Packing a Carry-On for a Month in Europe

Everybody said we couldn't do it. "You'll never be able to fit everything you want to take." "You won't have room for souvenirs on the way home." "What if you need something you didn't have room to pack?"

We did it though. Therefore, here's a post about how we did it. First of all, why we chose to pack in carry-ons. While planning this trip, we stumbled upon episodes of Rick Steves' Europe TV show. Besides being super helpful about where to go and what to see, he also discusses on his TV show, his website and his travel books what to pack. He specifically talks about not over-packing and why. Photos of people struggling to lug huge suitcases around the narrow streets of Europe sufficiently scared us from packing a checked bag sized suitcase. (Let's be completely honest here...the fees for checked baggage also scared us away) We also knew that we were traveling to four countries via four flights, four train rides and 800 miles driven in a rental car. We moved around every three to four days. The idea of schlepping our luggage over cobblestone streets, in and out of planes, trains and taxis and the occasional mad dash for said plane, train or taxi also influenced or decision.

But packing in a carry on takes planning, whether it's for a few days or for a month. Deciding first of all, what kind of clothing we would need and what the weather would be like (which, by the way, varies drastically) took some time. Then there is the question of liquids. Since we would be very limited on amounts, we found ways to avoid as many liquids as we could. For example, the store LUSH sells shampoo and conditioner in bar form! One bar lasted the month for both of us and worked out great. We also brought bar soap instead of shower gels and I brought mineral makeup instead of liquid foundation and concealer since those also count towards liquids. Everything that could reasonably be bought in travel size, we bought; deodorant, face wash, mascara, etc.

Here's a list of what I packed in my suitcase:

one pair of black flats
one pair of sneakers
socks
undergarments
brush
makeup
sweatshirt
four blouses
two t-shirts
one cardigan
one dress
two belts
three camisoles
toothbrush
bar shampoo
bar conditioner
bar soap
liquids bag (face wash, makeup remover, hair serum, eye cream, various makeup liquids)
gifts for friends we were visiting (incl. two
stuffed animals)


In my purse:

jewelry
converter plugs
floss
wet ones
tissues
hand sanitizer
wallet
vitamins
book
journal
pens
pencils
pencil sharpener
iPad
charger
handkerchief
shawl
sunglasses
gum
headphones



I wore my jeans and a pair of wedges on the airplane because they were the biggest things to try to pack.

What my husband packed in his suitcase:

two pairs of trousers
one pair of linen pants
one pair of shorts
two polo shirts
two button downs
two t-shirts
socks
undergarments
one pair of boat shoes
one belt
razor
shaving brush
shave soap
Bronner's bar soap (to use as laundry soap when needed)
liquids bag (hair gel, face wash, toothpaste, face lotion)
toothbrush
three ties
handkerchiefs
light jacket
extra duffel bag (this is a light duffel that we bought at a sporting goods store. It comes in a tiny little package. On the way home, we packed the duffel full of clothes and checked one of the suitcases so that we had room for souvenirs)
two clothing envelopes (these packed his shirts and trousers so that they didn't wrinkle)

In his messenger bag:

iPad
journal
pens
pencils
headphones
sunglasses
camera
charger
old iPhone (we took this to use while out on the town to check directions or email when we found free wifi instead of taking having to take our iPad out with us)

Mike was going to need a suit or a suit jacket at times so instead of trying to pack that, he wore a cotton suit on the plane. He said it wasn't uncomfortable at all.

The way we packed our clothes was by laying same size clothing, i.e. all the t-shirts or all the camisoles, together and rolled them. We stuffed our shoes with the littler items and put them on the bottom of one side of the suitcase. The rolled clothes went on the other side. All the other stuff got tucked into the spaces and the thicker clothing, such as my sweatshirt, got laid over the top of everything. 

Obviously we didn't pack enough clothes for an entire month. We basically packed enough for a week and did laundry over there. Since we stayed with friends in a few places, we did laundry there. Once we dropped our laundry off at a laundry service and paid for them to do it. (It was about $15, but worth it since we didn't have to waste valuable tourist time doing it ourselves) And a couple of times, we washed things in the sink at the hotel.

It worked beautifully! Having nothing but carry-ons allowed us to move around without worry. It also makes us feel like we can pack a carry-on for almost any trip!

P.S. Our trip was tremendously spectacular!