Top 10 Tips for Packing Light with Kids

When you are prepping for a trip, it may feel impossible to even consider packing light with kids.

I get it – you don’t want to be caught unprepared or wish you brought something you felt forced to leave behind. But you also may want to save on baggage fees or have an easier time getting around without lugging all your stuff. I’m here to tell you, you can find a balance!

We’ve taken our kids all over the country – from NYC, DC, and LA to camping in Glacier National Park and exploring the ancient dwellings of Mesa Verde. And we’ve done so with manageable luggage.

Since traveling with less will look different for each individual or family, let’s look at three ways to be a light packer and the tips and tools to get there.

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Why Pack Light?

So the first question is why do I even need to pack light? And the correct answer is so you can tell everyone who asks about your trip that you did it all with one suitcase, or carry-on, or backpack. Just kidding (sort of). In reality, you don’t need to pack light. It doesn’t make you a better person or traveler. But here are a few reasons traveling with less can be beneficial:

• Getting Around: Traveling with less luggage means you can move around more freely and easily. You won’t have to struggle with heavy bags or worry about finding elevators or escalators. Packing light allows you to navigate crowded airports, train stations, and busy streets with greater agility, saving you time and energy.
  
• Saves Time and Money: Packing light can save you both time and money during your travels. You can avoid long check-in lines at airports and reduce the risk of additional baggage fees. Furthermore, when you have less to carry, you can take public transportation more easily, which is often more cost-effective than relying on taxis or ride-sharing. This is probably my number one reason for packing light!
  
• Less Stressful: Traveling with minimal luggage can be a bit less stressful. With fewer items to keep track of, you’ll be less worried about losing something valuable or forgetting your belongings in hotel rooms. This peace of mind allows you to focus on enjoying your trip and creating lasting memories. Just be careful you leave enough room for additional purchases or find small souvenirs because finding space for them might actually cause more stress.
  
• Flexibility and Spontaneity: Packing light provides you with greater flexibility and the freedom to be spontaneous. You can easily change your itinerary, take an impromptu day trip, or explore unplanned destinations without being weighed down by excess baggage.

Ultra Minimalist Packing

Let’s start with extreme minimalism and work our way to more traditional tips for packing light. These first tips are for those who want to bring only their personal item. One might do this to avoid airline baggage fees, they are using lots of public transportation, or they want to have more mobility during travel. When going this route, you have to carefully consider each item you pack. But it can still be done and you don’t have to wear the same pair of underwear for a week. But you do you.

1. Personal Item Backpack

This bag has blown me away with pockets galore, a place for everything, and its overall quality. My husband took a trip to Boston and flew a budget airline infamous for its strict baggage policies. The only item included in the base fare is a personal item, with up-charges for carry-ons and checked bags. 

Ever the budget-conscious traveler, my husband chose to only bring an under-seat backpack for his 5 day/4 night trip. After seeing an advertisement and some prodding from me, he purchased this bag. It cost less than adding a carry-on or checked bag to his flight – and it has worked beautifully.

It fits under the seat in front of you easily and allows you to quickly board, de-plane, and exit the airport. We have since purchased a second pack for me, and are considering a third for our 10-year-old.

He packed the following in this 12.6″ x 7.87″ x 16.53″ backpack on his trip to Boston.

• 2 shirts
• 2 pairs of shorts
• Sweatshirt
• Toiletries
• 5 pairs of socks/underwear
• Electric Razor
• Snacks
• Water Bottle
• Fold up daypack

2. Share common toiletry items

Ok, bear with me on this one.  Travel-sized toiletries are a common way to save room. But if you want to get even more strategic with your space, try sharing. Most toiletries are easy and sanitary to share. If you are traveling as a family, or with a companion, consider sharing most of your toiletries. 

This will save a little room – which is a big deal if all you have is a personal item. And even more, purchasing fewer containers of mini toiletries will save you a few bucks and can make security easier with only one person needing to remove liquids.

Easy to share, travel-sized, toiletries include:

• Lotion
• Shampoo/Conditioner (get a 2-in-1 and save even MORE room)
• Over-the-counter medications
• Not a toothbrush. Please.

3. Laundry Detergent Sheets

The only way we can travel with only a personal item or carry-on is by doing laundry.

While these laundry detergent sheets have been around for a while now, I decided to finally buy some for a ten-day trip to Switzerland and Norway. We only brought carry-on bags and knew we would need to do some washing. I couldn’t bring liquid soap, powdered soap made me nervous to carry on, and I didn’t want to feel pressure to get to the market and pay a lot for a large container I will only use once.

We used them in washing machines and for hand washing and they did great both. They are now my go-to laundry option when traveling, even when I have room for larger items.

They are compact, can be packed in a bag without being afraid of spillage, and reduce so much packaging waste. Win-win-win! If you’re only bringing a personal item or carry-on for longer than a few days, these are a must so you can clean your clothes without taking up any extra room.

4. Kindle

If you want to read while on your trip and only have your personal item, a Kindle or other e-reader is the best way to go.  While you can read on your phone, the Kindle is much easier on your eyes and its slim design doesn’t take up much room in your pack. There are many different kinds of Kindles to choose from and I recommend one of the following:

• Kindle Kids – My son and I both have the 2019 editions, but when we buy one for our daughter, we will upgrade to the newest edition. This Kindle comes with a 2-year worry-free guarantee, a cover, and a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids +. 
• 2022 Kindle – If you are looking for the most budget-friendly Kindle, this is the one for you. It’s not much different than the Kindle Kids, but only offers a 1-year warranty and no cover. But if you are a more responsible adult than I am, those probably aren’t deal breakers and you can save a little money going this route.
• Kindle Oasis – This is the Kindle with all the bells and whistles while still being compact and easy to place in your backpack – larger screen, waterproof, page-turning buttons, and auto-adjusting light. While the price tag is a little too much for me right now, I have heard great things, especially about the page-turning buttons.

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Packing with Carry-ons

There are tons of carry-on luggage options to choose from, and there are several factors to consider when choosing which luggage to bring. Are you walking far? If so, a backpack carry-on may help you maneuver more easily through crowds, onto transportation, or along cobblestone streets. If you tire quickly and have an additional daypack you need to carry, a solid rolling suitcase might do the trick. Don’t feel like there is one right way to be a savvy and confident traveler.

Consider your needs and make choices based on that. On our most recent trip to Europe as a couple, I brought my carry-on-sized backpack and my husband brought a hard-shell roller. Why? Mostly because that is what we already had and knew we liked. They both worked great for us, and it was nice to have one of each.

Once you choose which type of carry-on to bring, you still need to pack. You can bring a lot of items in a carry-on, but it’s crucial to be wise in what you bring, how much you bring, and how you choose to pack it. Consider these tips for packing light with a carry-on.

5. Old Items

If you pack your bag to the brim just to get to your destination, there will be little to no room to bring anything back. And while that is a great strategy to avoid spending extra money on souvenirs, many travelers want to bring back mementos of their trip for themselves or others.

One packing strategy is to bring clothing or items that you may no longer need at home. When it is time to return home and there isn’t any more room in your luggage, you can toss the items you don’t need any longer or donate them and give that space to something else. Think socks on their last leg (last foot?), tired undies, or clothes your youngest if finally growing out of.

6. Compression packing cubes

Packing cubes are great for a variety of reasons. They keep your items organized, help you save space, and keep clothes from wrinkling too much. And while I love packing cubes in general, I recently used compression cubes and they are a game changer.

Compression cubes are a major step up because not only do they do everything a traditional packing cube does, but they have an additional zipper that compresses (hence the name) the cube and makes it slimmer. This translates to less space being taken up in your luggage and more items you can bring. Just don’t go crazy!

My favorite way to pack with packing cubes for my kids is by day – not by person. We can simply grab the bag for the day and it has everything my kids need for that day. It has been a lifesaver when staying in multiple hotels and makes getting ready in the morning much easier.

7. Go digital

Gone are the days of needing to carry around a giant guidebook, the printout of every reservation, and a road atlas. There are certainly exceptions for specific destinations but for the most part, you can use your phone for maps, digital guides, and itinerary apps.

There are many ways to download that information so you don’t even need the internet while on the go, as well as easy and relatively inexpensive ways to get international data plans for your phone. Speaking of digital guides, have you checked my parks guides out yet!? You should.

Other extra items like flashlights and sound machines can be left at home too because your phone can work for those as well. (Just *try* to remember your charger.) I also love traveling with this power bank because it gives me a lot of peace of mind not having to worry if I can find an outlet. While running around, or if my kids’ devices need an extra charge on long travel days.

Light Packing with Large Luggage

While I rarely check a bag, it can feel a bit luxurious to do so. I mean, who doesn’t get excited when they realize it doesn’t matter that their favorite face wash is 5 oz. and they can still bring it with them?! And sometimes one large checked bag is the cheaper route for a family.

Many budget airlines will charge for each carry-on and/or checked bag. But it’s important to note that one checked bag (which can be bigger than a carry-on) may be cheaper than a carry-on bag. When we flew to Nashville to visit the Great Smoky Mountains and Mammoth Cave, we paid the cost of one checked bag and stuffed it with the clothing and essentials for the whole family. We each then brought a small personal item for the plane and it worked great.

As our kids get older and we can pack more efficiently, we will invest in good carry-on or personal item backpacks like those above.

If you are checking a bag, but still want to travel light, use the following tips. These, of course, are essential for carry-on and personal item-only travel and helpful for all other types of luggage.

8. Know your environment

Do your research when it comes to where you are traveling. Knowing the weather trends and what to expect specifically for the period you are traveling will help you be more conscious of what you are packing.  You want to be prepared, but also avoid bringing unnecessary items.

In that same vein, find out what your accommodations provide. Do they have umbrellas you can borrow? Emergency items like eyeglass repair or sewing kits? If so, you don’t need to pack those “just-in-case” items, because they are already available if needed. Sending a simple email to your lodging(s) should get you the answers you need.

9. Versatile clothing

Bring clothing that can be used in multiple ways and for multiple days. I have a fantastic dress that is pretty casual but can be dressed up. It has long sleeves, but can still be quite cool in warm weather, and can be paired with tights or leggings for cold weather. It also is pretty easy to wash in a sink and you can just spray a little water and let it steam while you shower to get out some wrinkles. I actually got mine from a Buy Nothing Group (amazing), but this one is very similar to what I have.

Dresses are of course not the only versatile thing you can bring. When packing for yourself or your kids, select tops and bottoms that can be mixed and matched and re-worn in different ways. Choose comfortable shoes, and try to limit yourself to two pairs: walking/exploring, and dressed up. You don’t have to feel frumpy or overly casual while traveling, but it does take a little more effort to plan so you are packing light and feeling good about your attire.

10. Order Ahead/Pickup Orders

When we flew to the East Coast with two kids in diapers, we ordered a Walmart delivery sent to our destination (an aunt and uncle’s home) and simply had to bring what we needed on the plane, plus a few extras. Diapers are one item I don’t regret bringing a few too many of!

We regularly use grocery pick-up in our day-to-day life, and doing the same while traveling can be super helpful and save you both time and space when packing. Pick-up and delivery are particularly useful for consumables like food and toiletries, so you don’t have to worry about bringing them back home with you.

Final Tips on Packing Light

Each destination you travel to will require different amounts of clothing and supplies. Some trips will be road trips with more space, others may be small planes, buses, or trains with little room for excessive luggage. By utilizing the above tips for packing light with kids as part of your travel routine, you will be able to easily adjust each time you travel.