Woo! This is it! You’re going on a business trip. Let’s be honest. Choosing what to wear to work on a normal workday is hard enough. Now to choose what to wear for a week long business trip can be overwhelming or seem impossible without three full sized checked bags. But with a little planning, packing for a trip is totally doable.
Start by planning each day and listing the required dress.
Example:
Day 1- Travel clothes or Business appropriate, Sleepwear
Day 2- Business appropriate, Sleepwear, Workout clothing
Day 3- Business appropriate, Sleepwear
Day 4- Business appropriate
Day 5- Casual
(Adjust the above for your number of days and activities)
How many sets of each you bring is dependent on how comfortable you are with re-wearing clothing. When I travel, I’m okay with only having one or two Sleepwear sets. I’m also willing to re-wear dress pants at least two times before washing.
Two approaches: Minimalist or Prepared
Minimalist- The Essentials
Socks 1/day
Undies (tops and bottoms) 1/day
Pants/Skirts 1 or less/day
Tops and Sweaters 1/day
Money- Card, back-up card, and cash
Medications
Shoes- 1 dress, 1 athletic
Toiletries- Toothbrush & paste, soap, makeup
Hair care- hair brush, dry shampoo, ponytails
Prepared- The Emergency Case
Dress socks 2/day
Workout socks 2/day
Undies (tops and bottoms) 2 sets/day
Pants/Skirts 1-2/day
Tops and Sweaters 1- 2/day
Money- Card, back-up card, and cash
Medications
Shoes- 1 pair/outfit
Toiletries- Toothbrush & paste, mouthwash, face wash, night cream, sunscreen, soap, makeup
Hair care- hair brush, dry shampoo, ponytails, blow dryer, straightener, curling iron, hair products like mousse, hair spray, etc
The difference between the minimalist approach and the prepared approach should be pretty obvious. The minimalist is only what you need. An example of this is what I packed when I was in college and went to visit my parents for one night. Literally, I “packed” a toothbrush and a fresh pair of undies in my purse. I’m sure you’re giving the screen a weird look right now. But seriously, what more would I need to go to a small town where we may or may not go out in public for the next two days? The opposite example is one trip I made to Florida for a work conference. I literally packed a different pair of shoes for every outfit and all of the make-up I owned. Also packed were multiple outfits for any type of outdoor adventure. I was PREPARED! The two approaches are extremes. You will find you fall somewhere in the middle on average but at the extremes on occasion.
The Carry-On Challenge
What is the carry-on challenge? It’s my personal challenge to pack everything I need into one carry-on bag and one personal bag. Why? Because checking baggage comes with so much… well, baggage. Ugh. I can’t even. So what I do is take a minimalist approach to begin with and then pack more if there’s room. I plan my outfits to re-wear what I can and bring only a couple pairs of shoes. This works much better for weekend trips than week or two week long trips. Will you take the challenge?
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