ten tips for packing a carry on

tomorrow i am heading out to san francisco with my mom, brother, and brother's wife, elizabeth. we're going out for the north face / gor-tex 50 mile race that nate go in (thanks to the great billy yang)... one of the bonuses for having a mom thats a flight attendant, is flying for *almost* free on standby! the catches are: well you're on standby, you only get on the flight if theres empty seats and you really need to pack everything in a carry on ::sigh:: i've got insanely good at packing over the years. i plan each outfit for everyday with just couple extra items in case of a major spill. ha! 

one thing i've always been hesitant to buy is good luggage. its just never something i wanted to spend money on...until i found the bag of all bags....more on that coming soon (and i've got $20 off your first piece of luggage!) i also needed a collapsable toiletries bag to make better use of space. i got this one at elle boutique. it can also double as a clutch! i'm all for two for ones when packing.

so here's my ten tips for how i got all my toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, face cream, essential oil perfume, contact solution, foundation, toothpaste, body wash, tinted moisturizer, concealer, hand sanitizer, and lip gloss!!) to fit in a quart sized bag and got clothes for 5 days in my carry on:

1. check sephora for mini sizes of your current products. i was able to get mini tinted moisturizer, concealer, lip gloss, and even eye liner. i used an old sample perfume spray bottle (those little bottles hold up to 50 sprays!!) and clean it out, to fill it with my essential oil spray. i also used a sample jar from them to fill it with my face cream. to conserve a little more space i snagged this eyeshadow pallet, with all the best neutral colors, instead of lugging 8 mac eyeshadows

2. i use the young living travel kit bottles for my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, hand sanitizer, and tooth paste.

3. swap your liquid face wash for makeup removing wipes.

4. you could also swap body wash for a bar of soap (that you leave at your destination) but i didn't need to do that for everything to fit.

5. wear your biggest stuff on the flight. i am wearing my down coat and boots.

6. get travel hair dryer/ straightener (or skip the hair dryer if you're at a hotel!)

7. fill your shoes with underwear and socks. helps them keep their shape and takes less room!

8. stick with either a brown or black theme. you can pack far less if all your belts, shoes, handbags, etc are either brown or black. naturally, i always pick black ;)

9. ROLL YOUR CLOTHES! i can't stress that one enough. it also really helps with wrinkles.

10. most importantly, leave room to shop!