Here Are My Best Travel Hacks For Traveling Light With One Bag

Packing light makes your trip more enjoyable.

When you’ve been on a trip, have you ever regretted the decision to take so many suitcases?

Despite your best efforts, do you tend to over-pack and struggle to carry multiple bags?

Are you looking for an easy way to travel more conveniently?

Have you experienced lost or delayed luggage?

We’ve all been there on vacation trying to navigate to our destinations, juggling too many bags and not using half of what we packed.

Let’s lighten your load and learn how to travel with just one carry-on bag. With the right strategies, you can pack efficiently and travel with ease.

Traveling with one bag is a game-changer, allowing you to embrace simplicity and freedom. With these tips and tricks I’ve learned over the last 15 years of traveling with one bag, you can master this skill in no time.

I’ve comfortably traveled with one bag for trips as short as a weekend to as long as 3 months.

Find Your Ideal Bags

Choose carry-on and personal items that work for you. Make sure the bag you select meets the airline’s carry-on luggage size restrictions.

A suitcase may be more convenient, or you may choose a backpack for more mobility.

When I first experimented with one bag travel, I was using a traditional carry-on suitcase and found it very awkward to navigate with on my travels both domestically and internationally. I have since switched over to using a 40L backpack.

Make A Packing List

Make a list of everything you will need before packing to avoid over-packing.

Start with the critical items you need, such as clothing and medication, and add on from there.

Once you make your list, pull all the items that you have on the list and see if you have room to pack them all.

If not, ask yourself, is the [Thing I want to bring] critical to this trip?

Pack travel-sized liquid toiletries in clear plastic bags to save space and comply with airline regulations.

When I take a longer trip, and only fly to get to/from my destination, I will just go to the store where I’m visiting and pick up liquid toiletries, such as shampoo, sunscreen, body wash, etc, there instead of packing them.

To save space in your carry-on bag, wear your heaviest items on the plane. If you’re traveling with a jacket or boots, wear them.

Packing Cubes

I love my packing cubes. They allow you to organize your clothes and maximize space in your bag.

From my experience, the best way to pack most items is to roll them first, then place them in the cubes. Bulky items work better when folded.

When possible, plan to wear your bulkier and heavier items to your destination. If you cannot, it’s okay to pack them.

A recent example is the last 3 month trip I took. It was 70*F/21*C when I started and by the end of the trip it was 13*F/-10*C. I was not about to wear my long winter coat in the hot weather, so I folded it in a packing cube, then wore it on the trip home. Other trips where space is at a premium and it’s not practical to pack my long winter coat, I have a shorter winter coat that stuffs into the pocket of the coat and turns the jacket into a pocket size that I use.

Packing cubes are not just for clothing, I use an extra small cube to store all my electronic adapters, charging cables, SD card reader, external storage drive, camera batteries, and more. It’s an easy way to keep all my electronics organized and know that I’ll have all the cables and adapters I need.

I use the small and medium packing cubes, where two small cubes are roughly the same size as a medium cube. I’m planning on picking up more small size cubes since they allow for more flexible packing arrangements.

Pack Multipurpose Easy To Wash Clothing

You don’t need as many clothes as you think. No one will care if you end up wearing the same outfit more than once on your trip.

Choose clothing that can be worn in multiple outfits and be mixed and matched.

Instead of packing enough clothes for the entire trip, consider doing laundry during your trip.

Lightweight, quick drying clothing makes it easy to wash and dry clothing as needed between wearing it if you don’t have easy access to a dryer to dry them in.

I’ve cultivated my everyday wardrobe to consist of reversible skirts, lightweight wool shirts, and leggings. The wool shirts were an investment. I would pick them up on sale around Black Friday, as that is when the deepest discounts are. They were worth it as my 4 wool shirts are 9 years old, part of my daily wardrobe, and still look as good as new.

While traveling, I bring my own laundry detergent sheets since I’ve experienced allergic skin reactions when using different laundry detergents than I am used to. They take up little space and work great for handwashing and washing with a washer.

I usually wash items every few days, in a washing machine if I have easy access to one, otherwise I just hand wash the clothing and hang it to dry.

Summary

Remember, to make the most of your limited carry-on space, pack efficiently and stay organized when traveling with a single bag.

Find Your Ideal Bags

Make A Packing List

Use Packing Cubes

Pack Multipurpose Easy To Wash Clothing

Have you traveled with just one bag? What have been your thoughts on it?

Do you have any additional travel tips you would like to share?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.

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