When I began to pack for my 4 month long trip, I thought to myself, how the hell am I going to fit all of this into a carry on backpack?! Not going to lie, it took a lot of packing, and unpacking, eliminations and additions. But, I finally did it. And now, I feel confident in passing along the best way to pack for long term travel. You should ask yourself the following questions before beginning to pack. They will help eliminate silly things like… that fur vest you wore once, but just looked ‘so cute’ ya had to throw it in there. FYI, that’s a huge don’t.

What climate or climates am I going to?

To help in the situation where you’re going to both cold and warm climates, look into the order of your trip. For example, I started my trip in Europe, in February before heading to Asia. In this case, I wore things that I needed for a colder climate on planes (layer, layer, layer) to help lighten my load. By my last destination, I had mailed all of my wintery clothing back to New York. Taking stock of your travel destinations and the climates ahead of time will prevent that leather jacket and those boots from turning into dead weight on your back once you hit the hotter places. Believe me, you’ll be happier in the long run!

Cold Weather
What are your plans for this cold weather destination? Hiking, shopping, skiing, gallery hopping? Whatever it is, you still don’t need to overpack. However, when it comes to these colder destinations, it is smarter to pack what you need, rather than buy things when you get there.

Hot Weather
For places like India and Southeast Asia, you’re going to want to shop. And I don’t blame you, it’s cheap! In this case, you really don’t need much. Make sure you pack laundry detergent to do your own wash, or send out your clothes to get them cleaned! Also, think about what you wear most in the summer and why it’s your favorite. That will also help with eliminating your beaded skirt that wore to that concert once, but was perfect in the moment. You really only need:
● two bathing suits
● one dress/one romper
● OR two dresses, if you’re not into rompers
● two pairs of shorts (comfy & denim)
● one pair of pants/jeans
● one pair of leggings
● one skirt
● four basic tanks/t-shirts
● three dress shirts
● one sports bra (good for long days of travel)
● one black bra
● one nude bra (or a second bra you prefer)
● 10 pairs of underwear
● 1 pair of socks (good for cold busses and trains)
● one pair of flip flop
● one pair of everyday sandals (day to night)
● one pair of sneakers

What colors/patterns am I most drawn to wearing?

This question will also help immensely. By color coordinating everything you pack, you will have guaranteed outfits ready to go with everything in your bag. Choose your favorite color scheme and pack according to that. This will make mixing and matching really a thing, it does work! For my trip, I chose black, white, off white, cream and other pairing neutrals. This made it easy for me to then incorporate patterns of things that I bought along the way, and with one of two blouses I brought. No matter what was in that bag, I knew I could blindly grab bottoms and a top and it would work.

Toiletries: Women’s favorite accessory.

This is another thing you can buy along the way, so don’t worry about running out! I brought with me the following: Shampoo, Conditioner, and Soap. This surprisingly lasted me a whole month. Once I ran out, I just bought more, easy as that!
Face Soap

I will admit, I am a face care junkie. I brought a carry on size of Soy Face Wash from Fresh, and it lasted me my entire trip. Bringing better quality goods will benefit you in the end. Since I only needed a small dab of this to wash my face twice a day, it lasted.
Lotions

I brought a carry on size of my body lotion and that didn’t last me very long – so I had to buy a few news ones along the way. As for my face lotions, I used the Black Tea under eye cream from Fresh as well as the Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil. These two lasted for months!! Again, good quality products only require you to use a little bit at a time so the money is well spent in the end!
Makeup

I’m honestly not the biggest fan of face makeup, but I LOVE a good lipstick. I believe it dresses up any outfit. As far as makeup goes, I brought along by Chanel Mascara, Liquid Eyeliner, Tarte Bronzer, and three lipsticks – pink, purple, and red. If you use more face makeup that just bronzer, I would definitely suggest looking into Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer. Not only does it provide great moisturizing coverage, you can get the small tube to last you the whole time!