1 piece of luggage??

Livelovedance

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
As I dream of a future ABD trip, I’m just curious how you do such a long trip with one piece of luggage and a carryon! I know I’m a heavy packer, but I’ve been known to travel to Disney world with more than that for less days. :worried:

I know there’s a lot of transportation changes and different hotel stays. I’m just curious how everyone makes it work. Any tips or tricks I should know of??
 
I am also a habitual over-packer but manage to keep within the ABD guidelines. Packing cubes are instrumental for me. Another thing I did was watch lots of videos on packing light. 3 weeks with a carry on and stuff like that. While I doubt I'll ever be able to pack that lightly the videos helped me lighten the load.
 
Packing cubes ROCK. I find that I can pack more with the cubes.

Also, we bring some Tide hand wash detergent with us and we sometimes wash our clothes in the bathtub. Most of our shirts our moisture wicking so the dry really fast.
 


After Air France lost my luggage on a trip to Morocco, I learned quickly how to do more with less.

Long story short - You'll want clean undies and socks everywhere. You're going to need a couple of nice shirts for the evenings. The rest of your clothes can be swapped out, rinsed out, etc. You can always buy detergent sheets (small & can be packed in carry on luggage) to rinse things as necessary.
 
I think it helps to lay everything out you want to take and then eliminate stuff. You will find you have duplicates. Also go heavy on the shirts and pack lighter for pants, shorts, bottoms. You can easily re-wear bottoms with different shirts and usually the shirts are what get dirtier. Also try to do somewhat of a color scheme. Like either go black, navy blue or brown. It really help coordinate things. It also helps to match up your shoes with your outfits. Finally, I agree packing cubes really help. Not so much to save space, but if you are going a lot of different places it helps you stay organized.
 
I pack a lot more for a trip to WDW than I do for an ABD or any other "real" trip. You have all your special cute park outfits, and you have to pack multiples in case it rains or if you get too hot and sweaty, and you are always thinking about photo ops. For overseas travel, I take less every trip! For a summer, city, trip, sundresses are the way to go and they take up very little room. For winter, jeans or tech pants can be reworn multiple times, as can a fleece pullover. We've gone from packing in a 28" big suitcase to 26" to 24". For my next, it'll be a carry-on only. The biggest challenge is shoes. I like to have multiple pairs of walking shoes to switch off wearing. I also usually like to take running clothes, but will not be doing that for the Iceland ABD -sounds like that will be active enough!
 


To me it depends upon which trip I am taking. Alaska and colder climate trips you don't need a bunch of "outfits" just warm, relaxed clothes. Warmer climates I agree that because of the sweat factor you need more changes of clothes but those clothes tend to be lighter and smaller. Our family of three fit into 3 24 inch suitcases with room to spare for items to bring back. As Aquamarinesteph stated it is amazing what clothes you really need on any trip. Clean undies and socks are my only priority.
 
A rule of thumb I try to stick to is this: lay out your planned clothes and cut in half. I find when I do this I always have more than enough. I do laundry when we stay 3 nights at a hotel (usually through the hotel laundry service or a local place that will pick-up and deliver). No more than 3 pairs of shoes (maybe 4 if you need workout shoes).

I also use packing cubes. They help me stay organized while travelling.

A few years ago my daughter and I travelled in Europe for 2 weeks with just a carry-on each and I never felt that we were short clothes.

I much prefer having a few carefully curated outfits to over-packing.
 
I also remind myself that if I forget something, or leave it and really wish I had it, I'll be able to buy it. I figure if I need something, the locals will need it too, and it will be available.
 
I love planning packing!
We don't travel particularly light - but here are some tips I have figured out that help us do at most 1 bag per person:
- packing cubes
- rolling clothes - and rolling in packing cubes lets you jam in even more!
- suitcase no bigger than 25" so virtually no chance of violating a weight limit
- making sure almost every top goes with almost every bottom - a fun site is The Vivienne Files - I pick a 'color theme' for each trip - for Alaska it was blue/green/grey; for Rhine cruise it was pink/navy/grey
- willing to do some handwashing - DH and I have a lot of 'travel clothes' that are easy to wash and dry. You can find them at lots of price points - 32 degrees from Costco; Athleta; Old Navy Active; Columbia; Eddie Bauer
- watch the weight of things - shoes are the biggest challenge; and some clothes are surprisingly heavy/bulky
A couple of helpful/fun blogs are The Vivienne Files and Adventures with Sarah
 
Personally, the only way I can pack reasonably is to start to "stage" what I'm packing about a week or so ahead of time. But, except for essential things like my meds (which should never go in your checked bag anyways) I don't actually *pack* anything until the night before. This prevents me from endlessly saying "Well, maybe I'll just add this." or "Just one more pair of jeans." etc, etc. If I start actually packing too far ahead of time, I will end up packing my entire closet.

Sayhello
 
My issue is that even if I don't pack much, DH and I are more Pooh sized with big feet, so our clothes take up a lot of room. And as our DDs get older, there is less room in their bags... And DH is famous for overpacking - like the trip to WDW where he wanted to bring a pair of shorts, three t-shirts, a long sleeved t-shirt, a nice shirt and a hoodie for each day! I was like - no, one long sleeved shirt, one hoodie total. Or the trip to London/Paris where he came home with an entire huge, old (pre-9/11) Samsonite suitcase with clothes he didn't even wear. Of course, bags were free then so checking three for the two of us didn't seem odd.

I'm just planning on doing laundry at least once on our trip, maybe twice, as we are adding on 5 days in Paris after our Italy ABD. I'm thinking Tuscany and at DLP. And doing the sundress thing (to cover my knees for the churches). At least we won't need hiking boots this trip.

We booked a quick non-Disney trip for spring break last night and I was so excited to see that our hotel suite has laundry. We should be able to carry-on this trip, since we will have the option of doing laundry if need be.
 
I am also a habitual over-packer but manage to keep within the ABD guidelines. Packing cubes are instrumental for me. Another thing I did was watch lots of videos on packing light. 3 weeks with a carry on and stuff like that. While I doubt I'll ever be able to pack that lightly the videos helped me lighten the load.
I’ve never used packing cubes before but I’ll have to give it a try! I’ve heard rolling your clothes and packing them in packing cubes helps save space. I will definitely have to check out those videos. I’ve always been amazed by people who can travel with only a carry on. I’m a southwest fan, so I usually pack 2 bags myself (usually evenly distributed so I have room for souvenirs on the way home)! :blush: I’ll have to work on packing before an ABD lol
 
When I used to travel overseas, I would pack clothes that I would throw away / leave behind.

I guess that makes sense, but I’d feel funny leaving clothes behind. I’m still trying to wrap my head around packing “throwaway” clothes for rundisney events, and those are donated!

Packing cubes ROCK. I find that I can pack more with the cubes.

Also, we bring some Tide hand wash detergent with us and we sometimes wash our clothes in the bathtub. Most of our shirts our moisture wicking so the dry really fast.

I’m definitely going to try packing cubes! Are they all the same, or are there brands that are better than others? I almost bought some on amazon once but there were sooo many kinds that I got overwhelmed and changed my mind lol.
 
I’ve never used packing cubes before but I’ll have to give it a try! I’ve heard rolling your clothes and packing them in packing cubes helps save space. I will definitely have to check out those videos. I’ve always been amazed by people who can travel with only a carry on. I’m a southwest fan, so I usually pack 2 bags myself (usually evenly distributed so I have room for souvenirs on the way home)! :blush: I’ll have to work on packing before an ABD lol
I don't use packing cubes, but I *do* roll all my clothes, and it makes a HUGE difference in how much I can fit in my carry-on and in my checked bag. It's also good for protecting items that are more delicate or wrinkle easily, by rolling them inside of something else that is sturdier and doesn't wrinkle (I'll roll blouses inside of nightgowns and yoga pants, for example). I even roll my underwear.

Sayhello
 
After Air France lost my luggage on a trip to Morocco, I learned quickly how to do more with less.

Long story short - You'll want clean undies and socks everywhere. You're going to need a couple of nice shirts for the evenings. The rest of your clothes can be swapped out, rinsed out, etc. You can always buy detergent sheets (small & can be packed in carry on luggage) to rinse things as necessary.

Oh that would be very upsetting! That’s another reason I like to have 2 bags. I always feel like, if one bag gets lost, at least I have clothes in the other! Not that I really need 2 bags, I can and have gone with only 1, but I am an admitted overpacker lol.

I’m sure if I really sat down and thought about it, I could cut back stuff. It’s just a different way of packing!

I think it helps to lay everything out you want to take and then eliminate stuff. You will find you have duplicates. Also go heavy on the shirts and pack lighter for pants, shorts, bottoms. You can easily re-wear bottoms with different shirts and usually the shirts are what get dirtier. Also try to do somewhat of a color scheme. Like either go black, navy blue or brown. It really help coordinate things. It also helps to match up your shoes with your outfits. Finally, I agree packing cubes really help. Not so much to save space, but if you are going a lot of different places it helps you stay organized.

Great tips, thank you! I tend to pack more shoes to go with different colors, but I could definitely get away with less if everything was in the same color scheme too. I also will remember less bottoms and more tops!
 
I pack a lot more for a trip to WDW than I do for an ABD or any other "real" trip. You have all your special cute park outfits, and you have to pack multiples in case it rains or if you get too hot and sweaty, and you are always thinking about photo ops. For overseas travel, I take less every trip! For a summer, city, trip, sundresses are the way to go and they take up very little room. For winter, jeans or tech pants can be reworn multiple times, as can a fleece pullover. We've gone from packing in a 28" big suitcase to 26" to 24". For my next, it'll be a carry-on only. The biggest challenge is shoes. I like to have multiple pairs of walking shoes to switch off wearing. I also usually like to take running clothes, but will not be doing that for the Iceland ABD -sounds like that will be active enough!
That is so true! I definitely pack more for WFW, I never thought about that before. I also find packing for WDW easier because the outfits are based on the park days lol.

I think with the tips from this thread I will be able to cut back and get better use out of my luggage space. By the time I’m ready for an ABD trip I should be set! :rotfl:

To me it depends upon which trip I am taking. Alaska and colder climate trips you don't need a bunch of "outfits" just warm, relaxed clothes. Warmer climates I agree that because of the sweat factor you need more changes of clothes but those clothes tend to be lighter and smaller. Our family of three fit into 3 24 inch suitcases with room to spare for items to bring back. As Aquamarinesteph stated it is amazing what clothes you really need on any trip. Clean undies and socks are my only priority.
I’m looking towards a warmer weather trip, which should be okay because shorts, T-shirts, and sundresses shouldn’t take up too much space. I think I just panicked thinking it would be impossible to pack everything into 1 suitcase lol.
 
I’m definitely going to try packing cubes! Are they all the same, or are there brands that are better than others? I almost bought some on amazon once but there were sooo many kinds that I got overwhelmed and changed my mind lol.

In mind opinion, they are pretty much the same. If you can set aside the fact that I work with Amazon, I would say that the Amazon Basics brand will do just fine. It's not expensive and I like them.
 

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