Let's Go Through My Stuff! What I Packed for a 10 Day Carry On Only/Semi Working Trip

 

One night when I was in San Francisco, the thought for a packing post popped up into my head, and I took pictures of my all my stuff.  Afterwards, a voice in my head said "No one cares.  You're not the first human to do a carry on only trip.  There is better advice on the subject to be had elsewhere."

That's true, but a conversion with Julie changed my mind.  At one point we talked about why we read blogs, and the consensus is that we both like hearing the really mundane details of other people's lives.  I'm always looking for tips and tricks, which you may not get out of this post, but sometimes you have to write the kind of content that you want to see.

Let's go through my stuff!!!

I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm an over packer, but I am someone who takes advantage of the real estate that I have to work with.  Most of my travel is by car, and I'm not shy about using my car as a suitcase.  In my young adult years, I traveled for work with tools that were not carry on compliant even back in the pre 9/11 days, so I always checked a bag.  After 9/11 there was so much stuff on the "no" list that I always assumed that I had to check my luggage.  I mean sure you have to pay for it and sure you have to wait to get your bag but flying is expensive anyway and what's an extra wait after all of the other waiting that you have to do at the airport?

However, I take notes when I read blogs and it has come to my attention that carry on only is a thing, and I've seen the phrases "life changing" and "once you do it you'll never go back", so I was curious.  The California trip was an ideal time to try things out, especially since I was going to have to haul everything that I brought on public transport and for the mile and a half walk from the Amtrak station to my Airbnb in Sacramento.

I only had to make a few adjustments to my normal haul to adapt it for carry on only.  The Swiss Army knife that I always carry in my purse had to stay home and my coffee gear got an edit.  I was not going anywhere where I had to look presentable, so I only had to bring casual clothes.  I had a washing machine for the Sacramento part of the trip, which was helpful for keeping my wardrobe small.

The Bags

Luggage wise, my previous employer had a gift service for holidays and birthdays, and on one occasion I snapped up a carry on compliant red suitcase.  It's a bottom dollar bag, and I'm sure that there is much better gear out there, but the price was right and there is nothing wrong with it.  It is not going to last forever, but I plan to use it until it falls apart.  Only then will I look at getting something nicer, with potentially more storage space.  As it was, the bag did what I needed it to do, and I think I could have gotten more stuff in it.

EDIT: wow it's a small world!  I wrote this post on Sunday and I was shocked, shocked on Monday when Kae posted about the extra small bags that she purchased for her family for their upcoming trip.  It's the same suitcase!!!

My backpack is a Swiss Army backpack that I've had for over 10 years, have used heavily, and there is zero wear or tear on it.  That thing is going to outlive me.  It has two laptop sleeves in the back, but I feel like the main compartment is a little small.  I'm sure that there is a better travel backpack option in terms of weight and storage space out there and someday I might check out other options, but for now the backpack is what I have and it fits under a plane seat.

I also have a purse that I did not think to include in the pictures, but here she is, and yes I recommend it.  It's basically one step above a fanny pack.  It's just big enough that I can put everything that I need for the day in it, so I don't have to schlep my backpack everywhere.  When I am flying or in situations where I have to carry my luggage, I put my wallet and whatever other pursey things I am likely to need in my backpack, and put the purse into either my backpack or suitcase.  That way the airline can't say that I have more than one personal item, and it's easier for me to keep track of two things instead of three things.

Outer Wear

I knew that the forecast was 80s for Sacramento and 60s for San Francisco, so that meant summer wear and slightly warmer wear.  Shoe wise that meant sneakers, which I wore on the plane, and my trusty Teva sandals, which went into the suitcase.  I brought my rain jacket for the dual purpose of an extra layer and in case it ever rained, and a baseball cap for sun protection.  I wore the jacket on the plane, and the baseball cap bounced from suitcase to backpack over the course of the trip.  It was very sunny in CA, so the cap was definitely an MVP of the trip.

Packing Cubes

I am someone who is skeptical of packing cubes, but also someone who is susceptible to being influenced by The Hungry Runner Girl from time to time.  This post led me to get the four pack of these packing cubes.  I used two of the cubes for my clothes, and also snuck a tiny umbrella into my luggage.  Between my rain jacket and the umbrella I was so well prepared for rain that it was a guarantee that there would be zero rain in CA, but the umbrella was very handy when I returned home to a downpour.

Here is the side view on the cubes:

And here is what they look like uncompressed:

My opinion so far is that I think I like these cubes, but I'm not convinced that they are 100% necessary.  I think I could have gotten my clothes into the suitcase uncompressed, but also I didn't try so who knows.  The bags hold a lot of stuff, but they do have their limits if you want to compress them.  If you overstuff them, then you're looking at a bit of time to get the compression zipper to zip.

Clothes

Here is my non glamorous wardrobe:

Top row from left to right: all of my non dirty socks, a pair of grey fluffy socks that I use as slippers, two casual short sleeve shirts and one casual but nicer sleeveless shirt.

Bottom row left to right: my cargo skort that was one of my best clothing purchases last year and I absolutely recommend, a more causal t shirt for sleeping and lounging around the house, lounging leggings, and pajama shorts.

Workout clothes:

I had a washing machine in my first Airbnb, and I knew that for the SF portion that I would be walking so much that it was unlikely that I would be working out, so I knew I could skate by with one running outfit.  Red tank, sports bra, shorts, socks, and Flip Belt.  If I had wanted to work out when I was in SF, then I would have sucked it up and reworn my fitness outfit.

Not shown: the clothes that I was wearing when I was taking the pictures, which were the clothes that I wore on the plane: jeans, short sleeve shirt, and bra (just one, since unless there is extreme sweating I normally wear my bras for an entire week between washes and I was comfortable stretching that to 10 days).  Underwear wise, I will leave it for you to decide whether I am a person who does not show their panties on the internet or if I'm Team Commando.  If the former is true, then I would have brought enough pairs to see me through the non-washing machine portion of the trip.

Toiletries

In their packed state:

In their "let's look at my stuff" state:

My toiletry bag is fairly new, and I like it a lot.

Top half of the bag, from left to right: epilator (this is more than you need to know but I use it for underarms and the bikini area), deodorant, Gold Bond lotion which is the Only Body Lotion that I Will Ever Use, face lotion (Kiehl's Since 1851 Ultra Facial Cream which is Only Face Lotion that I Will Use at this Stage of My Life if Not Longer), small magnifying mirror.

Bottom half of the bag: shampoo, conditioner (both bottles have been heavily recycled and reused), zit cream because I had a very rare zit when I left on the trip, leave in conditioner, toothpaste.

Small stuff that's hiding in the pockets so you can't see it: tweezers, kleenex, regular and prescription eye drops because I have dry eye syndrome, vitamins, and "just in case" medications such as aspirin, Benadryl, and cough drops.

Outside of bag: the pink thing is a hairbrush, comb, razor (again more than you need to know but it's for my legs because as great as an epilator is for underarms it would take FOREVER to use it on my legs), and my electric toothbrush because I am a princess and I will always make room in my luggage for my electric toothbrush.  I didn't include the charger in the picture, but it's basically just an extra cable.

FWIW I am very particular about hair products, and I NEED to have my particular shampoo/conditioner.  All body soaps are equal in my eyes, so whatever they have where I'm staying is what I'm using.

Where's my makeup?  Easy answer, I don't wear makeup.

Food/Necessities

The orange thing and the blue thing are the components that make up my hiking water bottle.  Like I said, I am a thirsty girl who always needs to have water on hand, and this fits very nicely in my purse.  The red thing is my pour over coffee filter, and the ziplock stuff is coffee filters and coffee.  I've learned the hard way that I cannot count on hotels or Airbnbs to have a drip coffee maker, so that's why the red pour over goes where I go.  In an extreme case I would be willing to give up my Trader Joe's French Roast, but this trip was not an extreme case.  I only drink one cup of coffee a day, but it needs to be "my" coffee or things can go horribly sideways.  To my credit, I survived on airport coffee on the days that I flew.

Not shown: big ol' honking water bottle that goes in the side pocket of my backpack, and snacks.  I always carry a stash of snack bars and string cheese as a meal substitute in case I need one.

Once I got to Sac, I went to the grocery store for half and half (a necessity for Coffee the Way I Like It), and breakfast stuff.  I got precut fruit cups because they were very cheap in California, and frozen breakfast bowls.  I purchased the same things once I got to SF.

Tech

Top left: the two things that I wish were not part of my luggage: a portable monitor and my work laptop.  I'm artfully hiding a sticker on the top of my work laptop with my employer's name.  Next to that is the charging cable for my work laptop and a mouse, which do not fit into my tech bag, so I just keep them lose and throw them in where ever I can fit them.

Bottom left: Macbook Air, which is my personal laptop.  I do not under any circumstances do personal stuff on my work laptop, so that's why I bring a personal laptop.  Just like my coffee, in an extreme situation I would be willing to leave it behind, but I don't foresee ever being in that extreme of a travel situation.  It is very small and lightweight, just like the name implies.

Black thing: tech bag for all of my cables.  Off hand I consider it necessary to bring my Macbook charger, an HDMI cable so that I can connect my laptop to the TV, my Garmin charging cable, the adapter that lets me connect my work laptop to an external monitor, and all kinds of odds and ends.

Blue square thing: my Kindle.  If you haven't heard, I'm a reader who does not leave home without a book.  The charge on this thing lasts forever, so I usually do not bring the charging cable when I travel.  Pro tip: the next time you need a Kindle get the kids' version!  It's cheaper and includes a protective cover.

Other blue thing: an air mouse, which serves as a remote control when I connect my laptop to the TV.

Closing Thoughts

If it wasn't for my stupid job, I would have it made.  My work laptop doesn't weigh that much and my external monitor doesn't weigh that much, but taken together together they're pretty heavy.  I was able to walk around with my luggage, but it wasn't a walk in the park.  Without the work stuff and with a better backpack I might even be able to do a "one bag" trip and lose the suitcase.

But other than that, I'm pretty happy with my packing efforts.

What would I have done if I needed to bring nicer clothes?  Necessity is the mother of invention, so I would have figured it out.  I feel that I had a bit of extra space in the suitcase.

Things that I needed that I did not have: nothing.  The only edit that I would make if I had this trip to do all over again is an extra pair of jeans.  I was willing to gamble that one pair would stand up to the Thursday - Wednesday stretch that I was without a washing machine.  If I continue to work, I can see adding a travel keyboard to my work gear.  But for now we're good.

Things that I brought but did not use: nothing.  The closest that I came to not using something was the umbrella, but I was very glad that I had it on the soggy walk from the shuttle to my car when I got back home.

So now that I've had a taste of the carry on only experience, was it life changing and would I ever be willing to check a bag again?

That depends!  It was pretty sweet not to have to check a bag, so I think we can say that carry on only is my preferred way going forward.  But if I couldn't condense it to carry on, I wouldn't consider it to be the end of the world.  I know that sometimes planes run out of room and they force you to gate check your bags, so carry on is never guaranteed.

That's my stuff!  What would you take on a 10 day trip?  Are you a Die Hard Carry On Only or do you prefer to check a bag?  If you've written a packing post(s), please leave the link in your comment!