We are light packers!  We either travel with just a rolling carry-on or just a backpack.  It’s so much easier to move around with less luggage. 

We pack for about 5-7 days which means we wash clothes while we’re away (more below on how we wash).  Most of our trips out of the country are about 2 to 2 1/2 weeks long.

We always make sure all of our pieces match.  All tops match all bottoms.  I’ll use my travel wardrobe from our trip to Spain in December 2021 as an example in this post.

CHOOSE A COLOR SCHEME

I usually start with a single top that I like.  Then I find a jacket that matches it well (unless it’s a summer trip with warm weather).  That gives me the start of my color scheme for the trip.

ADD TOPS

Next I find other tops that match the jacket.  I don’t take bulky pieces.  I take thin tops, button-up shirts, and thin sweaters, and I layer them with a camisole underneath if it’s cold.

Here are a few examples of items I like that I’ve purchased from Amazon:
Long-Sleeve Button-Up Shirt
Thin Sweater
Cotton Camisole
Thermal Layer

ADD BOTTOMS

Pants are usually easy for me because I almost always wear jeans, which matches all the tops, but you could add other pants (long or short) that are neutral and match all the tops.  It’s easy to match black, white, khaki or gray pants to most tops.

ADD SHOES

I only take one pair of shoes on most trips.  I wear them, so there are none to pack.  Occasionally, I will take a second pair.  

For winter trips I like to take short, comfy boots.  For other seasons I like sneakers.  If we’ll be hiking a lot on rough terrain, I take Merrell hiking shoes.

I use Dr Scholl’s Massaging Gel Insoles in almost every pair of shoes I wear.  They just make everything more comfortable.  That is very important because we walk almost everywhere.

ADD ACCESSORIES

Next I look for accessories.  I find a scarf and gloves, when necessary, that will go with all of it.  And I add jewelry.  I like to take simple, easy-to-pack jewelry that will match everything.  I usually take 2 pairs of earrings that match all the outfits.  My favorites are my silver hoops, gold hoops, or bronze patterned hoops.

And that’s it!  I make sure I like how everything looks together, and I’m done.  Another big advantage is that it never takes me long to decide what to wear in the mornings.  I just rotate what’s in my bag.

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To put it all together

Pictured below is my whole travel wardrobe that I took on our trip to Spain in December 2021.  Note– I used to take fewer outfits, as you’ll see from this trip, but I’ve found a way to pack more now (This post will show how I do it.) 

I started planning for this trip a few weeks in advance.  I found an orangy-peachy plaid button-up top while I was shopping.  I liked the colors and the pattern.  I had already been looking online for a jacket and had seen a burgundy puffer jacket that liked.  I pulled it up on my phone to hold next to the top.  I liked them together, so I decided to go with that and find other tops that would match that jacket too.

I found a gray half-button up top and a gray and while striped top that I thought would also look good with the jacket.  I purchased them all.  I had another plaid button-up shirt at home that I thought would also match well.

Here is everything all together:

Here are some more of my favorite items I purchased from Amazon:
Winter Jacket – MY favorite jacket!  I have it in burgundy and black!
Heavy Winter Coat – Great for super cold places like Germany at Christmas.  You won’t get cold with this!
Packable Raincoat – Love it!  Great as a raincoat or wind breaker and folds up small!
Scarf – Warm and comes in tons of colors and patterns!
Gloves – Warm and available in many colors!

Here are some examples of the boys’ travel wardrobes.  Their pieces are a little larger than mine, but they manage to fit all of theirs in the same bags I use.  

First is an example of my husband’s outfits.  Then is an example of my sons’ outfits.  Both of my sons are in their early 20s.  

My husband was a little offended that I broke this down into “old men” and “young men” outfits, but my sons would never want to be included in the “dad shirt” category. 😂

The Men’s travel wardrobe…

And the Young Men’s travel wardrobe…

PACKING WITH PACKING CUBES

We like to pack with packing cubes.  We use them in different ways, sometimes several of them and sometimes just one or two.  You can see the latest way we prefer in this post.  We like these packing cubes as well as this one.

HOW TO WASH CLOTHES WHILE TRAVELING

We always stay at a place with a washing machine or a laundry service, or we find a nearby laundry to wash clothes.  We take these laundry sheets to wash with.  They’re great, and they take up almost no room in our bag.  And I know—  laundry on vacation doesn’t sound fun.  But it’s really not bad.  We put two loads in at night (one dark and one light) and dry it overnight either in a dryer or hang them up.  If we have to go out to wash, we try to plan to have brunch/lunch while it washes, so we don’t waste much time.

And that’s how we pack light enough to use only a carry-on bag or backpack while keeping it all comfy and cute!  These travel wardrobes are all obviously all for winter.  I will create another post later showing how to put together summer outfits.  Sign up here for email alerts if you’d like to know when new posts are up!

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