Packing Light - REALLY light - aka How I Packed a Long Weekend Worth of Clothes in My Purse To Save Money

My daughter and I are getting ready to take a (somewhat) unexpected flight to Florida to see my parents. It's great, and we can't wait to see them but the truth is, this is a rotten time for unexpected expenses. I'm out of work because I had surgery so I'm trying to stretch 2/3 of my normal paycheck (haha, try that sometime!) but also, my daughter (who works and goes to nursing school) just had her car completely die....it held on a lot longer than we expected. So, the airline we're flying with not only charges for checking bags they now charge for a carry on too - the only thing you can take without a fee is a purse/briefcase etc. and the dimensions are 7x15x16...oy. Not a lot to work with right? Sounded like a challenge to me! We're flying out on a Thursday and will be driving back on Saturday night so I'll need four outfits including the one I wear on the plane. So, here goes! I originally planned on wearing a pair of bootcut jeans and my cowgirl boots on the flight but then realized that it's August in Central Florida....I really don't need heavy jeans and cowgirl boots no matter how cute they'd look, so I ended up with this light, comfortable outfit:

Then, I proceeded to pick out some easy, lightweight outfits that I could take with me. Now let me tell you that I am NOT a tiny little thing; I'm a size 14/16 so if you're a size 2 (first of all, I pretty much hate you....ok, no, just kidding) you could likely fit a lot more in your bag! This is what I ended up packing:

Somehow it doesn't look nearly as impressive on my screen as it does in reality. Here's a list of what I've packed:
1) Simple blue v-neck t-shirt rolled with a cami underneath
2) My comfy Nike cushioned sandals....I can't travel without them
3) Black sandals
4) Fold-up brush (I'm low maintenance but if I need more my sis-in-law will have it)
5) Sunglasses (or my regular glasses, depending)
6) Teeny tiny hand lotion in case I need it on the plane
7) Army green v-neck t-shirt
8) Toothpick/floss thingys just in case I need it on the plane (unlikely, I know, but it takes up almost no space)
9) Four pair of undies, rolled up
10) Any meds I'll need
11) Black elastic headband
12) Pink v-neck t-shirt with a burgandy cami under it
13) Two pair of socks
14) Tissue travel pack for plane
15) Gray shirt
16) White shorts
17) Little black bag holding my phone charger, Nook charger, headphones and a splitter in case my daughter wants to listen
18) My Nook (it's only a 2 1/2 hour flight but still lol)
19) Blue jean Capri
20) Skinny Jeans
I forgot to include my little wallet that I keep a credit card, driver's license and a few other necessities in the pic but it's fairly small:

Ok, it looks more impressive written out ;c)
The trick is to wear your heaviest shoes/boots/sneakers on the plane (yes it's less convenient than wearing flip flops while checking in, but trust me, it's much more efficient) The most important part of packing is rolling everything up as tightly as possible. Spread out your clothes, make sure they're neat and not balled up then just roll from one end to the other. After I'd rolled them up, I used small hair elastics and large hair elastics to hold them - this way it's keeping everything neat, compact and I can throw my hair up into a ponytail. Also, I clipped a couple barrettes and a half dozen bobby pins on the elastics that I used to hold my clothes. Once you've rolled everything, it's important to put it in your bag as efficiently as possible....it may take some patience and rearranging but it can be done. Male sure you put heaviest items on the bottom and use every bit of space. I put the two pairs of sandals on the bottom and then packed and rearranged until everything fit neatly inside. And it's all within the airline's size requirements! Take that airline lol


Keep Crafty!

~ Heather ♥

Update:  9/5/13 ~ I could have gotten away with a larger bag after all....my daughter used a bigger bag and they never batted an eye.  Oh well, I'm still proud of it lol