For a long time my packing method was “guess, panic, overpack.” I’ve since built an actual system, mostly out of self-defense after one too many trips spent lugging a bag up four flights of stairs in a city with no elevators (looking at you, Lisbon). These days I can do a three-day trip in one carry-on, no checked bag, and I’m not white-knuckling the overhead bin the whole way there.
The rule that changed everything: two pairs of shoes, max, and one of them is on my feet at the airport. Everything else gets picked by asking whether it goes with at least two other things already in the bag. If it’s a one-outfit wonder, it stays home, no matter how good it looked on the hanger.
The system
It’s less a checklist and more a set of questions I ask myself while I’m laying everything out on the bed:
- Would I wear this at home, on a random Tuesday? If not, it’s not earning its spot in a carry-on.
- Does it go with at least two other things in the pile? One-outfit wonders get vetoed, no matter how cute.
- Can it be worn twice without anyone noticing? Jeans, the good jacket, and anything neutral all pass this test easily.
- Is it already dirty by day two? That’s what the spare tote at the bottom of the bag is for.
I lay everything out before it goes in the bag, not after. Seeing it all at once is the only way I catch the third pair of “just in case” shoes trying to sneak in.
What’s actually in the bag
Clothes
- 2 pairs of shoes: one on my feet at the airport, one packed
- 3 tops that all work with both pairs of bottoms
- 2 bottoms (one jeans, one something dressier)
- 1 layer for the flight that doubles as the “just in case it’s cold” piece
- Underwear and socks for one extra day, always. Laundry emergencies are real.
Toiletries
- Packing cubes, non-negotiable at this point, one for clothes and one for everything liquid
- A toiletry bag that actually zips flat, which took me embarrassingly long to buy
- Travel-size everything, refilled from the full-size bottles at home instead of bought new each trip
Tech
- Phone charger, a portable battery, and exactly one adapter if it’s international
- Headphones and a paperback, because airport wifi is not to be trusted
Extras
- A spare tote, packed flat, empty until the flight home
- One “nice enough for dinner” outfit that isn’t precious about getting wrinkled in transit
That’s the whole system. It’s not glamorous, but it means I’ve stopped losing twenty minutes at the airport rearranging a bag that’s zipped shut by sheer force. Fewer shoes, more outfits that talk to each other, and always, always a spare tote for the flight home.
