Okay, so I did tons of research on what to pack, how much I could bring without being on total overload, and the best travel clothing items that would work best for where we were going and could last a couple time of wearing without being totally disgusting. A lot of other blogs were so helpful on what backpack to bring and the best ways to pack everything into your pack. So here’s my extensive list of what’s in my Pack, and when we get back I’ll letcha know if I woulda done without some stuff and how everything worked out in each country! Ya’ll are gonna be so shocked that I didn’t bring more of my closet with me! However, I did bring things I wouldn’t mind leaving behind if it meant bringing more things home with me.

So here goes:

First off our backpacks.

We did a bunch of research about the best backpack to live out of for a couple months at a time that had good support and was also a front AND top loader since we didn’t want to have to be taking everything out of the top in order to get to things on the bottom. The ones we ended up picking are the Kelty Redwing 40 (specifically made to fit a women’s body) and the Redwing 50 for Kenny. If my body could fit the 50L I totally would have done that one since it holds quite a bit more than mine but I couldn’t fit it on my back without falling over! Sooo, I definitely recommend the Redwing 40 if you’re built smaller like I am.

The other thing we decided on to keep all our stuff organized was packing cubes! We decided on these ones from Ebags, size medium, that comes in a 3 pack (I could only fit 2 in my bag but I managed to fit all my stuff into those 2 bags). These things are a serious lifesaver since we had no idea how we would stuff everything into our packs without it being a disaster every time we wanted something out of it.

Now as far as my actual items in the cubes, I had to repack things over and over and continue to condense every time since I had a hard time deciding on clothes. My final decisions on clothes come down to the material that it was, how well I could mix and match with all the other items, and how comfortable each would be for hiking, biking, walking, and traveling for long periods of time.

Here’s all the items I decided on:

Dresses: 

1 maxi dress – last minute buy for hanging out in cities that could be dressed up or down

1 sweater dress – Lole brand, long sleeved, merino wool

1 short dress – striped, for city wear or travel with leggings and a sweater

1 short sleeve long shirt/dress – for layering

Bottoms: 

1 pair of dark skinny jeans – most travelers I learned don’t recommend on bringing a lot of jeans/denim material items since they aren’t quick drying and can be pretty bulky in your bag but that 1 pair is a must in Europe so I brought my favorite, most comfortable pair and I think I’ll be okay!

1 pair of flowy nylon travel pants – my airport outfit and perfect for comfy lounging or for more active walking/hiking – currently the ones I’ve been wearing for the last 24 hours of traveling between airports and also worked as my jammies for airport sleeping!

1 pair of flowy printed shorts – can be layered with tights or for when we’re in Italy where it will be in the 70’s to 80’s!

1 pair of travel pants from Rei – quick drying, moisture wicking, can be rolled up to capris or to long shorts. Perfect for hiking but also casual enough to wear in the cities.

1 pair of black leggings

Tops:

2 polyester short sleeve shirts – 1 blue, 1 red

2 Homesick Brand t’s

1 cardigan – eggplant colored

1 white tank top

1 neutral long sleeve top

1 grey/black sweater

Hosiery: 

1 set of cotton/polyester blend jammies

2 bralettes – black & grey

3 pair of nylon/silk undies

3 pair of crew socks – SmartWool, quick drying, odor repelling for hiking

1 pair of black socks for flats – SmartWool

1 pair of tights

1 bathing suit

2 colorful scarves

1 black knit beanie

Outerwear: 

1 Columbia trench coat

Shoes: 

1 pair of Keen Wapato mid waterproof boots

1 pair of memory foam Sketchers flats – comfy and cute, lots of tread for walking around

Toiletries: 

Side note: this was so hard to pack into 1 quart size bag for each of us! We learned quickly this is the hardest part of only having a carry-on 

1 bug spray/antibacterial spray my mom made us from essential oils

1 room spray also from mom

1 febreeze wrinkle spray

1 tide to go pen

1 clothesline + drain stopper + 8 mini Woolite laundry detergents

1 OnGuard essential oil + the matching pills for immunity

1 face wash + toner + makeup remover + lotion (I wasn’t willing to compromise my skin care when we were gone so this took up a lot of my room in my baggy)

1 set shampoo/conditioner – mine are blue since I have orange hair so I can keep the tone right 🙂

1 travel size mousse + dry shampoo – being a hairstylist this was the hardest thing to figure out. I also brought a small size hairspray that I keep in my purse but had to condense my daily hair routine to my bare minimum favorite items. So at least I’ll have some body and be able to go a few days in between washing!

1 mini travel straightener with dual voltage

1 contact solution for Kenny

1 shampoo/conditioner for Kenny

The rest of the items in my shower bag are :

2 toothbrushes + cover

1 floss

1 razor with 2 heads still in the package

1 package of makeup remove wipes

1 small washcloth – microfiber, quick drying

1 travel q-tip container

1 Tassie – kind of like a headband, nifty little hairstylist item for keeping hair out of your face for washing

1 detangling comb

2 pair of earrings + 2 necklaces

Other items:

1 XL travel towel – Quick drying

1 bag of feminine products

1 makeup bag with just my favorite essentials

• Mascara, 1 eyeshadow palette, bronzer, Mac fluid liner, Bare Minerals powder, BB cream, and brushes

1 package of makeup pads

1 umbrella

2 sporks

1 package Wet Wipes & Sniffs

1 mini first aid kit (pictured, but Kenny actually ended up making us a bag of medicine with Emergency, echinacea, Advil, etc. and put the kit with that)

1 Lifestraw

2 shower caps for putting shoes in while in my backpack

1 journal

1 pack of plug converters

1 lock

Extra baggies

Purse: 

ps. I LOVE the Travelon bag I found (Amazon steal for $25!). It is anti theft (the straps can’t be cut), waterproof, has 4 compartments, && has RFID pockets so no one can scan your card or passport info while walking by! 

Camera

Sunglasses

2 pair of headphones

Passports

Coin purse with all the monies

Chapstick + lipgloss

Nail file

Another package of Kleenex

Phone charger + iPhone

Gum

Teasing comb

I hope this is helpful to people who are thinking of planning the same trip! I’ll keep you updated on the outcome!

That’s all for now,

Talk to you soon from Europe!

Xoxo,

The Traveling Taveners