What I Packed for a 6-Day Vacation With Just a Backpack

Our family travels with just carry-on backpacks for luggage. They stow neatly beneath the seat in front of each of us when we fly, are lightweight, and are easy to maneuver through airports or on public transportation. We do have to be selective with what we will bring with us, however. But I've successfully used this same backpack for week to 10-day trips in the past and recently a 6-day vacation. And I can even do some nice outfits along with casual ones, if desired. 

This vacation was strictly California casual. I wanted to look neat and reasonably put together each day, while remaining casual. The weather ranged from cool mornings and evenings to very hot afternoons. We were outside as much of each day (and evening) as we could be (needed the sunshine). There was a very slight chance of showers on one of the days (never materialized, though).

A little worn from lots of use --
 I've patched the inside with duct tape.

The backpack is a standard fabric backpack sold in stores like Target in the back-to-school section. It has 3 pockets, the main one, a thin but tall section in front of the main, and a small, thin section on the front.

It's not terribly deep, but I can fit a surprising amount of items inside.

Here's what I took this past trip, and how I got the most out of what I brought.

My total list of clothing:

• two short sleeve t-shirts, one white, one light gray
• two 3/4 sleeve t-shirts, one pink floral, one jade green lace over knit
• two button up long sleeve shirts, one pink, one blue/white striped
• one white tank top for layering
• one dark gray fleece hoodie
• one pair of dark jeans
• one pair light gray cotton yoga pants, for pajamas
• one light pink t-shirt, for pajamas
• enough socks and undies for the week
• one lightweight pullover, water resistant windbreaker with detachable hood
• one pair of dark sneakers

I wore the pink floral t-shirt with pink button up shirt over, plus the dark jeans on the flight. 

I carried the windbreaker onto the plane and wound up putting it on in flight.

In the backpack were the hoodie, jade 3/4 tee, white tank, white short sleeve tee, gray short sleeve tee, blue/white button up, pink top and gray pants for pjs, plus undies/socks.

Dark jeans can look dressier than faded jeans, especially when paired with dark shoes. Although I just wore sneakers for the trip, they're black on black sneakers -- less noticeable that they're sneakers, especially with this pair of jeans, which are slightly cropped. All of my socks were low-cut ones.

The gray yoga pants could double as a second pair of pants should something happen to my dark jeans.

I wear long sleeve button up cotton shirts as daytime jackets over short sleeve tees in mild to warm weather. On the hottest of days I wore just a 3/4 sleeve tee. 

The tank top was for layering in the evening. One evening I rolled the tank up and stuffed it into my small crossbody purse so I could duck into a public restroom and put it on as the night cooled. On the coolest nights I also used the windbreaker. On milder evenings or when we thought we'd be back inside earlier, I just wore the fleece hoodie over a tee.

Upon checking in to our room, I unpacked the tops and put them all on hangers to help any wrinkles fall out.

I packed a gallon ziplock for dirty undergarments to keep my backpack fresher.

All of the clothing items fit into the main compartment of this backpack. There was a bit of room at the top of this section for the snack lunch pack I made for the flight. The middle compartment held my laptop/charger, portable water pick, and electric toothbrush/charger. The smallest front pocket held my toiletries. I carried a rather small crossbody purse to hold phone/charger, wallet, small necessities, and a snack or two each day.

Several years ago we took a multi city trip, with a few days in San Francisco followed by a few days in southern California. I needed both city wear and casual wear on that trip. I whittled my wardrobe choices down to just a couple of items for each leg of the trip and made room for some foods in my backpack. I was able to fit sandwich makings, brownies, dried fruit, and nuts into my backpack by careful clothing selection. 

I admit, I was less careful with this recent trip than I often am. But I didn't want to be spending my evenings doing laundry in the sink. Which brings me to this tip -- when I do bring fewer clothing items, I do a couple of washings in the bathroom sink, using the hotel provided shampoo as detergent. I then wring the items out well and hang to dry over the shower curtain rod. This works best with lightweight clothing. If I plan well enough, I can bring fewer clothing items and just hand wash every other evening.

I know, some folks prefer to use larger luggage and have more space to transport clothing and other needed items. That's great. I don't like to have a lot of stuff with me when I travel. And I really love being able to use only a carry-on when flying, especially one that doesn't need any of the coveted overhead bin space.

How about you? Do you prefer to use larger pieces of luggage or small carry-ons when vacationing? What do you think the benefits are for either choice?