How To Pack Your Carry On

How to pack begins with a plan.

Where are you going and what will you need? If you might need it, leave it home. Fitting things in is easy compared to picking what you really need and how to pack it so you can easily find it.

When it comes to packing, less is more! You can fit everything you need for two weeks (with minor laundry) into one 22-inch carryon and a personal tote if you stick to your plan. And I'll show you what to prepack to speed you on your way.

The easiest way to plan what to pack is to remember what you actually used or wished you had on similar trips. How many days were you gone? Did you have different types of weather or just beach or just city? Did you do laundry or at least wash a few things in a hotel bathroom?

I make up a spreadsheet for each trip, based on the saved one from a similar destination. Summer in France is very different from winter in London. But the basic idea is the same. I just pull up the file for the most similar trip, edit and am packed in minutes!

You need one or two primary colors that work together. Take a jacket, jeans or dressier pants/skirts, a dress, tops and minimum shoes.

Yes, ladies, shoes can do you in if you are not ruthless. Three pairs only, including what you wear on the plane. Walking shoes, dress shoes and sandals or athletic shoes should go with everything if you stick with basic colors.

You have a small bag and lots of clothes and needs to know how to pack them.

Put the things that can wrinkle - panties, nighties, socks, even a down jacket or cashmere sweater - into spacebags and scrunch them down to nothing.

During your trip, replace the clean items with dirty clothes so everything will still fit on the way back plus your shopping.

How to pack without wrinkling when we're putting so much into a small bag?

God bless those drycleaning bags. Your tops go on hangers - at least two plastic ones you will need for laundry and the others wire ones you can leave behind.

Put the drycleaning bag over everything, roll it up and put it on top before you zip your bag.

I guarantee you will take the whole thing out, hang it up and wear wrinkle free T's, sweaters, silk shirts, dresses and even men's suits.

Speed up every packing job by prepacking your personal items into little kits. Of course you have these on your planning spreadsheet, too. You can buy waterproof pouches in various sizes in luggage stores but I find the pouches that come as gifts with cosmetic purchases work best of all. They are waterproof, various sizes and best of all, different colors and patterns so easy to find in your suitcase of tote. You'll need at least three of these:

Makeup

You know to take the minimum. We're already gorgeous, right? The kit goes in your tote so you have it handy. Hint: an eyelash curler works really well instead of mascara.

Medicine

This goes in the tote, too. Take whatever the doctor prescribes and add plenty of bandaids, a tube of Neosporin, a wee bottle with Advil, aspirin, an antihistamine, Sudafed and Imodium. I can tell them apart by the color or you can purchase them in blisterpacks. Put in your favorite cough drops, too. I usually take a whole bag in my tote.

Toiletries

I reuse cosmetic sample bottles for two weeks worth of face creams and use hotel toiletries whenever possible. Can't give up the electric toothbrush, though! Or the hot rollers.

You can also make a very fun field trip to your local drugstore or Target and stock up on sample size toiletries. It's like filling up your own Christmas stocking!

Miscellaneous Items To Make Life Easy

A little laundry kit with Woolite and Shout packets can save the day. I keep a small flashlight and extra eye and sunglasses in my suitcase along with copies of my passport, driver's license and contact numbers for all my credit cards.

Silk longjohns are lifesavers. If it's colder than expected, wear the tops and/or bottoms under your clothes. The bottoms can double as leggings to extend your wardrobe. The top can be an extra long-sleeved T-shirt. The set makes perfect pajamas in an over air-conditioned summer hotel room yet can still keep you toasty in winter.

The bottoms double as leggings or keep you warm under pants when it's colder than you expected.

I often change into mine on overnight flights. They work like pajamas, are so warm and cozy and yet I still look dressed.