What's In My Carry-On?

         

Hi guys!

Let's be real, the process of traveling can be a stressful and tiresome experience at times. However, I'm a strong believer that a thoughtfully but minimally packed carry-on bag can make a huge difference to your comfort through any long haul flight and airport wait. For today's post I thought I'd take you through what I packed in my carry-on for my latest trip to New Zealand, that kept me both comfortable and stylish through a looong day of travel.


First things first, let's talk about the bag! I'm a fan of a backpack as my carry-on bag of choice, as I find any other handbags or wheelie cases way too much hassle. Mine is a black 'leather' backpack with gold zip detail from Kmart. What I really love about it is the nice small size, as it can *just* fit everything I need in it! As you might have guessed from my comments earlier, I absolutely hate having too much carry on luggage as it just seems to continually be getting in my way and weighing me down, particularly when getting on or off planes or wanting to wander the shops in the airport terminal. At some point I will likely  invest in a backpack that is ever so slightly bigger (perhaps a Fjallraven Kanken?), but for now this one does the trick.

So what's in the bag?

Laptop: I actually never seem to use my laptop as much as I would have thought whilst traveling, but it's still an essential to have with me. I often try to catch up on some study or emails in spare moments at the airport, if I can be bothered!

Scrunchie: Every time I attempt a nice hairstyle with my hair out, I last about an hour before getting frustrated with it getting in my eyes! I always keep spare hair ties with me for this reason.

Headphones: A fairly self explanatory inclusion! I listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks whilst traveling so these are an absolute essential. My fave podcasts at the moment are At Home With by Anna Newton and Lily Pebbles, and Happy Place by Fearne Cotton (the episode with Dawn French was fab!).

Jumper: I'm sure you will all be very aware of how cold it can get when you're stuck in air-conditioned buildings all day, and I always end up freezing at some point while traveling. I find the best way to travel with a big jumper like this is to roll it up in the bottom of my backpack, so it doesn't get in the way of all the other bits that I need to access more easily.

Passport Wallet: I've had this little brown and gold wallet for quite a few years now, and although on the bigger side to fit in my backpack, it's worth the space it takes up! I keep both my passports in here along with any tickets or printouts, as well as a spare pen. It even has a zip up pocket which I use to store spare coins from home whilst I'm traveling, which is super useful!

Kindle: I'm sure everyone and their mum has sung the praises of this little device by now, but for an avid reader who has vivid memories of traveling with a huge copy of Eragon in my pack in the past- this is an absolute lifesaver! I don't tend to use my kindle much when I'm not traveling, but I have so many free books that I stockpile on there thanks to my Bookbub subscription so I always have plenty to choose from.

Pen: You'll almost always end up filling in some type of form or needing to write something down during a day of travel, so it's much more useful to have your own rather than using the ones provided or having to borrow one.

Wallet: I like to travel with just a small coin purse as I generally don't need all my usual loyalty cards that require a big wallet whilst traveling overseas. It saves a lot of space whilst still fitting everything you need.

Lip Balm & Hand Cream: What is it about air travel that just seems to suck all the moisture out of you?! These are so important to have with me. My lip balm of choice is the Burts Bees vanilla, and my hand cream is an all time favourite, L'Occitane Lavender.

Mints: I'll take anything that might help me feel a bit more fresh and awake!

Metal Straw: I'll admit bringing my own straw is of course to do with wanting to help the environment, however it's also due to my hatred for the paper straws that many cafes are giving as replacements lately. I find that the paper ones break down before I've even had half my drink and it is so unpleasant! So bringing my own is a great improvement on that. As this was my first time travelling with my own metal straw, I did wonder if they would pull me up at security but it was fine!

Not pictured but important additions are my charging cables and battery pack, which itself was charging whilst I took these photos.

Do you take more or less than this in your carry on? What are your absolute essentials to have with you whilst traveling?
Kate x