My family and I just returned from a 2-week trip to the UK, where we visited the beautiful islands of Scotland and Ireland. And I only took one carry on for all of my clothes. Actually, each member of my family only took 1 carry on for the vacation. It’s our favorite way to travel.

I started traveling with a carry on only around the same time that I started paring down my possessions and removing unnecessary things from my life. That was 2015. This was the same time that I became obsessed with watching and reading anything that was minimalism-related, particularly carry on traveling.

To me, it’s been life changing. And I’m happy that I can teach my kids at a young age that they don’t need a lot of stuff, especially when they travel.

If you’re interested in reading about how I pack for a weekend trip, check out this post. That was for only 2 days and it was pretty easy to pack light for that.

Packing for a 2-week trip was not as easy. I had to be very intentional with the items that I decided to take.

The Luggage

I decided to give my 45L Tortuga carry on bag that I had been using for the past 3 years to my husband, as he is much taller than I am and I always felt that the bag was too big for my frame. This meant that I needed to find a new bag.

One of my favorite things about the Tortuga was how it opened up fully so that I could access all of my clothes without having to dig to the bottom like in a traditional backpack. So I wanted another bag that was like that. And I also wanted it to be less than 30L.

I only had a few days to find a bag so I went to a few local sporting goods stores in the hopes that one of them would have what I was looking for.

After visiting a few different shops, I found the perfect bag. The Eagle Creek Convertabrief 26L checked all the boxes.

In hindsight, I wish I had gotten a backpack with wheels and a handle for my carry on but live and learn, I guess. However, that was a pretty small oversight in the grand scheme of things and this bag will serve me for many years to come. If you are interested in the ethics of this company, check it out here.

The Weather

When packing light, I think the most important thing is to check on what the weather will be like where you are going.

We were spending the first week in Scotland. Our travel plans included 3 nights in Edinburgh, 2 nights in Islay and 1 night in Glasgow. The temperatures were ranging from the mid 50s to the low 60s.

The second week was to be spent in Ireland. The first 5 nights would be in Belfast where my husband would be attending a meeting and the last night would be spent on Dublin before our flight back home. Similar temperatures as the week before were forecasted.

There was also rain in the forecast.

Travel Itinerary

We didn’t really have an itinerary when we landed in Scotland. Aside from having to catch a ferry on day 3 to get to Islay, we intended to have a slow paced vacation. I knew there would be lots of walking involved and that it would be good to pack clothing that could be easily layered.

What I packed

Outerwear

Tops

Bottoms

Footwear / Bag

Jewelry

Miscellaneous

1 pair of track pants and 1 tank top to wear on the plane (I wore my black boots and cream cardigan also as they were the bulkiest items and they were warm)

1 top and shorts for pjs

2 bodysuits (black and pink)

7 socks

7 underwear / 1 extra bra

How I packed all of that into a 26L backpack

The backpack has 3 main compartments. The bottom compartment has a protective laptop sleeve (which I did not need). I used this compartment to hold my pants which I folded flat. I did roll up the track pants since they aren’t bulky when rolled.

The middle compartment is where is packed my extra pair of shoes, my tops and jumpsuit. I rolled all of the clothing to save space.

The top compartment is where is stored my underwear and extra bra, my socks, jewelry and my pjs. I re-use cloth bags that I’ve received with clothes that I’ve ordered from Ozma of California, Cuyana and Dôen to separate the different categories and to keep it all together.

Here’s the backpack once everything is in there…

My rain jacket, book, toiletries and makeup were tossed in my Longchamp Le Pliage bag.

Tips for cleaning clothes on vacation

With only half of the socks and underwear required for the trip, you can bet we washed our clothes while we were gone. These are some of the things that you can consider to clean your clothes so that you’re fine with packing less, even for a long trip.

1. If renting an Airbnb, check that it has laundry facilities.

2. If staying in a hotel, check out the laundry service. If it’s within your budget, go for it.

3. If the hotel laundry service is too expensive, check for nearby laundromats.

4. If all else fails, hand wash items in the sink.

In my case, I used a washer and dryer at our second Airbnb in Islay during the first week of our trip. For the second week, we were in a hotel. The laundry service was far too expensive and I had a sick child which ruled out going to a laundromat. So, I ended up hand washing items in the hotel sink and hanging them on the retractable clothesline provided.

Lessons learned

1. I could have only taken 1 pair of shoes because all I wore was the pair of boots.

2. I only needed one bodysuit, and I could have done without that.

3. I didn’t need to take excess accessories. I pretty much only wore my watch, 1 necklace and my hankie tied around my neck.

4. I did not need the bulky sweater. The thinner sweater with the jacket over it was plenty warm for 50-60 degree weather.

5. I could have taken 1 less pairs of pants. I only wore the light colored pants once. Luckily I didn’t waste anything on them.

6. I should have left my straightening iron at home. It would not work with the converters that we had.

Future trips

For future trips, which we have decided will be less than 10 days, and that are in a similar climate, I will take:

1 jacket

4 tops (including a light sweater)

3 bottoms

4 underwear

4 socks

1 pair of boots

I can think of 12 outfit combinations with this amount of clothing. And I know that I tend to repeat outfits that I like and feel good in. So this amount should be sufficient.

Well, that’a all I have to say about that.

Do you travel with a carry on only or do you prefer to check a bag?

– xG