

9 pieces of clothing

9 accessories

The Combinations I planned 

I created 10 possible outfits so I could realistically have at least 2 outfit changes per day, as we would be travelling for 5 days total.

What I actually wore

Day 1

My travel/airport look, lots of linen and comfort is at the forefront of this look.

The first outfit change happened as soon as we landed, due to the heatwave Portland was having, I opted for my denim shorts.

Day 2

A white cotton sundress with black accessories for day.

The dissh waistcoat with the linen trousers for evening cocktails

Most likely after 2 Aperol Spritz

Day 3

Surprise surprise, more linen, for a day of walking around Portland before driving to Seattle.

I was over the moon to find a gigantic Muji store in Portland before we left for Seattle. We used to have several stores in LA, but sadly they all closed down. Needless to say, I enjoyed myself thoroughly and came home with a mini Muji haul.

For our first night in Seattle we went for the most incredible dinner at Spinasse. I was feeling lazy, and only changed the shoes and the earrings, but I loved the outcome.

A statement earring is such an easy way to make the same day time outfit feel more dressy, that and changing up your makeup.

Watching them make fresh pasta at Spinasse was pure joy, only made better that we got to eat it too.

Day 4

I forgot to take a daytime photo but for day 4, I went back to the white cotton dress. The only thing I changed for dinner was my makeup where I used the Roen 75 palette to create a very soft eye look.

I love the detail on this cotton dress, it’s super old from H&M but it gives Tove or Toteme vibes without the price tag.

Day 5

On the last day I pretty much repeated the first day, only the other way around. I started in denim shorts and a tee, and then at the airport I swapped my shorts for the linen trousers and wore the linen shirt as an extra layer.

Consider me influenced, & recommended reading

Luckily before my travels I had seen The Artful Essentialist share her packing newsletter which I loved! She shared how she takes the Muji wash bag as her carry on wash bag of choice, which I promptly added to my cart. I did also order the hanging suitcase organizer but sadly my order got lost before we left for this trip.

The perfect wash bag does exist. Bag from Muji

I also enjoyed Anna from The Wardrobe Edit’s post where she wrote about packing less being the key to carry on only and took a lot of helpful tips from that too. The tide pen (a stain remover pen) is a game changer, and it really works! I swear me and Dave are like big kids when we go out to eat. There is always a stain on one of us by the end of the evening so this will now be coming with me every time I travel.

Is 9 x 9 the magic formula?

I felt really pleased with this city capsule carry on. I wore every single thing I packed and there was still room for me to bring back my Muji haul and a book I picked up from Powells bookshop (a must visit if you’re in Portland). Without even realizing until writing this post, I had packed 9 pieces of clothing and 9 accessories, and putting together multiple outfits felt effortless. I planned ten looks in total, 2 for each day if necessary. I could have easily created more outfits, but I don’t like to overwhelm myself, plus it leaves room to experiment based on what I feel like wearing during my travels.

I hope this was helpful, and feel free to share your travel tips in the comments below.

Thanks for reading

Harry x