Three Packing Hacks for Carry-Ons
The cost of airline travel has skyrocketed (pun intended), yet many consumers see airline tickets as a justified way to indulge themselves. Besides, with the proper planning, affordable airfare is totally attainable.
Simply select the correct departure airport, set Google Flights notifications across all your devices, take off work on a random Tuesday for the cheapest round trip cost, pack non-perishable snacks in your TSA-approved carry-on so you avoid costly airport food, and you’re all set!
Spoiler here: airline travel costs a lot of money. What’s one way you can realistically lower your costs?
It’s not sexy, but it’s effective: don’t check a bag.
Depending on your airline and ticket status, checking one bag can cost you anywhere from $30 to $99, with prices increasing to as high as $150 if you’re checking more than one.
Here’s three packing hacks to save money on checked luggage by packing everything you need in your carry-on.
Hack #1: Practice the 5-4-3-2-1 Rule of Carry-ons
A carry-on must meet TSA size criteria so it fits in the overhead bin of your aircraft, which helps keep the weight and balance of the plane safe enough to fly. Unfortunately, it severely limits the space passengers have to work with when packing.
The 5-4-3-2-1 rule helps mitigate the tendency to overpack. Before placing your clothes in your carry-on, lay out:
5 tops
4 bottoms
3 pairs of shoes
2 jackets
1 bag and 1 belt
Keep in mind this includes whatever you’d wear to bed, what you’d wear to work out in, and clothes you’d wear day-to-day in public.
This means you should opt for variety. Instead of packing four different pairs of leggings in four different colors, pack a pair of leggings, a pair of sweats, a pair of jeans, and a pair of shorts. It keeps you prepared for changes in the weather and activities without taking up more space in your carry-on!
Weather conditions at your destination can greatly affect your space issue. When traveling to a cold destination, prepare to get creative with your packing. Warmer destinations are typically easier to pack for, as those clothes tend to be more lightweight and take up less space.
Pro tip: wear your bulkiest items to the airport. You will look goofy wearing a winter jacket and chunky running shoes (speaking from experience here), but it beats not having space to take those items at all.
Hack #2: Invest in Travel-Size Toiletries for Your Carry-on
If you’re not already doing this, it will take you about $10 and ten minutes to implement.
TSA regulation states that passengers may only carry 3.4 ounces (or 100 millimeters) of liquids in their carry-on. So, for our purposes, we’re leaving the entire container of face wash at home.
Buy a pack of travel-size toiletry containers and fill them up with your must-have toiletries before your trip. Some will even come with labels so you don’t mix up your shampoo with your body wash in the hotel shower.
They’re reusable, so spending a little extra on quality packs will go a long way if you travel a lot.
Hack #3: Packing Cubes Save Major Carry-on Space
We covered how fall and winter weather destinations can elevate your packing puzzle to Rubix-cube level.
Aside from wearing the bulkiest items to the airport, you’ll still need a solution for fitting thick jackets, sweaters, and shoes, especially for vacations centered around winter sports like skiing.
Packing cubes help compress these heavier items to fit easier in your carry-on. You can find decent ones on Amazon like this set that have different sizes that vary based on the type of clothes you have, i.e. one large cube for jackets/sweaters, one medium cube for t-shirts/shorts, and so on.
Long story short…
With airline travel costs rising, packing everything you need in a carry-on is a simple yet effective way to save you money on trips. These three hacks will help you save space while packing and can easily be replicated for future trips!
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