I have been meaning to write this post for weeks and now that we are in the final countdown for our Italy trip…I’m running out of time!! Believe it or not, I have not done a ton of extra shopping for this trip. Yes, I bought new shoes and a few new dresses but that was about it. I have a pile of summer dresses in my closet that only get worn a few times a season so when I went through them all to see what I ‘needed,’ it surprisingly wasn’t much. You may recall that my plan is to do this entire trip in a carryon, so here’s a peek at what’s going with me on vacation! We’re going to be gone for 10 days and have access to laundry.
I’ll admit there’s one more black/blue striped dress from Target coming and perhaps another pair of shoes if I can squeeze them in my bag. And I might swap the maxi dress for black pants for the plane. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!! My goal was to stay simple with dresses – add some jewelry for pop for evening, and have a basic cardigan if need be to dress things up. I’m not a huge scarf person so cardigans and necklaces will be my color pop.
But yes – all of this fit in a carry-on. My secret? Packing Cubes from Ebags. These mesh zip bags come in many shapes and sizes and fit perfectly in a carry-on. I can fit three of the square size and a few narrow ones work well for underwear, socks and belts. They’re also great to move dirty clothes in to them and help you repack quickly if you’re moving from place to place.
I’ve been a bit crazy getting ready these past few weeks – hoping everyone out there in blogland is fabulous and can’t wait to catch up on everything when I get back. I’ll be sure to follow up with how my packing plan worked and what I had to much of/not enough of. So how about you – do you have a packing plan when you travel? Or do you just wing it? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!
I think your packing selections are great! I only have one comment. We have been to Europe a few times, Italy twice and this summer, France. After we checked in and went to our gate, they had an attendant with a portable scale at the gate, going up to everyone to weigh their carry-ons! Agggh! I said, why didn’t they tell us that downstairs, b/c I could’ve moved some of this into my checked bag!?
Fortunately, I was under the limit, and my husband was WAY under the limit. So you never know! Make sure you weight it, and know the limit for your airline! They’re collecting extra cash every way that they can. 😀 Bon Voyage and have a fabulous time! PS We did our first trip to Italy in carry-ons only, and it was so wonderful not to drag bags on and off boats (Venice) trains, plains and automobiles, lol!
Thanks so much! By the time I posted this we were on our way and luckily – no weight checks! Made it there and back with my bags, really only did one load of laundry (no dryer) but I appreciate the tips for the future 🙂
As an add-on to Suzy’s comments, yes, they are super-strict about carry-ons on European airlines.
Those dresses are going to be very chic and comfy, great idea packing those! Have a wonderful time on your trip!
thanks so much!! luckily we didn’t have any issues but now I know for next time (and I certainly hope there’s a next time…it was wonderful)
I went to Italy last year for two weeks and did a carry-on only. The weight limit mentioned is true so weigh your bag with everything in it. Also, if you do have access to laundry I would only take 4-5 dresses. You will be surprised at what you don’t wear. I lived in jersey skirts and jersey tops and my jean jacket for the evening. And, you want room for whatever you might buy!
Here’s what I took, for reference.
http://audreybella.blogspot.com/2012/05/final-packing-list.html
Have so much fun! I am so jealous!
thanks for the feedback! I was already en route when I posted. I did end up wearing everything I brought – we had a washer but no dryer so it was a little easier to just wear what I had then worry about air drying everything. Your pics are fabulous – I have to get going to get mine posted! thanks for stopping by!