by Wendy
Packing for this recent trip was a challenge, as we traveled to two very different destinations.

Iceland: mostly outdoor activities. Even though we were going in summer, nearly everything we read cautioned us to be prepared for any type of weather. Basic hiking gear was a necessity.

England: we would be in London most of the time, with a day trip to Dover that included quite a bit of walking. Always good to be prepared for rain in England. Though London is a style capital, anything other than comfortable shoes would be pointless. We weren’t planning any formal activities but wanted to dress appropriately for tour and tea in Parliament.

Right. Here is my list and a few notes on how I organized everything.

Wore on plane:
Black yoga pants, striped long-sleeve t-shirt, olive green light jacket with hood and pockets, Adidas sneakers, small pearly earrings that go with everything.
Inside the jacket pocket was a hat, gloves, and eye sleep mask

Packed in small wheeled suitcase using rolling method:
One pair hiking pants
Black waterproof jacket with hood and pockets
Two “second layers” to wear over t-shirts – one button up plaid, one zip-up quick-dry lilac shirt
One pair of jeans
Dress to wear with ballet flats/sneakers and/or leggings
Three t-shirts: white, grey, dark grey
Two dressier shirts: one black short sleeve and one black floral
One long grey skirt (could also be worn as cover-up with bathing suit)
(t-shirts, dressier shirts and skirt were all packed in one packing cube)
One pair black leggings
About 10 pair of underwear packed in zip-top plastic bag
PJs – t-shirt and pajama bottoms
One bathing suit, flip flops
One quick-dry travel towel
(Jack packed the towel in his backback on the way to Iceland, but I packed it in my suitcase for the other flights)
Hiking shoes
About 6 pairs of socks packed inside hiking shoes
(I put each hiking shoe in a zip-top bag and then wrapped both in an old pillowcase, as I don’t want dirty shoes next to clothes)
Black ballet flats in gallon zip-top bag
Travel flat iron, small brush
Small costume jewelry case with a few pieces, mostly dangly earrings
Two lightweight scarves
One belt

Packed in small shoulder bag that would fit under the airplane seat for easy access:
Two zip-top bags of liquid/gel toiletries (one for Jack and one for me)
Zip-top bag of medicine
Makeup case with additional non-liquid toiletries
Jack and my ipads, chargers, one adapter
Crossbody purse that I would use on the trip, with phone, wallet and all the typical purse things
Glasses/sunglasses
File folder with itinerary and other printouts
Passports of course!

Most of the clothing could be mixed, matched and layered. You better believe I only packed things that I tried on or tested first and definitely liked. Overall, I think it was a great strategy, though after dragging the lot of it through the Underground and Heathrow I’m auditing everything to see if I can go even lighter. Jack used a backpack only, which is really impressive, and allowed us to bring home a shopping bag full of souvenirs as his second carry-on bag.

Jack did a load of laundry mid-trip – and threw in a few items from me, Mom and Dad. This was helpful and if you can plan on doing laundry during your travels, you can obviously wash more of your stuff and pack less.

Iceland was not constantly cold. We had chilly rain when visiting the glacier parks, but often it was pleasantly cool, or even sunny and warm. But all of my hiking items were justified, especially the waterproof jacket and hiking shoes. You must be prepared for rain and make sure your shoes have traction. I usually wore the hiking pants, t-shirt and zip-up shirt during our daytime activities. I could add hat and gloves if needed and was comfortable. For dinner, I could switch to jeans, ballet flats and one of the dressier shirts. I might have been able to pack less socks and leave out the plaid shirt.

The yoga pants were nice to wear on plane rides. I used the quick-dry towel the night we stayed in an Iceland apartment that had a hot tub outside but limited bath towels. We didn’t have as many opportunities to swim in hot springs as I thought we might during the road trip, so Jack and I could have shared one towel instead of packing two. I also didn’t use the flip flops because I either had access to slippers or went barefoot.

We had amazing weather the first day in London and while touring Dover. Bright, clear, non-humid but warm days. Then it turned a little cloudy with sporadic rain. I wore the dress without leggings once (with ballet flats to Parliament and tea), and with leggings a second day. I wore the hiking shoes with jeans, a t-shirt and light jacket to Dover – and good call because we probably walked 7 miles over the course of that day – then stuck to flats and Adidas for the rest of the London visit. Jeans that fit well are always a good call for European cities. I opted for the long skirt instead of jeans a couple of times, and thought it looked cute with the Adidas.

Additional observations:

• Cute and functional clothing is your guiding principle – cuteness alone doesn’t cut it
• Make sure your jackets have pockets – so handy for carrying your Oyster card for the tube, entry tickets, kleenex, phone/camera, earbuds, gloves, hat, etc.
• Personally, I think a jacket with a hood is a necessity in rainy London, but you can also keep a tiny umbrella or scarf in your purse
• Don’t be afraid to wear your sneakers! Converse is still popular as well as the Adidas Superstar and Stan Smith versions, or colorful Nikes. It helps save your feet from all the touring, or damp and dirty city streets.
• Three small bottles of multi-purpose contact lens solution should be plenty for one person for 10-12 days
• Three small tubes of toothpaste is barely enough for two people – I recommend four for 10-12 days
• One rollerball perfume lasts a little over 10 days
• We need to buy a second adapter
• I didn’t need the sleep mask but it’s so small and weightless, I’ll probably keep packing it
• Jack and I really liked the packing cubes (we bought 3 slim eBags cubes from Amazon). Never used them before, but found they’re great for compressing stuff that doesn’t wrinkle and helps organize your bag. The mighty Ziplock also does this and it’s good to always bring spare quart and gallon sizes.
• Tide stain stick might be handy
• Hand sanitizer and wet wipes are always handy
• Icelandair doesn’t serve complimentary snacks so get your peanut M&Ms and chips before you board.
• We drank tap water in Iceland and England which cut down on bottled water.
• Mints and Tums earn their spot in my purse every time

Yes, I was kind of sick of all my clothes by the end of the trip, but that’s bound to happen! I still think traveling light is the way to go. Repeat outfits. Keep it simple. Leave space or have a plan for making space for souvenirs (extra bag or ditch old items along the way). Packing light ensures everyone’s luggage fits nicely in a taxi or rental car, allows you to breeze past baggage claim, and helps you pack up quickly on a multi-leg journey. I think my parents were glad they didn’t have to check a bag while trying to make a tight connection home from DC. And I’m always glad I have less laundry to do when we arrive home.

You can do it, friends! Let me know if you have any questions and share your tips as well!