Carry-on diaries: a winter trip to the UK

Join me as I pack as lightly as possible

I pride myself on being a carry-on only packer. I know it’s a somewhat controversial choice in the world of travel, but what can I say?

• I’ve dealt with the stress of lost luggage one too many times

• I’m a small person with small clothes

• I don’t mind travelling lightly

• Quite frankly, I don’t want to pay yet another fee for checked baggage

Now that I’ve mastered the art of packing lightly, I only do carry-ons for vacations — moving is another story.

I find people are often surprised when I tell them I travel this way, so I’ve decided to share exactly how I do it in this post.

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My husband and I are flying to the UK next week for a wedding, and to see family and friends for the first time since our move back to Canada.

I’ve been travelling carry-on only for almost a decade now, so it’s pretty much second nature at this point. However, this trip feels like a challenge.

I’m very much a summer/warm weather girl, so I usually don’t travel to cold destinations. Admittedly, packing carry-on only for a warm destination is easy. I mean, what do you need for a beach holiday besides a few bikinis and cover-ups?

The UK in the winter, on the other hand, is a whole other beast. I run cold, so I need to seriously layer up in temperatures that most other people seem to consider mild. I am worried about not being able to fit the knitwear I’ll need to stay warm in my carry-on, but hey — challenge accepted.

We’re only going for a week, so I think I’ll be able to manage. Plus, I’ve sort of done it before. My last (and I think only) cold weather trip was to the French Alps for 4 or 5 days, and I did that with a carry-on. However, I remember being a bit ill-prepared and needing to borrow cold weather accessories from a friend, so I’m going to be more careful this time.

Here’s what I’m bringing:

Clothing

A version of the travel outfit I’m planning based on a trip we took to Vancouver earlier in the year. I’ll be swapping the scarf for something more neutral/versatile and the jeans for leggings that will be comfortable for almost a day of traveling.

The travel outfit

I always like to start with my travel outfit, because it helps determine what I don’t need to pack. Choosing it is a tricky balance. I need it to be comfortable — in addition to our 9 hour flight, we also need to travel from Vancouver Island to mainland BC via ferry, which adds another few hours to our journey — but I also want it to have pieces that I’ll wear again on the trip. Here’s my strategy:

• I wear my bulkiest pieces to save space in my luggage, which works very well for a winter trip. I’m thinking a grey chunky knit alpaca sweater that would probably take up half my suitcase, but will do a fantastic job of keeping me warm. And it’ll match easily with other clothes. On my lower half, I’ll wear black fleece-lined leggings which can double as loungewear when we’re chilling at home with family. To top it off I’m choosing my cream shearling jacket, which is my favourite piece of cute and practical winter outerwear. It matches with everything, so I won’t need to bring any other coats or jackets.

• For footwear, I’m thinking my black Vessi sneakers. They’re waterproof, which is fantastic. If one thing’s for sure about going to the UK in December — it’s going to be gloomy. They’ll be my casual shoes for the trip.

• This time around, I’ll also be wearing versatile cold weather accessories: a black cashmere scarf that should match with all of my outfits — I made the mistake of not bringing a scarf on my last winter trip, but I know better now. A grey toque (that’s a beanie for any non-Canadian readers) that will also match with everything. And I always keep a pair of gloves in my jacket pockets.

A little preview of the wedding outfit — excuse my dusty mirror

The wedding outfit

The wedding is the only fancy occasion of the week, so I only need to bring one dressy outfit. I decided on:

• My favourite purplish-grey slip dress

• A black blazer in case I get cold

• My new grey sock boots

The boots may not be classic wedding attire because of their mesh fabric, but IMO they’re dressy enough. They have heels, they look good with my dress, they’re water-resistant, they can be compressed, and they’ll also work with my casual fits later in the week. Dress codes be damned.

The wedding outfit packed.

Basics, pjs & loungewear

Merino wool long sleeve tops have been such a game changer for me since I discovered them a few years ago. I used to wear regular cotton long sleeve t-shirts under my sweaters, but merino is so much warmer.

Then I’ll bring some pjs/loungewear: my favourite soft grey cotton ribbed flares, a lightweight sweatshirt, and pj top.

And, of course, the most fundamental pieces: undies and socks to last the week. I don’t wear bras because I’m only an A cup. As our girl Shakira says, lucky that my breasts are small and humble.

The wedding outfit & basics pretty much take up one side of my suitcase, but it’s ok. I still have another half and I know there’s room for compression.

Usually I throw my sock/undie bag on top of everything else, and disperse the delicates so they lay flatter.

Casual pieces

I anticipate the rest of the week to be fairly laidback; we’re heading up to Birmingham to see J’s family and hopefully squeeze in a few catch-ups with friends. All I’ll need are some easy pieces for casual outfits.

• Lightweight sweaters. I chose the sweaters that could roll up the tightest: a lightweight black and white striped sweater, a fairly thin lilac sweater, and a black cropped cardigan.

• Flared denim + ribbed pants. I’m obsessed with my flares. The silhouette is really versatile and creates a cute, retro feel that dresses up any look. I have blue flared jeans and black ribbed flare pants in a comfy stretch fabric that are both quite lightweight, so my bottoms for the week will mostly be flares.

The cardigan was chunkier than I thought, but it’s all good. With these three sweaters & my travel sweater I’ll have four options for the week, which works for me.

Toiletries

My routines are pretty simple in general, so I never pack a ton of makeup or skincare.

• Skincare: my travel-sized face bar and moisturizer are all I need

• Haircare: a hairbrush and travel-sized shampoo and conditioner bars — I don’t really style my hair so I don’t need anything else, since we’ll be staying in accommodations with hair dryers

• Body care: travel sized body butter and deodorant — I’m skipping body wash this time because I know we’ll be staying in places that offer it

• Eye care: I wear contacts, so I bring my lens case, a travel-sized solution bottle, a spare set of lenses in case mine rip, and my glasses when I want a break from my contacts

• Dental care: my toothbrush (I’m an electric girl at home, but I downsize to a manual bamboo brush when I travel), a travel-sized tube of toothpaste, and enough floss for the week

• Makeup: I don’t wear much makeup so I pack a mini eye palette, mascara, an eyebrow pencil, highlighter, a nice lip colour or two, a few brushes, and a compact mirror

• Fragrance: I only got into rollerball perfumes a few years ago, but I absolutely love them for travel! I’m still working my way through my first neroli-scented one

A visual of my toiletries & mini makeup bag — my hair and face bars are in the tins.

Tech/Miscellaneous

• A universal travel adapter

• A phone charger

Et voila! My skincare and makeup bags fit perfectly in the little nook that was left in the suitcase, and the other items slid into the pockets. Another thing I love about using solid skincare (apart from the low-waste/sustainability factor) is that they don’t have to be put in with your liquids bag for security, so you can slide the tins anywhere in your luggage.

General thoughts & insights

My suspicions were correct — it’s way more challenging to pack carry-on for a cold weather trip than a hot weather trip. I’d have a much bigger outfit selection if I only needed to pack lightweight tops and bottoms, but it is what it is and I’m glad I still managed to fit all my essentials.

I’m also realizing that I didn’t account for jewelry (I have a pair of big dangle earrings I want to wear to the wedding), but jewelry is small and I’ll still be able to slide a few extra pieces into my suitcase pockets.

Regardless, I’m proud of myself for making it work. There are a few key principles I believe you need to adhere to in order to pack in this way:

• Be okay with sacrifice. I simplify things when I travel. I’d switch up my outfits more during a regular week at home, but I’m okay with re-wearing the same few pieces when I travel. I won’t lie — I sometimes end up with item fatigue by the end of the trip, but that just encourages me to explore other areas of my wardrobe when I come home.
  
  As for beauty/skincare, I try to do a face mask once a week and have also been integrating serum into my routine, but I’m fine with skipping them when I’m traveling. I also don’t feel the need to bring my entire makeup bag, so I just bring a selection of my favourites.

• Ensure most — if not all — your clothes can go together, or you can build outfits. You can do this by working with a specific colour palette or just sticking to super versatile pieces. I’ll be honest, my biggest focus was lightweight pieces that wouldn’t take up too much space, but I created an unintentional colour palette of grey, blue, black, and purple with a hint of cream, and everything goes together. I can wear any of my sweaters with either my denim flares or my ribbed flares, and I know my jacket works with all of those outfit combos.
  
  With that said, you don’t have to choose solid colours only. On my last trip to Asia, my packing strategy was basic tops and printed bottoms, and it worked too.

• Ditch the ‘just in case’ mentality. You need less than you think.

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Are you team carry-on, or are you a chronic over-packer? If you fall into the latter category, I hope you found this post insightful.

For more minimal living tips, you know what to do ↓