It’s been a long time since I’ve done a “what I packed” post, but my post about what I packed during a Europe trip several years ago has been getting a lot of traction lately, so I figured I’d do a similar post to recap my recent trip to Minnesota!
On my recent six-day/five-night trip to Minnesota, Ryan and I flew Sun Country (a Minneapolis-based budget airline) with his parents, which meant that we would be one-bagging it.
I’ve been really big into the one-bag mentality for years now. It’s a lot easier to travel without bulky roller suitcases, there’s no chance of an airline losing your bag if you can bring it on board and stash it under the seat in front of you and it’s a lot cheaper to ditch the carry-on and only bring a personal item if you tend to fly budget airlines like RyanAir or Spirit.
In fact, I rarely fly with a carry-on anymore, and just prefer to travel with a personal item whenever it’s possible. I made both trips to Michigan this year with just my trusty L.L. Bean Continental travel pack, and opted to take my Osprey Porter 30 along with me last year during a weekend trip to Texas.
I’ll usually bring a carry-on if I’m packing for something like a wedding, or an extended trip, or an outdoors excursion, but if I’m just planning on spending a few days sight-seeing in a city, a backpack is perfect.
Bring out the packing cubes and compression straps!
I opted, once again, to fly with my trusty L.L. Bean Continental travel pack. This was the pack that I took with me on my 10-day trip to Europe several years ago, and it’s by far my favorite.
(Note: my exact version is an older style that was discontinued, but the one I linked is the similar, newer model.)
The biggest challenge during winter travel is always finding room for all the heavy layers. Most of my pack was clothing, and I had to be very thoughtful with how I planned my outfits out in advance.
RELATED POST:
AN EXTENDED HOLIDAY WEEKEND IN ROCHESTER, MINN.
Pst- affiliate links!
・・・
CLOTHING:
Daytime lows ranged from the mid-40s to the teens during our trip, so I packed a lot of bulky layers and aimed for versatility.
I packed three pairs of Lululemon leggings (similar), one pair of wide-legged olive chino pants, one pair of high-waisted ’90s-style mom jeans, one pair of black tights and one black skirt.
I packed three long-sleeved ribbed shirts (in cream, mustard and forest green), one cropped long-sleeved black henley (similar), one long-sleeved burgundy Smartwool shirt, one long-sleeved red blouse and one cropped forest green sweater.
I also backed one black t-shirt bra (not pictured), one nude t-shirt bra (not pictured), three sports bras, a black tank top, one of Ryan’s shirts to sleep in, my Patagonia puffer jacket, four pairs of Smartwool socks (not pictured) and underwear (not pictured).
I packed a pair of black leather ankle booties (similar) and winter gloves.
In addition to the clothes I packed, I wore a bralette, black leggings, an oversized gray sweater, my plaid Barbour scarf (same product, similar color), my black parka, a camel-colored Carhartt beanie, my black Doc Martens boots and a pair of gray raglan socks.
I didn’t end up wearing the red blouse, the maroon wool shirt or two of the sports bras, but I wore everything else.
TOILETRIES:
I packed two bags of toiletries. One is my standard wet-dry Travelon (I am OBSESSED with this thing for travel — all the liquids go in one side and it has a hook to hang, so you’re not shuffling things around between Ziploc bags for airport security checks) and the other was a little black Dyneema bag I use for backpacking.
I packed most of my toiletries in my Travelon: deodorant, cotton swabs, cotton balls, spare contacts, shampoo and conditioner bars (in these amazing dry-through bags that keep wet packed soap from getting soggy), a razor, a contact case and solution, a toothbrush, Tretinoin cream, a glove loofah, my menstrual cup, hair ties, sunscreen, body lotion, face lotion, face cleanser, various facial serums and oils (some repackaged into eyedropper bottles), toothpaste, Dr. Bronners liquid soap and perfume.
*If your liquids are either medically necessary (like my contact solution) or prescription (like my Tretinoin), you don’t need to include them in your liquid bag or adhere to size restraints — but you may need to declare these items to your United States airport security agents.
I packed makeup in the Dyneema bag, including makeup brushes, blush, eyeliner, mascara, an eyeshadow pallet, an eyelash curler, tweezers and nail clippers.
I didn’t end up using my eyeliner or tweezers at all, but I did use everything else.
I also stashed ChapStick, a claw clip, my glasses, my hair straightener and a foldable Wet Brush into my bag.
MISC.:
In addition to toiletries and clothing, I also packed a foldable travel umbrella, a small canvas tote bag, my iPhone charger, my Apple Watch charger, a micro-USB charger, my inhaler, a pair of earplugs, a phone battery pack, my wallet, my AirPods, my Kindle, my iPhone, my journal, a pen and a leather crossbody bag (mine is older from Cuyana — this Madewell one is similar in style and price).
I carried my water bottle (not pictured) outside of my pack for this trip as well.
I like to pack the things I’ll need for my flight — like my Kindle, AirPods, earplugs, ChapStick, wallet, battery pack, inhaler, etc. — in my small crossbody bag.
My crossbody bag goes into a front pocket of my backpack while I pass the gate agents (I elaborated on that in my Europe packing post), and then if there’s room in the overhead bins, I like to put my backpack overhead and keep my crossbody bag (and water bottle) with me in my seat.
I didn’t use my umbrella at all. It did rain while we were in Minnesota, but we got incredibly lucky and it only rained at night.
・・・
SOME PACKING TIPS:
I wrote this post a few years ago about how I managed to pare down all my things so they fit into one backpack, and a lot of the advice — about picking a quality backpack, paring your packing down and following airline baggage restrictions — is all still really relevant.
Aside from that:
Plan, plan, plan! I knew what functions I’d be attending (a church mass and baptism, a holiday party) in advance, and I checked the weather forecast days out. That allowed me to plan out my outfits every single day and only pack what was needed. I did have to bring makeup and a hair straightener, but I didn’t have to bring hiking boots or bulky outdoors gear.
Bring clothing that serves multiple functions, and layer. My in-flight leggings became my work-out leggings the next day, and I was able to layer (a different, clean pair of) leggings under my jeans and chinos, and long-sleeved shirts under my bulky sweaters. My chinos were dressy enough that I was able to wear them out to a nice family outing, but comfortable and casual enough I could wear them out sightseeing.
Use compression straps, packing cubes (I have these ones from Eagle Creek) and stuff the nooks and crannies of your pack. I always stuff my socks and underwear in my shoes (both inside and in the space between the sole and heel), and using a large packing cube allowed me to smoosh my bulky sweaters down until they fit into my bag.
Bring a small packable tote. In addition to my crossbody trick, which I mentioned above, I also brought a small foldable canvas tote bag with me. There’s a photo above, but it’s nice to have an extra bag just in case you need a day bag for mid-trip excursions or anything else. We moved from our hotel to Ryan’s brother’s house during our stay, and it was nice to not have to cram everything into my backpack for our quick trip (via car) across town.
Take advantage of the things your lodging offers. For example, Ryan and I didn’t (originally) pack soap because our hotel offered it. (We only ended up buying it because our wall-mounted shower soap dispenser ran out and we couldn’t get it refilled during our stay.) If you’re in a hotel and your hotel offers lotion, hand sanitizer, shampoo, a hair dryer, etc. — there’s no need to bring it.
Also, if you’re traveling with a partner, take advantage of what your partner has packed. Ryan was able to use my toothpaste and cotton swabs and I was able to use his iPad.
And finally, don’t panic! If you’re going to a city, you can always pick up something you forgot at a store, so it’s not the biggest deal if you forgot soap.
・・・
And that’s that! Like I mentioned, I used everything I packed short of two shirts, two sports bras, my tweezers, my eyeliner and my umbrella. Other than the soap Ryan and I had to buy, the only thing I wish I’d packed that I didn’t was a pair of sandals or something for hotel lobby trips. It was a bit annoying having to lace up boots to head down to breakfast or the drinking fountain. (Though: We’d originally planned to stay with family, and didn’t decide to stay at a hotel until the last minute, which influenced my packing list a bit.)
If you’ve never one-bagged it before, I definitely suggest you give it a try!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my disclosure policy.
