the science of packing light
and what I packed for 4 days in PEI in just a personal item
I pride myself on being a pretty light packer when it comes to travelling. This May long weekend, my partner and I travelled to PEI for his birthday, and we bought Flair Air tickets that include literally nothing. No seat selection, no food, no carry on. Instead of paying extra for a carry on, we both decided to just take a personal-item-sized backpack to carry all of our belongings for the trip.
First up, the backpack itself. Both Max and I use the same bag for this kind of trip, his is black and mine is blue. It’s the RYU Locker Backpack 24L that unfortunately is no longer available (RYU went out of business a couple of years ago). You can find a similar one from Bellroy or Peak Design, but both are quite expensive and I haven’t personally used either, so I don’t want to say I recommend them.
The RYU bag is pretty clean-looking, and the semi-hard shell allows it to keep a consistent size and shape even when completely stuffed full. The biggest pro of this bag for me is the double zip down the sides of the pack so that it can open fully, instead of having to pack and unpack from the top. The other benefits are the completely separate laptop compartment that can fit my 15” MacBook, and the secret compartment in the top flap that can hold my passport once I’m through the airport and don’t need quick access to it anymore.
Edit from post-trip Jules: This backpack is NOT Flair airlines personal item approved 😭. I was able to get it to fit into the sizer by squishing it, wearing all of my bulkiest clothing items, and putting a lot of random items into my coat pockets to board the plane, but if I were travelling on Flair again I would choose a smaller backpack that naturally is more in line with their requirements (6 in x 13 in x 17 in).
They were SUPER strict, made everyone size their bags and required that the bag fit FULLY into the sizer with nothing overhanging. If it didn’t fit, the fee was $80 one-way to bring it on as a carry-on. You can’t expect much from a low-budget airline like Flair, so I couldn’t be too mad, but I did also see Air Canada getting incredibly strict with their sizing as well, so be warned!!
Now that we’re all on the same page about what I’m using to pack for my trip, let’s get into what’s actually in my bag.
PEI is not exactly a fashion capital, so I prioritized warmth (13℃ on the coast is much different than in the city), and comfort. Since I knew I had limited space, I only packed what I needed.
My packing list for 4 days, 3 nights in PEI:
Clothing:
This includes what I wore on the plane, so what was in my bag was a little less than this.
3 t shirts (big fan of these Uniqlo ones)
1 long sleeve
1 sweatshirt
1 sweater
2 pairs of pants (I always pack a pair of cargos, my faves are Outdoor Voices, Gap and Selfi)
1 set of pyjamas
1 raincoat (this Rains one is heavy-duty, great for cold rain)
2 pairs of sneakers (in case one got wet- these Onitsukas and these P6000s, both purchased in Japan, sorry)
1 silk scarf tied around my purse
1 baseball cap
1 swimsuit
Socks + underwear for every day plus a couple extra, because you never know lol
Toiletries:
Toiletries are subjective! My rule of thumb is that all of them fit neatly in a clear travel pouch. I did forego some of my usual toiletries to make packing lighter, including my retinol and foundation. I have a travel jar for my face wash and a travel sized toothpaste, but everything else was normal sized (under 100ml still). I also banked on the B&B having shampoo, conditioner and body wash (they did!).
Miscellaneous:
Digital camera (Sony Cybershot DSC-XT5) and charger
Sunglasses & regular glasses
iPad for reading
Eye mask & ear plugs
Uniqlo mini shoulder bag
Wallet
Phone & charger
Portable battery (I LOVE this one from Anker)
Ultrahuman ring charger
And here’s how my bag looked (mostly) packed, with my travel outfit beside it.
I ended up using everything I brought, save for those emergency pairs of underwear that always get packed but never get used, and my swimsuit. It was colder than I expected at night, and I ended up wearing both of my sweatshirts under my raincoat pretty much every evening as we walked to and from dinner and the pubs.
It rained a little bit every day, so the raincoat was a necessity. I probably didn’t need both pairs of shoes, but one pair looked better with my cargo pants so I wore those two items together. We considered going to a Nordic spa, but decided against it in lieu of seeing more sights, so I ended up not needing the swim suit. On the flip side, there was never a moment on the trip that I wished a had something that I didn’t pack. All in all, I would say that made this a successful packing list.
If you’re curious how I (mostly) pack only what I need, keep reading!
Rules for packing light
My general guidelines for being able to pack light on a trip are:
Pack for the person you are, not the person you want to be. Don’t try to be someone new on vacation- wear what you know is comfortable, feels good and looks good.
Make sure 80% of your tops can be worn with all bottom options (or vice versa). This makes it easier to mix and match outfits while you’re on vacation.
Don’t be afraid to outfit repeat. This is a rule of mine in general life, too, but it makes things a lot easier on vacation if you’re okay with wearing very similar outfits each day.
I also have a pretty tried-and-true process when it comes to packing for trips that helps me be able to pack light. I’ve done 3 weeks in Asia in a carry on (I recently got this one on a Black Friday sale, and am really liking it!) , backpacking through Europe in a ~55L backpack (this Osprey is my ride or die, going strong since 2014), and many extended weekend trips like this one in just a personal item.
When I’m packing in my carry on or travel backpack, I like to use packing cubes to keep organized and to fit more items in my bag. My go-to’s are this set of packing cubes that have mesh panelling so you can see what’s inside of them, and the compression allows you to reduce the footprint of your clothes.
My packing process:
Do some background research. Check the weather, do your research on the vibe of the city/area you are staying, the activities you will be doing, and start brainstorming the pieces of clothing in your closet that might work for the trip.
Bring out every item of clothing you think you want to pack and lay them all out somewhere (I use my bed). First, bring out the things you will need no matter where you are going- socks, underwear, swimsuit (you never know when you might find a pool!!), pyjamas. Usually I pull out all of the shoes I’m considering bringing at this stage as well. (My rule for shoes is usually no less than 2 pairs, no more than 4).
Build your travel wardrobe around your daily driver outfit pieces. I like to start with the bottoms I want to wear and build out my travel wardrobe from there. Bottoms are going to be the pieces that will be reworn the most, so make sure that they are comfortable and versatile.
Now start matching some tops and sweatshirts/sweaters to those bottoms. I usually like to pack one sweatshirt and one sweater on my trips. For tops, I like a mix of tank tops, t shirts, and long sleeves (the ratio will vary depending on weather).
Pulse check. Take a look at what you have put together now:
Does this look like a wardrobe you would pack for the person you are?
Do 80% of the items easily mix and match together?
If yes to both, good work! If not, keep iterating on your options. I often unintentionally end up with a cohesive colour palette when I am travelling.
Now take into consideration any specialty clothes you might need- hiking gear for example, or a nice dress for a fancy dinner. Pull these into your selection of clothes to pack. Bonus points if they can be reworn as everyday items too!
By this point, you should have greatly reduced the amount of clothes sitting on your bed (or wherever you have chosen to do this). Take stock of what you have- it should feel appropriate for the amount of days you’re gone. Sweaters, dresses and bottoms will be reworn, shirts may or may not be. At this point, it’s time to start packing!
Ruthlessly cut once more. Once everything is packed up, I often find that I still have a few too many things in my bag. Remember, you still need space for extras like accessories, hair tools, or bringing home souvenirs. Now it’s time to get ruthless about what you’ve packed. Take a second look at everything and try to remove 2-4 items.
Enjoy your trip! Learning to pack light is a trial-and-error process, and sometimes you might wish you had brought something that you left behind. Don’t stress about it too much- what matters is the trip you’re on, not what you’re wearing! As long as you have your phone, passport and credit card, everything else doesn’t matter.
This process seems like a lot of work, but it gets easier and faster every time you do it. You’ll learn over time what things you do and don’t wear on vacation. Overpacking can often lead to being less aware of what outfits and articles of clothing you gravitate towards while on a trip, so you might feel like you’re flying blind initially. If you’re nervous about dipping your toe into packing lighter, maybe try to take stock of the kinds of things you actually end up wearing the next couple of times you’re on vacation, and see if there are any patterns. You’ll feel more confident packing lighter once you know what you tend to wear on vacation.
Once you’re on the other side of packing light, I’m not sure you’ll be able to go back to huge, heavy checked bags. The freedom of a lightweight bag makes travelling so much more enjoyable, especially if you’re moving between cities quite frequently. I’d love to hear any other tips or tricks anyone has for packing light, or if you give this process a try!
See all the things I recommend (to buy) in one place here.
As always, see you next thursday!
jules