Minimalist PACK WITH ME | 2 Weeks In A Carry-On

Well, hey friends and welcome back. Today, I want to share with you what I packed for a two week trip to New Zealand and starting off whenever I'm preparing to leave on vacation. The first thing that I like to consider is what clothing I'll need to bring with me on the trip. And for New Zealand in particular, this proved to be quite a challenge as I needed to pack for temperatures ranging anywhere from zero to 30 degrees Celsius. In addition to bringing both casual and athletic clothing. So we had several hikes planned. So I began just by creating a sort of travel capsule for the trip, picking clothing pieces that were both comfortable and versatile that I could easily mix and match with each other. That means I brought a lot of basics and a lot of neutrals, which might sound a bit boring to some, but really allows you to make the most out of a more limited number of items. And then once I have all of the clothing that I want to bring with me picked out, I next like to spend some time folding my clothes. And the way that I like to fold my clothes is a bit different. I'm not a packing keeps person, nor do I roll my clothes. And instead I like to fold my clothing using a bit of a hybrid I've developed that's somewhere between rolling your clothes and the Kamari method of folding kind of drawing from the benefits of each. I've nicknamed it the brick method, but essentially the idea behind it is that you just want to take whatever article of clothing you're attempting to fold and try to get it into a basic brick shape. And that way, when you go to put everything into a suitcase, it's really easy to organize because everything is a similar shape and size. Not only that, but it also makes everything easy to see and define and it can help reduce wrinkles as well. I really am a big fan of this folding method. In my opinion, it just makes life so much easier. And then as I finished folding each group of clothing, I'll put it into my suitcase. Like I mentioned before, we experienced a huge variety in the weather during this trip, everything from cold and rainy to warm and balmy often experiencing four seasons of weather in a single day. And because of that, I really tried to emphasize bringing clothing with me that would layer well. So on the trip, I brought with me two short sleeve t-shirts, two long sleeve shirts, two sweaters, a cardigan, two pairs of jeans, one black and one blue, a pair of leggings, one active wear set, an active tee and an active long sleeve shirt, a pair of sleep shorts, a windbreaker, a puffer jacket, and this corduroy shirt jacket and all of that clothing minus my airport outfit and my cardigan, which I save for later, fit nicely into one half of my suitcase. So the next I turned my attention to packing my undergarments. I packed seven pairs of socks and underwear, three bras and one swimsuit. And I just stuffed all of that into this cloth zippered bag. It's the perfect size for undergarments and makes them really easy to access when traveling. The next I packed my shoes and I set aside these Adidas bravada mid tops so that I could wear them on the plane. Then I did also bring two other pairs of shoes, both of which I packed in my suitcase. The first of which were these on cloud flyers, which I plan to wear during our hikes. And I also brought a pair of flip flops since I knew we were planning to visit some hot springs. With both pairs of shoes, I just placed them in these cotton produce bags so that they wouldn't make anything else in the suitcase dirty. Then it was time to move on to makeup and toiletries. My makeup bag pretty much always stays packed so I can just grab it and go. But then to that, I just added a simple black scrunchie, my portable razor and my deodorant. And I just zip that up and set it aside with my one makeup item that doesn't fit in the bag. That's this really versatile palette. But then next I started setting everything out that we'd be going in my liquids bag. So I laid out my shampoo, conditioner, heat protectant spray, anti-snap hair treatment, hairspray, gel hand sanitizer, moisturizer, and toothpaste. And so I just placed all of those into a reusable clear TSA approved sized bag. This is one of those travel purchases that I was a bit hesitant to invest in at first, but it's been so worth it for me. The durability and quality of this bag really do set it apart from anything I'd used in the past. And then not to be forgotten, although I've come close a number of times, I also packed my toothbrush. Then for jewelry, I like to keep everything in a small drawstring pouch. And on this trip, I brought a couple of pairs of earrings, a few rings and a necklace. It wasn't a whole lot, but I found it to be the perfect amount just to spice up some of my more basic outfits a bit. But then with my jewelry packed, I next laid out my electronics and I got out my camera and two battery packs. And again, I just put everything into a simple cloth bag. I got these in a pack off Amazon a few years back and they are just the handiest thing for traveling. But then with all of my little pouches and bags ready to go, I started laying everything out that I wanted to go in that second half of the suitcase. So to the bits that I'd already assembled, I packed two beanies, which I ended up using a ton during the trip, my curling iron, and this drawstring backpack, which I'd use as a day pack. But then with everything all laid out in front of me, it was time to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. So I began with just wedging my curling iron into the bottom of the suitcase. I find that's where it tends to fit best. Then I just proceeded to put in some of the larger pieces like my shoes and undergarments. And actually one little hack that I used here to save space was to put my running shoes inside the day pack. That way the bag wouldn't take up any more space than needed. Then another little packing trick that I like to use is to wrap delicate items like electronics inside of clothing. In this case, I use my large fluffy cardigan. It's just an easy way of adding that extra layer of protection so that you don't need to be worried that anything is going to break. Then with all of the larger items in place in the suitcase, I finally slotted in a few of the smaller items in some of the cracks. Then last but not least, I placed my liquids bag on top. That way it would be easy to access if necessary when going through security. Then I zipped up my suitcase and set it aside and turned my attention to packing my carry on item. And I've been traveling with this backpack for years now. I find it to be the perfect size where I can easily pack all my essentials without having tons of excess. And so starting off, I'll just slide my laptop into the dedicated laptop compartment, then turn my attention to packing some of the items for the main compartment. And so here I'll try to pack anything that I'll need during my flight or travel day. So I'll pack my passport, a chapstick and my wallet into this small zippered wristlet. And this is something that I'll usually get out and just carry with me as I'm in the airport and traveling. Then if I'm trying to get any work done while I'm away, I always try to bring a small protective case for my hard drive, any adapters that I need, and usually an extra SD card or two so I can take plenty of pictures. Then I'll also pack a bag with all of the cords that I'll need. So in this cute little pineapple pouch, I just brought an extra battery, the cord to my MacBook, the cord to my iPhone and my AirPods. These are all really helpful to have with me while I'm flying. So I like to keep them in my backpack. Just like with my suitcase, I like to lay everything out that I'm planning to bring. That way I can easily tell if I'm missing something. In addition to the bags that we already packed, I like to bring an empty water bottle with me, some snacks for the trip. This time I brought some cinnamon apple chips and some dried bango, a book to read. This is all the light we cannot see. A whole bunch of lactate pills because I'm super lactose intolerant, a little container of ibuprofen, a reusable bag because those always come in handy, an eye mask for sleeping on the plane, a pair of sunglasses, a pack of gum, my trusty Tide to Go pen, and a couple of New Zealand power adapters. Then it's time to start packing the backpack and I'll just start with putting the bigger items in first, kind of letting them settle to the bottom. So I put in my water bottle, my book, the electronics, trying to let them fill out the shape of the backpack. But then in the inner zippered pocket, I like to place the wristlet containing my passport. Just gives it that extra added layer of protection and that way I always know where it is. But then I'll just finish packing this main compartment by adding in some of the smaller items and my snacks. The nice thing about packing the snacks on top is that as I eat them, it creates more space in the bag. Then last but not least, in this exterior pocket, I like to add a few of the things that I want easy access to. So in this case, that's my lactate pills and eye mask. So I'll just zip that up. And with those final few items, my backpack is fully packed and I am as well. So I just put my suitcase and backpack beside each other. So I'd be ready to leave for the airport the following day. And I also set out my airport outfit and the shoes I was planning to wear on the plane. That's really it. That's everything that I brought with me for our two week trip to New Zealand. So I hope that you enjoyed coming along as we packed together. And if you did, it would mean so much to me. If you would give this video a like to let me know that you enjoyed it, subscribe if you haven't already and follow along on Instagram so that you don't miss any of our New Zealand adventures. And until next time, friends, I am wishing you all an incredible day. Happy travels.