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If you are anything like me, I’m always trying to learn from each experience and understand what I can improve on. As I continue to refine my packing skills, I wanted to share with you my takeaways from our recent travels to Italy. While I feel like we did incredibly well by packing everything into a carry on (for two weeks!), I’m planning to adjust things a bit more next time we travel. I’m sharing a few key takeaways that either we did that really worked OR what I will be adjusting next time.

Travel Packing Takeaways:

Choose Night Shoe Wisely-I packed a flat night shoe and that really helped to save space compared to a wedge or high heel. Every little space saving tricks help and adds up!
Rewear Your Dinner Looks-We basically had 3 nights out at each city so I basically only packed 3 dinner looks. I just rewore the same looks over and over.
Pack 1-2 Extra White Tees-I typically have most outfits planned out with the exception of our days looks where I can mix and match tops & bottoms. However, I typically always add in 1-2 extra white tees. I usually always end up wearing them.
Choose Dresses Without too much Fabric-There were a few dresses I wanted to take but they had too full of a skirt or too much fabric. They were simply too bulky. Dresses with crinkly crepe fabric are a good option and don’t show wrinkles.
Pack a Travel Steamer-This is really important because I was packing things tightly (sitting on my suitcase to get it to close) and therefor they always wrinkle more. Once I arrived at each destination, we hung up our clothes and would do a quick steam so they were ready to go and looking sharp.
Keep your Jewelry Simple-I chose to wear simple diamond huggies, 3 gold necklaces, and 5 bracelets that really worked for day and night looks. I didn’t pack any other jewelry to switch out to save space, but also didn’t feel like I compromised on my jewelry styling.
Turkish Towels are Versatile-I packed mine so I can keep me warm on the plane, it was my wrap each night, my sarong on my boat/beach days, and then as a towel too. I took a color that worked with the color palette I packed.
Simplify your Bathroom Bag-Of course I took travel size bathroom essentials, but I also simplified the products I took. I didn’t take all of my routine face moisturizers, etc. I also didn’t take all the curling irons, etc. I packed a super small brush instead of my normal larger size. I just had the mindset that I don’t need everything and it’s a short time frame.

As much as I love fashion and want to look my best with multiple different looks while I’m traveling, having the flexibility with a carry on trumps all of this. Especially right now with all the delays, canceled flights, and so on, I find it to be even more important to travel with a carry on. Honestly once you get used to traveling this way, it’s not really a hassle.

If you missed my last blog on strategic travel packing, be sure to check it out here. Lots of great tips!!! Also, I have linked some of my favorite travel bags, packing cubes, etc here.

Safe Travels!

with LOVE and grace,

Elizabeth