Packing with less baggage is more environmentally friendly, faster and sustainable, eliminating a lot of extra weight you might not need. Tips to pack less and carry on luggage only for a week or more international flight. 

Minimalism is on trend, and the same goes for air travel.

The key word to focus on when package less is: SIMPLIFY.

Pack with me as I head from Miami to Singapore! That’s 8 days, 40 hours each way of travel, and one full bag dedicated to film and tech gear. I’m aiming to check ZERO bags and bring carry-on only.

Can I do it? Heck yeah! And, you can too.

Here are 9 tips to help you pack lighter and plan for a carry-on only international trip.

PACK A COLOR THEME

Typically I’ll bring blues, whites, black or gray, as you’ll see in the video clip illustrating these tips below. Some times I’ll add in neutral colors if I have time or space, like denim, for example. That’s another neutral.

For this trip, however, I’m bringing a lot of blues whites grace, one pair of black yoga pants. That’s it! Then I can mix and match a lot of the tops and bottoms because they all are in the same family of colors.

Feeling lost for a color theme? Look on your Instagram feed and see what catches your eye. That’s a good color theme to go with, and then you can minimize the amount that you’re packing based on that family of color coordinates.

PACKING CUBES

My all-time favorite favorite item for packing: packing cubes.

The one’s I use are Barefoot Compression Cubes with a double zipper. Using three of these helps to organize where I’m putting my clothing items — usually one for tops, second for bottoms, and then  third will be the underwear, socks and bathing suits. The double zipper also compacts and presses the clothing down, minimizing the amount of size and space. 

CONVERTIBLE TRAVEL OUTLET ADAPTER

I had to check this in advance, but I needed to bring a travel converter to Singapore. If you’re traveling overseas, or internatioinally, most likely you will need to bring one as well.

Each country — and even region — may be different, but for Singapore and South Pacific, I needed a Type G outlet.

This Ceptics Travel Adapter let’s you change the different prongs. The backing comes in and out, so I did’t have to buy and bring multiple adapters with me for a multi-country trip. This again reduces weight and space. A bonus, there’s one USB-C and USB within the charger as well for easily charging your devices.

MULTI-PORT CHARGER

Speaking of electronics: the laptop, the cell phone, the watch, the iPad, the all of the other i-devices have different chargers or cubes. Instead of me having packing all five, six or seven of those, I’m bringing just one port that hosts them all.

This multi-port charger from Freedy has four different outlets that I can plug all of my devices into it at once. It’s only nine ounces, and compacts down pretty small into a bag it comes with. Truth: the Freedy 90W USB-C Travel Charger does get hot when using. Keep it in a ventilated space when using.

TRAVEL SIZE EVERYTHING

Talking about minimizing size, get travel size everything.

From toothpaste, to deodorant, to a nail file…every little bit counts when you’re trying to reduce the amount of weight and volume of items you’re packing.

While BUBM doesn’t sell the same bag that I use anymore, they do have a variety of Travel Organizers that I also own and use for electronics, sold here.

“SPRING CLEAN” YOUR BAGS

Go through your stuff before you travel. Before packing, ask yourself, “Do I really need everything that is in my bag?”

I usually have in my carry-on things that are just ready to go for any last minute travel or to save some packing time before each trip. It’s already in the bag (literally).

However, if you’re like me who has your “travel size everything” ready, instead of just automatically taking, do a quick sweep first. Go through your bag and pull out things that you don’t need.

For this trip to Singapore, I pulled out an entire bag of stuff that I didn’t need and was carrying along with me every trip for months with no purpose. Cleanse, and clear it on out! Your carry-on don’t need that.

SIMPLIFY YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE

The key word here for minimizing your packing is simplicity.

The same goes for your skincare routine. Au Natural Skinfood is a simple and effective skincare routine. It’s a simple four step process: a cleanser, toner, morning and evening moisturizer — and that’s it.

Au Natural has an at home size — which I use in mi casa in Miami — and a travel size, their sample size.

Using such a simple systems like Au Natural eliminates waste completely when you travel, and gives your skin the same routine at home and when you travel. Your skin doesn’t get disrupted when you’re traveling, keeping it healthier and happier.

As the name states, Au Natural Skinfood is…natural! Their main base for their products is Manuka honey, which is calming and healing for the skin, and can do absolutely no harm to it.

Save 10% your online order using the code livefree10 — Try your own sample size today here from their website at aunaturalskinfood.com.

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Read my full skincare review of Au Natural Skinfood here.

LAYER UP

I can’t say it enough when it comes to travel: you want to wrap yourself in layers.

First, you’re not going to freeze on a plane, especially if you’re flying any overnight flights. It gets really cold in those high elevations and in the evening time, when the sun goes down. Especially if you’re hopping time zones.

Keep covered in layers, bring socks, bring an extra sweater, bring a jacket, right wrap a scarf around, — which can double as a blanket. That also can take a lot of the weight out of your bag.

Remember, they’re not going weigh you, they’re going to weigh your bag. So the more you’re wearing, the less that’s going to be in your back.

CHECK HOTEL AMENITIES

Prior to packing, check your destination stay and see what they have available for amenities. For example, I know I’m staying at one of the hotels in the airport when I get to Singapore. I’ve already check that they  have a hairdryer so I’m not going to pack one. Even if it’s not top of the line, it’s better than packing one, in my light-weight category!

A rule of thumb: if you don’t need it, don’t pack it. Or, “Don’t need it. Leave it.” It’s that simple.

“If you don’t need it, don’t pack it. Or, Don’t need it. Leave it. It’s that simple.” — Sara Quiriconi, @livefreewarrior

READY FOR TAKE-OFF!

Remember, when it comes to traveling light, the key word is simplify.

Simplify your life, simplify what you’re bringing. Plus, when you return back home, you’re going to realize you don’t need as much stuff anyway.

Lastly, being healthy and well is a lifestyle. It doesn’t stop when you travel. And that’s what this channel is all about healthy, conscious ways to travel and live at home when you travel in the air everywhere.

Comment in below if this post was helpful for an upcoming trip you’re planning, I love to hear your feedback, Warriors!