How I Packed for Two Weeks in Europe in a Carry On

Note: Today’s post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Something Good.

This week guys. Oh my gosh. It’s Wednesday night but it feels like I’ve had two weeks jammed into the last two days. Which doesn’t even make sense because I didn’t have work on Monday. Am I rambling too much here?

The main thing that was making my life crazy these past few days was that on Sunday, when I sat down to get a lot of blog work done, I discovered that my computer was dead. Like DEAD. And it wouldn’t respond to my charger at all. After checking ALL of the outlets at Starbucks and my apartment, I ended up taking it to Best Buy where they told me my hard drive was corrupted and they were going to need to keep it for at least 24 to 48 hours to fix it.

To Get to the Point…

All of that is to say that I’ve just gotten my computer back, but I’m also now catching up on all of the blog work (and blog posts) that I had planned for you for this week. But we’re plowing ahead because I’m really excited to share with you what I’ve got planned! Today we’re talking about how I managed to pack for two weeks in Europe in a carry on suitcase.

Gray Sweater / Tan Sweater / Striped Turtleneck / Black Long Sleeve / V-Neck Tee
White Bodysuit / Black Bodysuit / Dark Blue Jeans / Black Jeggings / Pont Pants / Suede Skirt
Wool Jacket / Waterproof Puffer / Cape Scarf / Plaid Blanket Scarf
Leather OTK Boots / Sneakers / Chelsea Boots / Ankle Boots / Backpack / Crossbody Bag

I don’t know about you, but I’m a pretty firm believe that if you can avoid checking your luggage, you should. Especially after one or two times of my luggage not arriving in the same location as me. So when my boyfriend and I were planning our trip to Europe in December, we were in firm agreement that we would not be checking any luggage for the trip. Both of our suitcases would be carry on size.

Let’s Break Down How I Packed For Two Weeks In Europe In A Carry On Suitcase

Know The Schedule (And Laundry Opportunities)

I knew that for our trip we would be flying overnight and then have two full days in Paris. We would then travel to Amsterdam and have about two days there. Following that, we’d be in England for two and a half days. Then back to Paris for three. Finally, the last day would be a full day of traveling home.

Looking at this, I knew that my best opportunity for laundry would as soon as we got back to Paris, where we would have access to a washer/dryer. Otherwise, I would be doing sink laundry in hotels.

Have a more detailed schedule on hand.

If you know that there’s a chance that you’re going to be doing something that requires specific apparel, make a note of that! Are you going hiking? Do you plan to go out for a nice dinner?

In my case, we didn’t have a set schedule for each day, but I knew that we might try to go out for a nice dinner when we were in Paris. I kept that in mind when I was packing and that paid off big time when we ended up going to the ballet at the Paris Opera House!

Know the Weather

This is super important! The weather was going to be much more temperate there than if I were going to Wisconsin at this time of year. That meant I could pack lighter layers and I didn’t need to worry about snow boots. But Paris and England have rainy tendencies, so I knew some form of rain gear would be necessary for both.

How I Picked the Pieces to Pack

Pick a Color Palette

Going into this, I knew that I wanted to pack a super neutral wardrobe. That way everything went with everything and I would have no problems mixing and matching. In this case, I stuck with tan, white, gray, and black. I did bring in my jeans (but who counts those)? I also included my green skirt for a pop of color, but I also knew that it would match with everything. While I also avoided most patterns, I included my striped turtleneck because it’s a great layering piece, but it also looked good on it’s own.

Go Light On the Sweaters, But Stock Up on the Layers

There’s a reason there are only two sweaters in here. You really only need two sweaters! When you layer a shirt under a sweater every day, the shirt is the only thing you need to wash, not the sweater. That way you can get multiple wears out of one sweater. Plus, all of the tops I included (bodysuits as well) could be worn under the sweaters or on their own. Almost every top I included here played double duty at some point on my trip.

Cape and Blanket Scarves are a Girl’s Best Friend

I’m doing a whole post about this next week, but my cape scarf was my VIP on this trip. On days when I just wore a regular long sleeve tee, I would wear the scarf when we were walking around outside. Then when we would sit down inside, I would take off the scarf and turn it into my cape. It was amazing and warm.

My blanket scarf also did amazing work on the plane as a blanket for me. Don’t underestimate them!

You really only need three pairs of shoes

I have four pairs of shoes up there, but I would have been fine with three. Actually, I would have been fine with two. I spent most of the trip wearing either my chelsea boots or my over the knee boots.

I wore the ankle boots once when we went to the ballet (but I could have worn my over the knee boots). The sneakers I brought because my boyfriend and I had made plans to workout while we were on this trip. Now, don’t laugh, because he actually did workout twice on the trip. The nights he did that, I ended up deciding to use the time to work on blog posts because I hadn’t gotten ahead like I had planned to. So the sneakers were never worn.

The Jackets

I didn’t have much philosophy behind the jackets, to be honest. I brought one practical one to keep me warm and dry if it was cold or rainy. The second one I brought because it would keep me warm, but it would also look really cute in Paris. I have no regrets.

Any questions?

Want to know what suitcase I used? More questions about how I did Europe in a carry on? I’d love to hear any questions you have, just leave a comment below! Also, if I have time this weekend, I’m going to try to take some pictures of outfit combos I wore on my trip so you can see them here.