14-days in a carry-on & other packing MVPs
Carry-Ons
For our 14-Day Trip to Italy, our family of four packed in carry-ons.
Anything larger is a pain for train travel. Our strategy was two rolling bags + a duffel backpack. While our kids can technically handle their own rolling bag, we didn’t want anything to slow us down, and truly we didn’t need another bag.
My husband packed in the North Face 42L backpack duffel.
I used the Away Carry-On Flex. This was the BEST! Easy to roll, compression inside is awesome, and it offers a few extra inches of space if we needed to expand and check on the way home.
I packed both kids in the State Bags Logan Carry-On. This one doesn’t roll well. We will get another Away Carry-On for our next big trip. BUT it worked just fine and was easy to stay organized.
Large side - Each kid had one large packing cube (red or blue) with ALL of their clothes in it.
Zip side - Each kid had their extra pair of shoes, toiletries, and small packing cube for swimsuits/goggles for second half of trip.
Travel MVPs
Lo & Sons OG Bag I know there is a lot of hype and influencers talking about the CALPAK duffel. I just couldn’t do it…trust me, I thought a lot about it! But I LOVE my Lo & Sons OG bag and it’s my go-to, Mary Poppins-fit-everything-easy-to-find-stuff bag. It was PERFECT for our trip. Note: I prefer a tote-style bag over a backpack (which I’ve tried for travel!) I find a tote SO MUCH EASIER to manage — easy to grab things while carrying it, don’t have to dig to the bottom or completely unpack to find things, and fits on the sleeve of my rolling bag.
Away Packable Carry-All I love this thing! It folds up tiny and I stuffed it into the kids suitcase and used it later in the trip for train snacks & random things.
Packing Cubes We have Eagle Creek (red/blue - one color per kid) and the Away brand. I prefer the Away brand because they are less structured.
Parallelle OMG! I splurged on the Small (make-up) and Medium (rest of toiletries) bags before I left and they are now my FAVORITE!!! Everything is organized in its own pocket/area and sides fold down so everything has a home and there is no need to pour it out or unpack/repack it. THE BEST!! Never going back to another toiletry or makeup bag.
Laundry Eco Sheets No mess way to bring detergent. I cut the larger sheets into smaller pieces and used for washing things in the sink.
Tide To Go pens. I’m not the kind of mom who keeps these things handy AND I’m terrible about getting stains out! (This is why I don’t typically wear or buy my kids white clothes! Ha! ) BUT, these came in clutch on our trip. My daughter got chocolate ice cream on her shirt EVERY DAY and given that we had limited clothes… a quick Tide pen scribble and rinse in the sink was a game-changer!
Portrait Cross-body Bag This last-minute purchase from Talking Out of Turn was THE BEST for my 7 year old daughter. This bag fits a Kindle, fidgets, pens, and a notebook — the PERFECT bag for her!
Bluetooth Transmitter-Receiver Yes, it felt like overkill when we were trying to conserve space AND I was grateful for my husband’s research and discovery!! This little gadget allows you to use bluetooth headphones instead of wired headphones on the plane. OR you can use wired headphones instead of bluetooth. Why was this important to us? My daughter has sensory preferences and is VERY PARTICULAR when it comes to which headphones she uses. We took a gamble on this thing and it was a WINNER. She used it on the plane, on the train, and even on audio tours in Rome.
Packing Tips
After Googling and stressing about packing light, I found this tip and pretty much followed it.
5-4-3-2-1 Rule =
5 tops, 4 bottom, 3 accessories, 2 shoes, 1 swimsuitUsing this strategy, here is what I packed. (Free to download.)
We washed clothes at our AirBNB during the first week using Laundry Eco Sheets. Second week, we washed socks and undies in the sink.
Kids Clothes - Fairly easy following the above 5-4-3-2-1 rule and choosing tops/bottoms that mix and match.
My daughter opted for skorts vs. shorts and we added a dress. We chose wicking or athletic/performance fabrics when possible.
Target’s Cat & Jack line, Athelta Kids, Gap Kids, and Alice & Ames always wins the favorite twirly dress award!
My Clothes - I mostly followed the rule above, with a few additions.
Lots of linen!
Mostly white tops (linen and cotton tees and tanks + a cute button back from Gap!) so I could mix/match everything AND because it was July in Rome = HOOOTTT!
Flowy gauze or linen bottoms. These blue pants from Gap, pink/orange striped skirt from Target, and tan/white print pants from one of my fave local Dallas spots, Beatnik.
Two dresses, both Rails from DLM Supply in Dallas (my fave fave!!)
I convinced myself I needed these Vuori Villa pants for the trip. I was right! Flowy and cute while also versatile — comfy for the plane, cool enough for the heat, and warm enough for chilly mountain mornings.
Shoes
Kids: two pairs each, tennies and Crocs. My daughter had a Croc sandal version that was comfy and cute with dresses too.
For me: three pairs
Hoka Clifton - I got a light pink version so they were more summery and didn’t scream “workout shoe!!!!” I wore these on the plane to save space).
Vejas - comfy enough for daytime & cute enough for dresses/casual evenings out
Archies slides - I chose a sandal that was comfy, could pass for a dressier sandal while also great for the pool.
Plane Packing for Kids
When we took our first overseas trip with the kids to London two summers ago when our kids were 5 and 8, I really stressed about the long flight. I wayyyyy over-packed and over-thought how to occupy their time and maximize their comfort. I packed iPads for each kid and workbooks and markers and fidgets and cards and a travel blanket and and and and…
AND, you know what?! The kids plugged their headphones into the screen on the back of the seat in front of them, watched some movies, slept and ate plane snacks. The end. For the rest of the trip, they never once dug into the contents of their backpack. Yet, they (ahem!?! WE) lugged it around with us.
Not happening for Italy. Here’s what we packed in the kids backpacks for the plane and train travel (kids are now 7 and 10):
Headphones, wired and bluetooth. If your child has sensory preferences, we love these Panda Cozy Phones plus it doubles as an eye mask!
No iPads or gaming devices! Though we did bring an old iPhone for my daughter with only Spotify Kids & Audible — this is where she finds peace and calm. Essential!
Refillable water bottle. Italy has fountains EVERYWHERE! We took one large one with us each day, but each person had their own for the hotels, AirBNB, and travel days. Avoid the single use plastic, people!!
A packable blanket.
My daughter loves the Cocoon COOLMAX Travel Sheet which I then use at hotels/AirBNBs if the sheets aren’t soft!
My son used the Gravel Layover Blanket which was a Mother’s Day present from my husband…but, of course, I shared. I stole it back for the flight home!
A few small things like a notebook, pens, a deck of cards, and a fidget.
That’s it. We told the kids they could watch a movie, eat, and then they needed to have a “long sleep” before binging more shows or movies.
It worked!
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