My family of 5 traveled around Europe for 30 days with 1 backpack each. Here are my 10 best packing tips.

When my family started readying our monthlong, dream European adventure, I challenged myself to battalion arsenic ray arsenic possible.

I person 3 young kids, truthful I knew limiting america to 1 backpack per personification would make navigating airports, trains, and cobblestone streets truthful overmuch easier. Now I don't deliberation I'll ever overpack again.

Read connected for immoderate of my top packing tips.

Plan each the aspects of your travel earlier you pack

If you're looking to battalion arsenic ray arsenic possible, readying is truthful important.

Think astir the magnitude of your trip, different climates and temperatures, and the types of activities you'll beryllium doing, truthful you tin get an thought of everything you'll need. 

It's important to do this earlier you moreover commencement laying retired apparel you whitethorn want to bring connected your trip.

I recovered it particularly adjuvant to commencement penning a database of everything I needed to battalion agelong earlier our departure. This way, I could gradually stitchery items and group them speech weeks successful beforehand (when possible).

As I thought of things, I conscionable added them to the database to make judge I didn't hide them.

Create a capsule wardrobe that tin beryllium mixed and matched

I knew I had to beryllium strategical pinch really I packed, particularly for our clothes.

For each family member, I created capsule wardrobes, mostly consisting of neutral items that were easy to operation and match.

I besides focused connected layering, which helped america get the astir usage retired of the items we brought.

Schedule a try-on time to make judge everything fits comfortably

Creating a capsule wardrobe tin beryllium tricky, but for us, the cardinal was trying it each connected earlier we left. This was particularly adjuvant for packing for my 3 young kids.

To guarantee everything I packed sewage worn, I made judge each the items fresh and that my kids were comfortable successful them and liked wearing them.

Practice packing earlier the time of the trip

A week earlier the trip, I did a believe tally of the pack.

This helped maine visualize what we needed, pare down things we could do without, and place immoderate last-minute items I needed to prime up to make judge our travel ran smoothly.

This is besides an opportunity to measurement your bags if you're moving pinch a suitcase and are concerned astir other fees.

Make judge each your non-clothing items person a place

In summation to packing apparel for my family, I had to stitchery toiletries, games, snacks for the plane, electronics, and more.

I made judge everything had its ain spot by assigning retention bags for things for illustration chargers, masks, and important documents, which made packing and unpacking elemental and stress-free.

Use the extracurricular of your container for items you want easy entree to

Don't beryllium frightened to usage the extracurricular of your container for other space. Carabiners tin beryllium useful for this.

You tin clip things for illustration hats and cervix pillows to handles and zipper pulls truthful you don't return up valuable packing abstraction wrong your bag.

Test retired different bags to spot which is astir comfortable for travel

Since you'll beryllium wearing the bags done airports and successful destination cities, you want to make judge you find thing comfortable.

I had my girls trial retired a fewer different styles and sizes earlier picking them out, and I ended up preferring a weekender container complete a traditional backpack.

Make the astir of your abstraction pinch packing tricks and accessories

I utilized packing cubes and different folding techniques to thief make the astir of my abstraction and support my container organized.

I measured each point against the tallness of the cube and folded it level to beryllium upright, which helped maine compression successful arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable and made the items easy to see. This way, I besides didn't person to destruct the full battalion to find circumstantial items later on.

Wear your bulkiest items connected recreation days

If container abstraction is limited, deterioration bulky items for illustration sneakers, sweaters, and jackets connected recreation days. Not only will it prevention you space, but you'll besides beryllium other comfortable (and warm) for your travels.

My usual recreation outfit includes jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie, sweatshirt, aliases jacket.

Pack an extra, multifunctional bag 

One unexpected point that really came successful useful passim our travels was the other canvas container we packed.

We utilized it to clasp other nutrient and souvenirs. It was besides a lifesaver erstwhile we needed a spot for soiled apparel earlier laundry days.

The champion portion is that it was capable to fold up mini aliases laic level successful our bags until we needed it.

This communicative was primitively published connected November 3, 2021, and astir precocious updated connected July 30, 2026.