Packing Light: 3 Nights, 1 Personal Item Bag

First of all, I LOVE clothes. I love jewelry, I love hats, I love purses, and I love, love, LOVE shoes.

I also love to travel, but I HATE lugging large suitcases through the airport, squeezing them onto escalator stairs, wedging them into bathroom stalls with me, and in general struggling to get them in one piece to their final destination. And I'm budget-conscious, so I hate paying extra to check bags, or GOD FORBID, paying extra for a small carry-on suitcase! So over the years I have nearly perfected the art of travelling lightly.

Here's how Marvin and I fit everything we needed for three nights in Las Vegas into two small "personal item"-sized bags.

I have a wonderful Tommy Hilfiger zippered bag that my darling sister-in-law gave me for Christmas a couple years ago. It's the perfect size to fit under the seat in front of me on the plane. Marvin has a favorite backpack that has lots of little pockets. I call it his Mary Poppins carpet bag, because every time I think, "He's never going to fit THAT in there," magically, it fits. Armed with those two bags, we started packing.

Our 2 Personal Item-Sized Bags

First of all, here's what I WORE on the plane:
1. jeans with a long-sleeved shirt that could be dressed up or dressed down
2. my Cole Haan sneakers (super comfortable, versatile, and not TOO dressed down) with no-see socks
3. a lightweight trench jacket (for the chilly evenings)

Here's what I packed:
- ONE sleeveless sleep-shirt
- ONE extra shirt to go with my jeans for the day after we arrived
- ONE skirt for going out (it matched every shirt I took so I could dress up in the evenings)
- ONE pair of wedge heels (comfortable enough to walk around in all day)
- ONE purse. I'll repeat that. ONE. purse. (this was the hardest part for me, because finding outfits that will all match one purse can be tricky. I decided on a neutral beige purse with two zippered pockets. The leather is thin and I could lay it flat in my bag.)
- TWO pairs of shorts + TWO shirts for the two days it was supposed to be quite warm
- TWO bras + TWO pairs of no-see socks (to go with my sneakers)
- FOUR pairs of underwear (I always take one extra so that when I get to the hotel and shower before going out, I have a fresh pair. I put all under clothes in a Ziploc bag and pushed the air out of it.)
- Toiletries (I did NOT take anything that the hotel would provide, like a hair dryer, shampoo, soap) and makeup in ONE cosmetics bag
- Extra lens and battery charger for the camera, in my small compact camera bag
- Travel-sized jewelry carrier (I do NOT take anything super-chunky. If it doesn't fit in the case, it stays home.)
- Odds and ends: allergy pills (pollen is CRAZY this year, right?!?), ibuprofen, phone charger, and sunglasses in a case

I try to stick with solid colors so I can mix-n-match.

On the plane, Marvin wore:
1. jeans with a long-sleeved button-up shirt and undershirt
2. lace-up dress shoes that are also comfortable enough to walk around in all day with no-see socks
3. a blazer with a pocket square (he's very dapper!)

And in his bag, he packed:
- ONE extra pair of jeans
- ONE t-shirt to sleep in
- THREE extra pocket squares
- THREE pairs of no-see socks
- FOUR long-sleeved button-up shirts
- FOUR white undershirts + FOUR pairs of underwear (he rolled these to make them more compact)
- Camera with lens in a small compact camera case
- Toiletries (again, only the things the hotel does NOT provide)
- Odds and ends: phone charger, small pouch for cash and receipts

---

Packing Tips for Lightweight Travel

---

You May Also Want to Read: