I knew I had to learn how to pack a carry on for a short winter trip the instant we booked a 4 night getaway to Italy (happening in just a few days! 🤞) I’d already mastered the art of travelling with a carry on for autumn, but winter is a different challenge altogether since we need to pack heavier clothing, of course.

I’ve practice packed, I’ll admit 😆 And here is how I’ve made it work…

1. Packing cubes are your answer

Besides packing cubes being the ultimate space saver, they also help you categorise and contain. If your largest cube is all you have for clothing, then whatever you pack has to fit inside the cube. It’s a foolproof way of ensuring you do not overpack, and have enough space left for your other essentials.
Make sure you have different sized ones so you can select the right sizes to fit, and fill, your carry on like a charm.

2. Categorise

As I have hinted above, categorising is the way to go. Here is how I have done mine:

Packing cube 1 (the largest)
Clothing excluding sleepwear, underwear and accessories.
We are travelling for 4 nights and will most likely pack 2 pairs of leggings and 4 tops (a mix of sweaters and heavier knitwear)

Packing cube 2
Undergarments & accessories
Underwear, pjs, socks, tights, hat, headband

Packing cube 3
Miscellanous – but mostly electronics + whatever doesn’t fit in my other cubes
Charging cables, powerbank, spare sunglasses, deodorant & toothbrush (they do not fit into my small beauty bag), hairbrush, decaf teabags & herbal teabags (I always struggle to find what I want wherever I go!), and my small thermos.

Beauty bag
Basic makeup kit + a bright eyeliner and a nice lippy to freshen things up. Hair serum, perfume, face creams.

All the above fit into one half of my carry on.

In the other half of my carry on (the zipped side), I pack:
an extra jacket, extra scarf, trainers.

3. Sample your way through it

I save beauty samples in little pouches and use them whenever we travel. This way I do not have to skimp on applying body lotion, hair serum, or whichever product I need to carry with me. I also carry sample sized perfume with me too. This tip alone saves a lot of space!
You can easily get travel sized products at the supermarket too. For 4 nights, I’ll go without washing my hair, but if it were longer I would refill my travel sized shampoo & conditioner and take them with me.
PS: this is not to say I won’t pack my shampoo & conditioner samples, just in case!

4. Don’t forget about your ‘small bag’

If you are booking a carry on option for your flight, you should be able to take up a good-sized bag with you too. We’re flying Ryanair, and have an allowance of a ‘small bag’, as they call it, measuring a maximum of 40x20x25 cms. That is not bad at all. It’s not that small really!

Choose wisely and take up a backpack that blends in nicely with your choice of outfits. That way you can use it everyday. If you are travelling with kids like we are are, and need to carry all sorts of things with you at all times, it will come in handy.

You can pack all sorts of things in this bag, hurrah for the extra space!

I am packing the following:

Specs, wallet, travel documents, water bottle, healthy snacks, kindle, Airpods, powerbank, phone charging cable, camera, SD cards, umbrella, selfie stick, little pouch containing: painkillers, elastoplasts, mirror, lip balm, hand cream, sanitiser, sanitising wipes (this little pouch goes everywhere with me), and my small medicine pouch.

5. Dress wisely

I don’t just mean for the cold. I mean dress wisely in the sense that you should wear the heaviest, bulkiest pieces of clothing, and make sure you wear a little of everything. What do I mean? Let’s take a typical airport outfit.
Jeans (heavier than any other clothing item), coat or thick jacket, boots or any other bulky/heavy footwear, scarf, gloves, hat, tights. Even if it is too warm to wear your gloves, you can always put them inside your coat pocket. The same goes for your hat. This way you have 2 of each. I don’t know about you, but if I am wearing the plainest of outfits I can totally jazz them up by changing up my hat, scarf, or jacket, which is why I like to take 2 of each!

I hope my blog post for how to pack a carry on for a winter getaway proves to be useful!

Send this to a friend who is travelling this winter. She will thank you for it!

Love,

Nakita xxx