Packing in One Personal Item for Winter in London

On Christmas Eve, I set off for 12 days in London. I’ve always wanted to experience London at Christmas time. I challenged myself to pack lighter than ever before. Since I was flying with easyJet, I’d avoid luggage charges by taking only one free personal item of no larger than 45 x 36 x 20 cm. That’s 18 x 14 x 8 inches (including the handle and wheels). These are the exact measurements of my 25-liter, two-wheeled, hard-sided bag.

In that one bag I packed my laptop, charging cords, cross-body purse, clothes, toiletries and vitamins. All other items had to fit in my coat pockets, which held my passport, boarding pass, wallet, flat water bottle and gloves. And I wore a long scarf. For everything I brought, see my packing list below.

I have to say, packing this light was a revelation, and has forever changed the way I travel.

Why travel so light?

I travel light for a number of reasons, not just the savings on luggage fees. One, I want to be able to easily carry my luggage up and down the stairs to the airplane and easily lift it into the overhead bin. It weighed almost 22 pounds. When I landed at London Gatwick, I had to leave the airplane via stairs and then walk up two flights of stairs to reach border control.

Two, in London I knew I’d be traveling via trains, buses and the Underground, so I didn’t want to be burdened down with heavy luggage. Although there are escalators at some Underground stations, others have only stairs.

My third reason for traveling light is that I need to bring my CPAP machine. That’s an additional seven pounds.

My plan was to shop the after-Christmas sales and buy some much needed clothes. To bring back my purchases, I packed a lightweight, foldable duffle bag measuring 6.3” x 12.6 x 18.9” (16 x 32 x 48 cm). However, I only bought three things: a lint brush, a pair of cotton pajamas, and a 70-percent silk, herringbone blazer found at a charity shop in Chelsea. The first two items I packed. The latter I wore on the flight home. So I didn’t have to pay for an additional bag. I had extra room in my suitcase because by the end of my trip I had used up my breakfast supplements, vitamins, face washing clothes, a small tube of toothpaste, two small tubes of hand cream and other small items.

Packing this light has changed the way I think about traveling. I was surprised by how little I required to be comfortable. As long as my essential needs were met, I was fine.

Here’s a few things I learned about packing in only one personal item, and some tips for making it work.

Pack a minimal capsule wardrobe. The advantage of winter travel is you’ll be wearing a long coat, so most people will never see what you’re wearing underneath. With a minimal amount of clothing where everything coordinates with everything else, you can create several outfits. And no one is going to care if you wear the same thing multiple times.

Including what I wore on the plane, I brought two pairs of pants, two long-sleeved T-shirts, two cashmere sweaters and a cardigan. I never wore the T-shirts alone (too cold), but by mixing and matching I could still create eight different outfits. I could have gotten by with only two sweaters and still created five different looks. I highly recommend investing in cashmere sweaters because they are lightweight, not bulky to pack and they keep you toasty warm.

It helped that there was a washer and dryer in my Airbnb. But I would have had no problem washing out my two T-shirts, socks and undergarments.

Forget packing cubes and bulky containers. When you are packing this light and tight, I find packing cubes take up too much space. Even my smallest packing cube was too bulky to contain my undergarments. I placed them in a large Ziplock bag. Very small compression cubes might help if you’re taking a lot of clothes. But with a hard-sided bag you need to work around the dips in the suitcase, so rolling clothes works best.

Want to have room in your personal item bag for souvenirs? Forget fancy containers. I wrap my Q-tips in a tissue. Instead of a box of dental floss, I bring just enough floss picks. My vitamins are in tiny, reusable Ziplock bags; as are my facial wipes. At the end of the trip, these containers are empty and lay flat or can be discarded, leaving extra space for found treasures.

Contain smaller items in small, lightweight bags. Small bags are your friend, because the smaller the bag, the easier it is to fill all those little crevices in your personal item. You’ll also want to have smaller items contained in a bag so they don’t fall out during your travels. Trust me, I learned the hard way what can happen if you don't contain everything. See the post Contain Everything & Maximize Space.

Look for washable cotton bags that are thin and lightweight as they won't add more bulk to your personal item. My fallback is using Ziplock bags, but ideally thin, cloth, reusable bags are better for the environment.

Use the smallest containers you can for liquids/gels. Most travel container kits contain bottles and jars that are far too large. You don’t need 3.4 ounces of most products for a week-to-10-day trip. Figure out exactly how much of a product you’ll need and use the smallest sized container. I was able to fit 15 different liquid/gel toiletries in one quart-sized bag.

Switch to non-liquid products where possible. I brought a small piece of dry shampoo and was surprised by the quality and how little I needed. I also brought my travel-sized Wild stick deodorant, which is slightly larger than a lipstick. For my next trip I’m going to try toothpaste tablets.

Bring a coat with zippered pockets. My Columbia Omni-Tech coat kept me warm, but not too warm, so I could wear a couple of layers underneath. It’s lightweight, and best of all, it has three zippered pockets. Two on the outside and one secret pocket in the interior lining. The latter was the perfect place to fit my wallet and passport. Since it has a warm hoodie, I didn’t need to bring a hat.

Choose the personal-sized bag that works for you. A personal item could be a duffle bag, a backpack, a soft-sided bag or what I chose, a hard-sided suitcase on wheels. Because I’m also carrying a CPAP machine, and traveling via Europe’s budget airlines, which means standing in long lines with a long walk to the plane, I needed a personal item with wheels. I use the two-wheeled version of the Flight Knight because it’s easier to wheel over cobblestones and holds more than the four-wheeled version. The advantage of a hard-sided case over a soft-sided one is that you can’t over stuff the bag. If your personal item doesn’t fit into the airline’s sizer, you may be charged an expensive luggage fee.

If you plan to travel with only one personal item that fits under your seat, be sure to check with your airline first, because personal item size dimensions vary by airline.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely! There is a lot of freedom in packing light. You are not reliant on others to help you get around. It’s easy to take public transportation. And traveling this light makes me less concerned about my stuff, and more focused on the experience of enjoying a new place.

I didn’t feel deprived of anything. In fact, I could have packed even lighter as there were several things I never used. They include: clip-on sunglasses, a silk scarf, belt, third travel-sized hand cream and mascara. It’s definitely my new way of traveling, especially for flights within Europe.

I'm interested in hearing your experience in packing light. Comment below.

Don’t forget to apply for an ETA

If you’re travel to the UK, and you don’t have a UK or Irish passport, you’ll need to apply for an ETA. However, there are exceptions. The process is easy. Download the UK ETA app. You’ll need your passport and a credit card or Google Pay. You’ll also need a white wall and plenty of light for taking your photograph. I applied on a Sunday, and it said it would take three business days to receive an approval, but my approval email came instantly. The cost was 16 pounds. See the UK government site for more information.

Everything I packed in my personal item bag.

Packing List for One Personal Item

Here’s everything I took on my 12-day trip to London. I hope it inspires you. Because a packing list is unique to each person, what I pack may be very different from what you pack. You decide what are your most essential items when traveling. One of the things I can’t live without is my massage ball. After a long day of walking, it soothes my aching muscles.

Clothes and shoes

 Long sleeve T-shirt

 Pullover sweater

 Jeans

 Small silk scarf

 1 bra

 2 pairs of underwear

 2 pairs of knee-high socks

 Pink Birkenstock Eva sandals (perfect lightweight slippers)

Liquids/gels one quart-size Ziplock bag

 3 small body/hand creams

 Day/night cream

 BB cream

 Mascara

 Curl cream

 Foot cream

 Travel-sized toothpaste

 Bacitracin ointment

 Tretinoin cream

 Deep conditioner

 Small empty bottle for spraying hair with water

 Four Way nasal spray

 Hand sanitizer bottle that hangs on my purse

Dry toiletries

 Dry shampoo (small chunk)

 Razor

 Travel hairbrush

 Dental appliance cleaner

 4 flossing sticks

 1 hair roller

 Chap stick

 Cuticle scissors

 Tweezers

 Portable makeup light

 Sunscreen

 Blush

 Eyeliner

 Travel-size deodorant

 11 facial wipes

 4 packets OCuSoft eyelid scrubs

 Panty liners

 Cuticle scissors

 Toothbrush

 Biteplate

Miscellaneous

 Tile luggage tracker (placed under suitcase lining)

 Suitcase lock

 Eye mask

 Extra eyeglasses

 Computer eyeglasses

 Lens cleaning cloths

 Foldable duffle bag

 Euros

 Backup credit card

 Ear plugs

 Extra Ziplock bag

 Small bag of seeds for breakfast muesli

 Copy of credit cards and passport

 N95 mask and 4 regular masks

 Brown belt

 Massage ball

Medications/first aid/vitamins

 Ibuprofen

 Band-Aids

 Vitamins and supplements

 2 ginger chews

Computer/Technical equipment

 France to UK adapter

 Laptop

 Laptop cord

 Mouse

 2 USB to USB-C cords (for phone, earbuds and light)

Purse — packed in suitcase

 Tiny container with medications

 Kleenex

 Lip balm

 Lipstick

 Small 15 times mirror

 Bluetooth earbuds

 Clip-on sunglasses

 Mini sunscreen

 Glasses repair kit

 Small notebook

 Power bank charger for cellphone

 2 eye cleaning cloths

 Itinerary, Airbnb & London info.

 Pounds

Everything I wore on the plane and in my coat pockets.

To wear

 Dress pants

 T-shirt

 Brown cashmere pullover

 Cardigan

 Bra & underwear

 Coat

 Scarf

 Compression socks

 HOKA shoes

 Wristwatch

 Necklace

To put in coat pockets

 Cell phone

 Passport

 Boarding pass

 Credit card wallet

 Gloves

 Small water bottle

 N95 Mask

 Kleenex pack

 One ginger chew

Personal item packed for the trip home.