I'm an overpacker. I'm not stopping. Here's the system that finally accommodates me.
By Jane F.
Last Updated June 4, 2026
I'm an overpacker.
There. I said it.
I pack two pairs of shoes I won't wear. A sweater for weather that won't happen. A "nice" outfit for a dinner that isn't booked.
I'm not stopping. I just compress it all instead.
The inventory
Here's what's actually in my carry-on right now.
A second pair of shoes (heels, for the dinner that probably isn't happening). A sweater for the cold snap that the forecast says isn't coming. Workout clothes for the hotel gym I won't visit. A book I won't open. Three chargers. Backup underwear in styles I don't even wear at home.
A jacket. In June. I know.
In a recent survey of travelers, 57% said overpacking with "just-in-case" items was their number one packing struggle. I think we're undercounting. I think the real number is closer to all of us, and the other 43% are lying.
I've read the articles
Every "how to pack lighter" article tells me the same thing.
Capsule wardrobe. Pack a uniform. One pair of shoes. Roll, don't fold. Pack like a Parisian (who, presumably, never goes on holiday with a bottle of wine and a ceramic bowl on the way home).
I've read them. I've tried them. They don't work on me.
I'm not packing too much because I don't know better. I'm packing too much because I want to be ready. For the version of the trip I might have. For the version of me I might want to be when I get there.
That's not a flaw I'm going to fix. It's just how I travel.
So I tried something new
So I tried something new
A friend gave me a vacuum bag.
Not the kind you need a Hoover for. The kind that comes with a little portable pump. You pack everything inside. Zip it. Press the pump. All the air vanishes.
The same amount of stuff. About 60% less wasted space.
Because the trip home is where overpackers usually pay the price. You leave with a barely-closing suitcase and come back with a dress you bought on day three, a ceramic bowl from the market, gifts for three people who didn't ask for them, and dirty laundry that's somehow doubled in volume.
The pump comes with you.
Same bag. Same compression. At 6 am, on a hotel bathroom floor, with the shirt I spilled wine on at dinner (the dinner that did, eventually, happen).
Still fit. Still carry-on. Still no checked bag.
This isn't a permission slip to pack less
It's the opposite.
If you've read every minimalist-packing article and felt vaguely ashamed by the end, this isn't another one.
This is the system for people who are going to bring two 'just in case' outfits and want them all to fit.
I'm not different now. My packing list hasn't changed. The sweater still comes. The backup outfit still comes. The shoes I won't wear still come.
I just stopped apologizing for it.
I'm not the only one who packs smarter
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