How To Pack Carry-On Only (For Three Months!)
From September-November 2022, I traveled to 7 different countries with only a carry-on suitcase and backpack. Here’s how I did it.
In a previous post, I wrote about how I learned my lesson to travel light (thank you London!). So when I set out on my international travels this Fall, I was determined to travel only with a carry-on suitcase and backpack.
All airlines allow you to travel with one personal item (backpack, briefcase, large purse) for free, most international airlines allow you to travel with a carry-on for free (usually with a weight limit of 7kg), and, if not for free, almost all airlines allow you to pay to take a small carry-on suitcase on the flight with you.
From September-November 2022, I traveled to 7 different countries (15 cities) in 3 different continents with only a carry-on suitcase and backpack.
Here’s how to do it:
Choose the right bag
Backpack
For my “personal item” I chose to take a largish (40-ish L) backpack that I got free from work. About two weeks into my travels, I swapped backpacks with my cousin (and travel partner for that leg of the trip), for a smaller one.
The smaller backpack (pictured below) was one I had seen on social media, and it was definitely a 2022 traveler favorite, because I saw many others with the same backpack.
In theory, this is a great backpack for traveling! It has lots of compartments to better organize your things, including a built-in shoe bag and a “wet bag” area. It is quite comfortable to wear, and can be compressed if needed. It also comes in quite a few cute pastel colours, which can be a nice change from basic black (although, if I was to repurchase it, I would buy black this time, instead of pink).
However, in practice, it was a bit too small for what I needed. The internal dividers and compartments were definitely helpful for separating my important documents and having a designated place for everything, but I would have preferred a larger main compartment, and one that didn’t open all the way (like a suitcase) which ended up being more of a hindrance when I needed to fish something out. Although there was an insulated section that might have fit an umbrella (?), there wasn’t a spot for a water bottle, which would have been more helpful. Also, the shoe area was a bit useless, because it took up the main section space — so you’d have to decide whether you wanted to put your shoes in there or limit your internal storage capacity, when it may have been more space-effective to just put your shoes in the main compartment and pack around them. I didn’t take a laptop or iPad with me (I can write more about this later), so I don’t know how useful the tech compartments would have been if I had, but overall I don’t think it was as spacious as I would expect a travel backpack to be.
Carry-on
I chose a soft-side, 4-wheel spinner from Skyway as my carry-on suitcase. It is quite small by North American standards (20" x 14" x 9") but fits most European carry-on limitations. I bought mine a few years ago, but here is a similar model that’s currently available:
There are pros and cons to both soft-sided and hard-sided carry-ons, and some people feel very strongly about one or the other. Personally, I don’t mind either, but I do prefer the flexibility of soft-sided suitcases. Mine is expandable, and it was also compressible (with a booty-band around it!) if needed (for example, when I was concerned about it fitting into budget airline overheads).
Overall, I am very happy with this carry-on. I’ve been using it for many years, and it has served me so well, and I hope it’s got some years left in it! It’s sturdy, well made, and very easy to navigate with. I did choose to check it in when I had free checked-in luggage allowance, and I wasn’t worried about it getting damaged in the hold.
I highly recommend getting a carry-on suitcase that you feel very comfortable with, even if it means spending a bit of extra money. This is definitely an area where you do not want to compromise!
Pack what you need, leave what you don’t
When traveling light, you need to be thinking about functionality over frivolity. You need to pack the essentials, and leave everything else. That doesn’t mean that you don’t pack things you love, or that packing has to be boring — quite the opposite! Packing minimally actually made me appreciate the things that I brought with me, and made me value them even more because of how useful they were.
Ultimately, you need to pack with intention and simplify where you can. So, for example, you can purchase a universal travel adapter, which works for over 150 countries, instead of buying multiple outlet adapters. Another way to pack with more intention, is to create a capsule wardrobe. I actually made a video about how I created a colourful, NOT boring, capsule wardrobe, which you can watch here:
I created a travel packing list, which I regularly updated on my Notes app on my phone, to keep track of everything that I had with me, which also helped me to prioritize what I needed. I would put a check-mark next to everything that I used, which then helped me to see what I didn’t actually need, and would also put notes about the item. For example, I brought a pair of linen shorts, which I thought would be versatile and great for travel, but the first time I wore them, I experienced some chub-rub (thigh chafing), which meant that they weren’t practical for me to wear when I was walking a lot — which would be all the time while I was in Europe. So, I noted it on my packing list, but decided to try them again. The second time I wore them, I experienced the same thing, so I decided to leave those shorts in Barcelona, and made a note of that on my list under a section titled “Have Let Go Of”. (Here’s a link to my packing list, if you’re curious: https://bit.ly/3UGqVSf)
Through this process of continuous refinement, I decided to let go of things when they stopped serving me, and didn’t feel at all guilty or bad about it. Which leads me nicely to my last point:
Adjust your mindset
If you’re traveling around the world, for months at a time, I will assume that your motivations are to experience as much of this beautiful planet as you can. I will also assume that your priorities are to be out and about, to challenge yourself, to immerse yourself in new cultures, and to explore new parts of yourself.
I will assume that your motivations are not to cart stuff around with you.
For me, it was as simple as that: reminding myself that the more stuff I brought with me, the more stuff I would have to be responsible for, the less space I would have for souvenirs, the heavier my suitcase would be to carry, the more risk I would have of losing things, the less likely I would be to find things when I needed them.
I also realized that I really didn’t need that much stuff. In fact, I wanted to carry less with me. By the time I got back to Toronto, I had only about 10 clothing items (some were new pieces), and the rest of my luggage was souvenirs. And, truthfully, I couldn’t be happier!
I probably won’t become a backpacker (I don’t think my 31 year old sensibilities would enjoy the rough-and-tumble of it), but I will forever preach the gospel of minimalist travel.
From now on, my ideal would be to travel with as little as possible — while not compromising on comfort — because I know I can do it! You could probably do it too, so give it a go!
Let me know — are you a minimalist traveler?
