8 Genius Carry On Packing Hacks That Will Change Your Life

Laurie thanks a lot for your tips. I have questions - how much do your luggage weigh together? It seems you are packing a lot and I think it should only be between 6-8 kg? The backpack also looks very heavy.😮 sorry for my bad English (I am German)

That’s not a carry on size bag. It has to fit under the seat to be a legal carry on if you read the rules. Sure they may bend them but there’s fair chance an airline will also make you check that bag

I save the ends of my toothpaste tubes, roll them up with a clip to hold and use those when I travel. It’s more than enough for a couple of weeks and let’s me use the toothpaste I prefer rather than what comes in little travel tubes.

Laurie, You are the greatest inspiration for packing and traveling. Thank you!
I have a question. Our daughter is getting married December 28th in Mexico. We are staying at an all inclusive resort. Any ideas on how to pack for 7 days in a carry-on and backpack for the wedding? I appreciate your help!

Laurie, You are the greatest inspiration for packing and traveling. Thank you!
I have a question. Our daughter is getting married December 28th in Mexico. We are staying at an all inclusive resort. Any ideas on how to pack for 7 days in a carry-on and backpack for the wedding? I appreciate your help!

Shoes are dirty, why do mix the clean and dirty stuf

Love your videos. Please put your adorable dog on your videos.

I usually pack my socks inside my shoes.

Tiny addition to the bar shampoo hack. You can also get a bar conditioner, instead of bringing 2 bars, I cut them both in half and put them in the same container. Bars last so long, there isn't a reason to bring a whole bar of either

Why the color scheme? I just wear my trainers or sandals with any of my clothes. Do people have that many shoes that they can only wear certain colors with certain shoes? I have one pair of trainers and one pair of sandals. Never plan outfits.

I always have extra clothing in my personal bag and some snacks as well😃

Love your videos and your hack to pack a toiletries bag flat.

I never thought about intentionally packing between the handles in my suitcase. Thank you!

I have the smallest suitcase of 4 of us in Israel for 2 weeks. Tripped bags for daughter and me - the best!!!! Tried pouching my toiletries this time-oral, hair, meds. Just moved my shoes. So helpful, Laurie. Thx.

I’m packing several aliens and a UFO from my home Roswell NM. They are gifts for my family I have not seen in 10 years! Going to a wedding for my youngest niece. The hat I’m taking has been waiting in a box for 4 years. I will be wearing it onto the airplane so it won’t count as another item. To protect the 4 pairs of alien sunglasses, I wrapped the alien T-shirt’s around them. No wrapped presents for TSA to investigate. Just aliens in pockets. Yep. I fit a ufo in there too. Shhhh. Don’t tell the TSA about my aliens.

I pack items underneath the zippered fabric in my carry-on suitcase to make it level with the extension rods. Items are secured by the rods in the 3 sections and then after re-zipping, it seems like I have less unused air space when done fully packed. Only put items under the fabric that TSA will not want to double check!!!

I’ve been using the eBag classic pack-it-flat toiletry bag for a decade. I like how compact it is, and how easily it packs.

My mom taught me to divvy up undergarments and 1 outfit when we traveled together. E.g. some of my undies in her suitcase and some of hers in mine. Likelihood of airline losing the luggage for BOTH parties was low. You at least had a change of undies and 1 outfit to tide you over.

I'm surprised about the snow boots fitting in the 20" better than the 22". Can you explain? Was one side of the suitcase deeper? Thanks for your videos!

Thanks for another helpful video! Beach travel hacks: My personal bag on the airplane is a cooler backpack. We stay at a hotel, so I bring empty Ziploc bags to put ice from the hotel ice machine in for the beach and then we go buy a case of beer for the week at a store. When I’m on the beach and those bags of ice melt, then I pour them into my water bottle. I also wear my bathing suit under my clothes for the flight so that when I get there all I have to do is change my outer clothes before leaving the airport. If I have packed efficiently, my backpack will fit my tennis shoes so I can wear my flip-flops on the plane. I keep the clothes that I’m going to change into at my destination airport on the outside pocket of my suitcase and when I return, I will put my wet bathing suit in a Ziploc bag on the outside in that pocket. :)

I am 69 and just got back from 8 days in FL. I did it with a carry on and personal item. My go to suitcase is an IT World's Lightest suitcase that I can lift with one finger. I travel with lightweight clothing, wrap skirts, lightweight slacks and shorts, silk or synthetic tops. It is all about the the weight for me. I put the heavy stuff such as my computer, electronics, etc that I have to get out anyway in my personal item that I have to get out anyway under my seat. Even though the handle is broader than most suitcases, I use a bag that fits over the handles. I do have some medical stuff that would not do well in baggage hold and I would not check this lightweight bag. Also, if I ever check a bag, I put FRAGILE stickers all over the bag and it has not gotten crushed. I brought two bottles of Vodka back from Russia unbroken in 2019 which inside my checked luggage this way.

I love the Onesole interchangeable shoes that you can change the tops on. I have several bottoms and about 50 tops. They were featured on Shark Tank years ago. I have plain, sequins, sling, Army, my college, my dog breed, etc, etc. I love them and they are SO comfortable. I can dress those shoes up or down by just exchanging the tops and the tops lay flat. I also love Rip Skirts that are made out of bathing suit material that go from a cover up to dinner depending on your blouse and accessories. They also fold totally flat.

I have been watching your videos for about a year. They are wonderful! My husband and I are doing a river cruise in Europe and I told him I would pack in a carry on! He was shocked! He has been traveling to Europe and China for business in a carry on for years. Thanks to your videos I think I can do this!!

If people can’t remember, what’s in there packing cubes, it’s very easy to label them. That’s what I do for my clothing cubes.

I'm your biggest fan, Laurie! I followed your advice, got compression cubes and a Legend8 carryon and travel everywhere carryon only and Iove the freedom! Plus, today you taught me a new trick - NOT to put the shoes into the corners! Thanks so much!

Unzip lining inside suitcase and fit shoes in and around wall/frame of luggage. Makes a nice barrier between shoes and clothing. No need for shoe bag.

Just got back from an ABC Islands cruise and your tips made going through the airport a breeze.

Great tips, Laurie! Thanks!

Hey Laurie. Love your videos.I may have missed it - but do you have a recommendation for a lightweight, fast portable charger for iPhones and iPads?

Does United allow people to bring their own snacks like the other airlines?

I just ordered my Lovevook personal backpack. So excited!

Hi Laurie! I love your Level 8 pink suitcase. Is that light exterior holding up well?

Your tan sandals are so cute. What brand are they?

Laurie at one point you had on a pair of light blue sneakers. Will you share the brand? At the 3 51 mark

We just got back from our trip. Did carryon. But, even though we upgraded our seats, we were still group 4 and by time we loaded all overhead was full and had to check bags. I’m so disgusted with flying. Pay more, but get less. Very helpful video. We pack similar.

Please do a PSA video on the different overhead baggage loading dependent on your plane. Like the planes that have you load your bag and turn it on it's side like a book. Or, put your carry on in the overhead and your personal item under seat in front. If there is space after all on board you can maybe see if there is space for your personal item in the overhead. Don't be ignorant, rude or greedy. Listen to the instructions. This is one of the obvious reasons for delayed departure or deboard8ng. If you use up more space than you should, somebody has to put there luggage behind them and swim the tide to get to it. DO.NOT.BE.THAT.PERS9N.

I hope it’s ok to ask here but haven’t flown for years and have been watching lots of your videos👍. Getting a bit stressed Regarding luggage. If you have a checked suitcase can you also have a hand luggage suitcase and a personal item bag. We are going to Canada and a Alaska cruise on the end but have a small checked luggage allowance so trying to make the most we can. Thanks your videos are so helpful

Love your videos. A recent hack I used was to squirt single uses of shampoo/hair styling products into a mini disposable plastic zip close pill pouch I buy at Walmart, 50 ct. it did not leak in my quart sized bag and it saved so much space. I just toss the plastic pouch when I’m done. I’ll be using this hack again and again!

Laurie, your tips are so helpful. I used several of them when doing carry-on only for the first time. I was surprised, however, when boarding a British Airways, a380, in which I was seated upstairs. Because of the shape of the plane, the overhead bins on the window side, are smaller and not as deep, and will not fit a 22 inch carry-on no matter how it’s turned. It was very frustrating, because there is already such a lack of available overhead bins. I was able to find one over the middle section, those are bigger,but as you can imagine, those go really fast. Love your videos, thanks for all your great tips!

I unzip the suitcase liner and then there is even more space because many times the liner is smaller than the case.

I’m about to do a week in our “Laurie’s fav backpack” 🎒 lovevook ❤ I see those all over airports!!!! We need stickers or patches or keychain merch to ident each other when traveling 😊😉

I’ve watched dozens of your videos in prep for today’s trip. No where did I see or hear anything about documenting MY DRIVERS LICENSE on my phone. Somewhere between security and boarding I dropped my license. Discovered it missing after the plane was backing out. First layover was spent contacting every lost and found at DFW airport! They found it but in their confirmation query they requested I give them the license number and date of issue! Nope I didn’t have that listed under my personal contact info, but I will as soon as I get the thing back!!! I’ll also do some kind of backup photo on my phone or a printed copy, just in case….I know it’s not a great idea with IS theft, but gotta do something!

Hello fellow Houstonian!!! New subscriber here!!!

Can I ask what’s a good suitcase tracker?

Laurie I have a quick question for you. We are down to the wire now on our trip to Abu Dhabi. The date was pushed to next week. My son wants me to cook every once in a while and has asked me to bring my seasonings. May I bring them tightly closed on a ziplock ? Some will be unopened.

Laurie, what tracking device would you recommend for a Samsung 22. I won't need one for my child 😅; she's 29. We have a cruise to Eorope in late summer. Thank you very much.

Hi Laurie I found that the silicone salad dressing travel bottles works great for liquids. It's a little smaller. I have not measured the volume. I think it's about 2 oz.

Pretty easy to pack if you wear shorts. Most women over 55 won’t

Invest in Merino wool clothing, socks, and underwear to save on weight and space (for souvenirs)as you can reuse them multiple times without washing for a time and you can mix and match

Laurie, what does this bag weigh fully loaded as in Australia we can only take on board as carry on - 7kg or 15.43lbs, which is not that much really and is very easy to overload. We are often weighed once thru and waiting to board. I got caught once with 10kg in a very small roll on - $60Aus later…….. Now I carry scales. It is often cheaper to send back any excess by post within Australia. 5kg = $20.