One Carry-On Bag, 5 weeks abroad

Yes, you read that right.  I am heading to Europe for a 5-week trip, with one carry-on suitcase plus a "personal item" bag which fits under the seat in front of me.  MSH and I generally do carry-on only, as we don't want to potentially lose a bag or have it delayed at our travel location.  This also allows us to avoid the baggage claim area in airports.

One bag does, however, mean I have to plan very carefully what's going IN that suitcase.  I purchased a new bag this year, mainly so I could have four wheels for easier moving thru airports.  Turns out it is more than 3-lbs lighter than my older bag.

Airtags have been attached inside both bags.  (Check one of last year's France blog posts and you'll see why I'm a fan of this wonderful little tool.)

I've finished packing, and here are a few thoughts about how I make this work:

• Wear my heaviest items rather than packing them - for me that means  I'll be traveling in jeans, tee shirt, sweater, scarf, raincoat, and tennis shoes .
• Pack primarily solid colored tops and bottoms and a couple of light-weight dresses, with colorful scarves.  This plan makes mixing and matching easy to do.
• Be willing to wear things repeatedly - I'm never going to see these people again, right?
• Keep small items washed up - I carry a pack of washing sheets (unscented) which, when added to water, turns into laundry soap!  I also have 2 travel clotheslines made from bicycle tires, twisted so that it's easy to hang little items likes socks and undies without clothespins. These work in about any shower I've encountered over the past 10 years.

clothes line - similar to mine

         

We will fly to Munich in a few days and I'll report back after that.  Have a lovely day, dear readers!