Packing for European Summer
A Love-Hate Relationship
Leather Market - Florence, Italy
The ultimate guide on how to live out of a carry-on suitcase for 6 weeks…
I knew sacrifices were going to be made when it came to the volume of my suitcase, but honestly it didn’t end up being as bad as I thought. One of the things that helped satisfy my outfit switches was coordinating clothing with the person I was traveling with. For at least part of this trip, I traveled with a friend who has the same style and size of clothing. With plenty of experience packing I always find making a list to be extremely helpful. For longer trips such as this one I also try to plan what I am packing based on my days. This is also why it is helpful to create an itinerary before you travel. Here are a couple of packing tips I have before we get into the specifics on what I brought:
Make a List based on the Itinerary
As mentioned above, if you have an itinerary for your trip lay this out side by side when developing a packing list. Having an idea of what you are doing each day will help you see what you actually need.
Take Photos
This is definitely very extra... BUT if you don’t want to waste time picking out what you are going to wear or just want an extra organization factor, take photos of your outfits and save them in an album. This can be a good self-made resource to plan, and know what you have available in your suitcase. Trust me, once you get sick of repacking and rolling your clothes up you will rethink destroying your whole suitcase to see if you packed that one shirt.
Decide What Bag Early
When booking flights, you may have to add luggage based on the amount of bags and sizes you are bringing. When traveling Europe there is a debate between using a backpack or a rolling suitcase. Personally, I used a carry-on size rolling suitcase along with the mini weekender bag by Beis. My only hesitation when it came to these was the cobblestone roads and number of stairs in Europe. This did pose as a challenge, but not nearly as bad as it would’ve been with a checked bag.
Use Packing Cubes
These were an absolute essential for me. The amount of clothing I was able to fit into my suitcase would not have happened without having these. They not only help to compress your clothes, but also keep things organized amongst the chaos of repacking for travel days.
Pack the Staples
When you are going on a longer trip packing more staple clothing items will allow you to style your outfits differently. Having more neutral or black and white options will ensure that you have more availability when matching tops and bottoms.
