Packing a Carry On: Road Trip

Carry ons are a double edged sword for me; I love to hate them. I always bring so much with me in my carry on that my tote just becomes a huge mess of all my stuff. Eventually, I used to end up with squished granola bars in the bottom of my bag and more often than not, makeup strewn across the entire car.

From many trips though, I have perfected my carry on for travel on a plane as well as road trips. This carry on list is solely when you have another piece of luggage with you. A post on packing for a long trip in a carry on will come eventually, but for now we are going to stick to an over packing mantra and assume that your big suitcase is along for the ride.

For road trips, I often bring a larger bag that will fit my purse inside of it. Whether that be a tote or a backpack, I don’t particularly have a preference. I find backpacks have more pockets for smaller items, while totes have more room. For my upcoming trip (a road trip to a wedding in Idaho), I am going to stick to a tote bag to hold all my goodies. I don’t need to fit a whole bunch of clothes into my bag because I don’t need to comply with any particular weight restrictions for checked bags, or be worried about my luggage getting lost and losing everything.

Here is the complete list of what’s in my carry on tote bag for a road trip:

• book
• journal (I am trying to be better about writing in a journal, but this is mainly because I haven’t had time to transfer the notes in my phone to paper)
• headphones
• laptop (make sure all electronics have a full charge, that way you can pack the chords in your suitcase)
• camera
• phone charger (I bring this with me anyways because phones are always used so much, a full charge might not hold)
• makeup (basics)
• toothpaste/toothbrush (sometimes I’ll stop on the side of the road and brush my teeth, it’s an instant clean feeling)
• socks (I always travel in socks, I hate having my feet out barefoot in the car)
• sweater or blanket scarf (people in cars have such different air conditioning preferences)
• snacks (I like to bring a sweet treat and some fresh fruit and veggies. Long car rides are so draining that if all I eat is junk I feel so bad!)
• water bottle (still deciding on that Swell, see more here)
• purse
  • wallet (including travel documents)
  • sunglasses/glasses
  • Chapstick
  • hand and face cream (my skin is sucked dry of moisture staying in a car for that long)
  • mints/gum (I hate having coffee breath on road trips)

For the most part, I separate like items into smaller bags. For instance, the toiletries I am bringing in my carry on will have their own separate bag in the tote. I would love to invest in some bags for specifically this purpose. I have seen some on other blogs and they look amazing! For now, my budget and I are going to stick with using bags I already own.

This means that my purse is it’s own bag, my makeup is separated and my books are in their own bag to keep the edges from getting wrecked. 

I’m hoping that this little carry on packing guide will come in handy for the next time you’re heading out on a road trip!

xx Victoria