Carry On Only for a 3-Week Trip? But, I'm a Girl!

I got all my ducks in a row months ago with the packing plan. I got a credit card that allowed us one checked bag each for free. Whew. Saving lots of money and not needing to lug baggage around the airport. I was a planning rock star.

Then, whap! Hubby announces that from all his research, he has come to the conclusion that we should avoid checking ANY bags. To save time. Huh? Three weeks of clothes in a single carry on bag? How on earth was that supposed to happen? He gently explained we would not carry 3 weeks worth of clothes, we would have to do laundry whenever we could (or wash underwear in the sink if we needed to). Uh, OK. I'll keep an open mind, or at least try to.

Airline max carry on dimensions were 9 x 14 x 22. The first bag he ordered as a trial didn't look too bad--smaller on one side than the other, but still staying within total linear dimensions. Maybe I could work with this. Then suddenly--a new regulation change--the sneaky airlines removed "total linear dimension" flexibility. The trial bag was officially now too big.

When the smaller bag came, I broke into a sweat. I was sure I couldn't fit even a week's worth of clothes in there, let alone all the accessories I needed. And so, we embarked on a trial packing session.

He packed--no problem. When all you need is two pairs of jeans and a couple pairs of shorts for a 3-week trip, you can't go wrong. But I'm a GIRL. I need a hairdryer. And shoes. And well, STUFF. We knew Lucas would not be a problem (he'll follow orders). And so, we embarked on a trial packing adventure for moi. I laid out all the clothes I wanted to bring--no not 3 weeks worth, enough for about 7-10 days. We folded, rolled, packed, squeezed (I continued to sweat) and squeeze some more. And you know what, it is possible to pack carry on only for a 3-week trip, provided you are willing to:

• Leave the hairdryer home
• Leave the travel iron home
• Get over the fact that you can't take 19 days worth of clothes
• Pack lots of hair ties (see 1)
• Resign to looking a tad wrinkled (see 2)
• Realize you really can wear certain items more than once (see 3)
• Map out the strategic locations of laundromats where you travel (also see 3)

I won't lie, the girl who expects to have a nicely ironed change of clothes for every day is still getting used to this new way of travel. But I'm still not feeling washing underwear in the sink...stay tuned!

--Lisa Finzi

---