There is a huge pile of clothes on the floor.
If you're new to our channel, hi!
I'm Allison!
My husband and I make travel videos.
You can see us travel the world on our YouTube series TRIPPED using these links.
How are we going to fit all of the things we need into one carry-on backpack and a small
purse or bag?
As a girl, I'm talking about my clothes but guys if you're watching there are plenty of
packing tips here as well you'll just have to deal with talking about crop tops and cut
off shorts.
So, we're going to talk about strategy and prioritizing your bag instead of this "this
is the perfect list", because, there is no perfect list.
Okay, if we're talking priority, the first thing that we're going to talk about is the
bag, right?
You have to put all these things in to something.
Both Tim and I took the Osprey Porter 46L.
I have a whole backpack review- a great- well, I'll pat myself on the back- it's a really
great video if you want to check that out.
I always had a second bag with me that changed throughout the trip and that's gonna go in
the seat in front of you on the airplane.
Ok so everything you see here is going to go into that backpack or that purse.
I'm so passionate about packing cubes just like I am about the Osprey carry-on bag that
I made a whole packing cubes video here.
It was actually my first YouTube video, so you can go see me being awkward over there.
A quick note about these: a year, they're still in amazing condition.
These are the compression cubes so after you put all your clothes in there you zip it up
and it kinda takes some air out of there and gives you a little bit more space in your
bag.
You'll see all that happen in the video.
Tim bought the same packing cube set in his favorite color but ended up actually envying
my white ones more because the white is a little bit clearer and you can see what's
inside which makes it a little bit easier for unpacking or looking for an item rather
than a darker color.
So, keep that in mind when you're shopping.
Since Tim and I were always traveling together, we shared certain items which is super helpful
if you're traveling with a friend.
Tim carried more of our heavy tech equipment and I carried more of our toiletries.
I carried this small clear pouch and had four (I'm missing two right now) of these little
GoTubes.
These are so awesome!
Why aren't more like these?
Okay, these actually squeeze so when your conditioner is stuck in the small bottle you're
not like shaking it out, you can just squeeze it out like normal shampoo and conditioner.
I had one of shampoo, one of conditioner, one of body lotion, and one of sunscreen.
And then I carried my personal toiletry kit.
I'm so passionate about the toiletry kit as well that I made another- I didn't realize
I had all these videos- another video just about this toiletry bag.
So go watch that if you're more curious on a full review.
This is the small size (they also have a larger size).
This was plenty of space.
This was a saver: it's a small wet brush.
I'll put a link to this down below.
It was like $5 on Amazon or something and just its small size was helpful.
Boys if you're watching too, Tim actually was borrowing that so much that he bought
one for himself, so, it's not just a girly product.
This is also awesome because it has a hook on it, so even if you're not buying this one
look for one with a hook.
We used that all the time to feel more "at home" and more "unpacked" when we were at
a hotel bathroom because we could hang it on the towel rack and we were both using our
stuff right there instead of everything all over the bathroom sink.
So we have a backpack, a bag, packing cubes, and toiletries.
Next on the list of priorities is your technology, whatever that might be.
If you're interested the tech that we brought that's too much to cover in this video so
check out our full tech bag video there.
So let's take a break.
We haven't started packing any clothes but, if you pull out all your toiletries and technology
and just throw it in your bag, you might say, like, oh my god- because that stuff takes
up a lot of space, so don't end with those after you have all your clothes, start with
that (because you're bringing it) and now the space that's left we have for clothes.
Now think chronologically through how your trip will play out.
The first thing you're going to do is get on the plane.
Like, alright ladies, I hear you, I feel you, like okay we're gonna wear some black leggings...probably!
So, just, pack these.
Those are coming.
Guys, let's just call that our pair or pants.
Pants #1.
Okay, comfy T-shirt #1.
Ok, your favorite Tshirt you would pair with leggings.
Here's a white, let's call this shirt number 1, it's my travel shirt.
It's basic.
It's easy to put on and it's easy to layer because I'm freezing on the plane- so that's
why I have my zip up hoodie.
I had a black one on my actual trip but it got so gross I ended up throwing it away.
Okay?
So we have outfit number1!
"Comfy on the Plane".
We're going to also wear socks.
I had all merino wool socks and you can get a lot more uses out of them than just regular
cotton socks and I would just recommend merino socks.
So pop on a pair of socks and then my tennis shoes.
Runners?
Jumpers?
What do you guys call them?
Tenni's?
Trainers!
Oh my gosh, I did a video on those too.
Ok, if you want to know more about the shoes that I brought; they had Gortex and they were
waterproof but they look like normal tennis shoes.
So those were the biggest pair of shoes that I brought and I always wore those on the plane
because they were heavy and I didn't have to put them in my bag.
You're most likely wearing - this looks pretty stupid with a ponytail - you're gonna wear
that on the plane too so on any travel day in our travel series you'll always see me
wearing this hat because I didn't want to smush it in my bag.
Oh no!
I just went to go get my sunglasses to show you what I had on the exact trip and- these
are broken now I suppose.
Well, that speaks to my point because sunglasses break a lot so don't bring your designer sunglasses.
There will be sunglasses where you are going.
Ok so travel outfit number 1 with all of our accessories.
Think about that one thing you can wear out and do something physical.
I found the cutest travel pants ever because these just kinda like normal pants.
I got them safari green cuz this is my favorite color.
You don't have to look like crocodile dundee or anything, you can get them in black.
These are made by Prana and they're - (this video is not sponsored by any of these products
by the way, but I'm available if you're watching this and you work for one of these companies,
like, what's up?)
I'm 5'11" and I need long pants.
So, these come in longs, they also come in short too ladies.
I love the fact that you could customize the length.
So let's call these my activity pants.
And then I had activity shirts, let's say.
This is just a basic tshirt from H&M or something like that.
Like, a $5 tshirt.
I ended up buying this abroad too I think because what I started with just died.
Just a basic outfit of pants and shirt.
Another essential is something to sleep in.
I had this shirt that is just super cozy, comfy; it's like a favorite shirt that I've
had.
You're gonna get, like, dirty and gross out when you're traveling around so try to keep
one thing that you're going to sleep in that's yours and you don't wear out, so for me it's
this shirt.
This is my kryptonite.
I love bikinis so much.
This was like the one thing that was the hardest for me, which, thank god because these are
small.
Girls the beauty of bikinis is that we can just mix things together.
Something to consider: a bikini top that is like this is much smaller and easier to pack
than something big and structured like this.
That's a perfect segue into talking about everything under our clothes.
I just brought one cross-back bra and then I just brought a sports a bra.
That's what I had the whole year.
So, bring your favorite one and just leave it at that.
It was easy to dress-up and the material was like a thin- I mean, just polyester, but it
looked like it could be dressed up instead of a chunky cotton dress and I also wore it
as a bathing suit cover-up.
Paired with that was just a black pair of flip flops.
In Europe I had a 3rd pair of shoes and that was the only location where I had 3 pairs
of shoes with me at anytime.
I just had slip-on flats that were really small and I packed those in my bag.
Girls, this is where we take the luck of the draw.
I had this small red tank top that's silky and then I had just a pair of shorts that
I wore with it.
If you watched this video this far I'm assuming you're interested and I'd rather provide you
with the content and a longer video than just cutting it off here and saying, like, this
video is getting too long, bye.
Because there's a lot more that I valued that I had with me.
Tim and I laughed about these all the time because on so many travel blogs they're like
"bring a piece of fabric!" and we're like "this is a piece of fabric!"
It really is, it's just a piece of fabric.
I didn't have this with me initially.
I bought this when we first got to South East Asia when we went to the Philippines.
I don't know, for $1 or something.
I used it as a sarong, we used it as picnic blankets, it was something warm to wear in
air conditioning on the plane it became a blanket; you really should bring a piece of
fabric.
Another thing that you're just gonna buy is the Elephant Travel Pants.
These aren't actually those.
These are just printed loose-fitting pants that I have.
I did buy elephant pants in Cambodia that I wore everyday because they're so comfortable
and lightweight and there's just a lot of places that you just don't feel comfortable
wearing shorts.
I would hear a lot before we went on the trip through my research "bring something to cover
your shoulders for temples" "don't wear long-" Yes, that's required in some of those instances
and you'll need that, but on top of all that, just walking around the small villages and
towns - like - just don't wear shorts.
You'll feel uncomfortable and it's not appropriate.
These are a great way to be a little bit more covered up and still be really comfortable
with the hot weather.
Again we went from Europe to the Middle East to South East Asia to New Zealand.
Here are the items that I had a removed during that time.
I started the trip with this green jacket.
This would've not worked with those green pants that I had, so make sure that everything
always matches.
I couldn't be in all green.
But this was great to have in Europe.
And then I sent this home in Athens when we were leaving Europe.
Another strategy here is if you're going somewhere colder first bring a slightly worn jacket
that you are okay donating or getting rid of and use that for the duration of that trip
and then just get rid of it when you're going somewhere warmer.
And then we went to South East Asia.
So there I bought tank tops locally that were really inexpensive.
A lot of times you're just wearing lose-fitting stuff on top of a bathing suit.
So I just have this, these cotton shorts, another small black crop tank top, slick water
resistant-feeling running shorts- for a waterfall hike or something where you want something
a little more water-resistant on top of your bathing suit that's more athletic instead
of "cute".
Ok then by the time that we had been to Europe and South East Asia and we had been filming
ourselves for so long, then I was starting to feel like- half the time I didn't do my
makeup because it feels weird doing your makeup in rural Vietnam on a motorbike, but watching
all the play-back I'm like, ok you could have gotten ready that day Allison.
I was just kind of feeling mehhh from being on camera all the time so then I bought some
cuter stuff.
Not like it's more expensive, I just put more thought in to what I was wearing.
So this is just a cuter black top that has cut-out sides.
I finally bought a pair of jean shorts.
I know that probably on every blog everywhere it says "don't bring jeans"- they do suck
to wash, but if you aren't moving around too much and you're kind of posted up in locations
for a longer length of time and you're going to get your laundry done, then kind of no
big deal.
You go get your laundry done in Asia, that's what you do and it's $1.
But then I felt like I had more of a cute outfit that I could put on.
I was absolutely freakin freezing in New Zealand.
So before we got there I bought a pullover sweatshirt I had a long sleeve shirt on under
it.
Then I traveled with this puffy down vest...
I always had this with me and I almost never wore it except for New Zealand.
In Northern Vietnam on our bike trip it ended up getting so cold that I just went out and
bought a Vietnamese Men's Large Down "down" Puffy Coat.
It was like $20.
So even in rural Vietnam I still found exactly what I needed.
If you're somewhere more popular you can just go to, most likely the same stores you're
used to shopping in anyways and if not then there's something there and something affordable.
Other fun items that were accessories at one point or another; were picked up and brought
with.
So I hope with this video and especially the end of this video highlights is if you're
leaving on a long-term trip and you're going to be in multiple climates you just aren't
going to have all the same items with you at all times.
Part of the fun is shopping while you're there and I'm not a shopper at home but that's part
of the experience.
It's an excuse.
You're out walking around.
You're negotiating.
You're talking with locals.
Bring your favorite items and then leave enough space that you'll be able to purchase items
that you'll need when you're there that you didn't even know that you needed.
And if you haven't checked out TRIPPED yet, that's the star of the channel.
Go check out our round the world trip on TRIPPED here on YouTube, we'll see you next time.
And hey you All Stars, thanks for sticking to the end of the video.
Travel tip for you then: bring dryer sheets!
Dryer sheets smell super fresh without being overly fragrant and stick some in your bag
and it will keep your clothes smelling good instead of the musty hostel floor.