Travel Packing System: My Step-By-Step Carry-On Method

Corrie Lo: [00:00:00] Ever pack for a trip and end up with packing way too much stuff, or forget the one thing that you actually did need? In this video, I’m showing you my step-by-step packing system that’s helped me travel anywhere for up to 14 days with just a carry on.
You’ll see exactly how I organize. I customize and I pack using my reusable checklist system so that you could do the same without the stress of overpacking.

Corrie Lo: If you’re new here, my name is Corrie LoGiudice, otherwise known as Corrie Lo. I am a professional keynote speaker and high performance coach. And yes. I did once do an entire two week business trip through South America with only a carry on. And let me tell you, I was the youngest person in my industry. I was the only woman.
And the guys that I traveled with, they could not believe it. They all had multiple suitcases. And there I was with my little carry on. And since then [00:01:00] I’ve perfected a repeatable system that I use for every single trip. Doesn’t matter if it’s a business trip, if it’s a family vacation, or sometimes it’s both.
And I’m sharing that exact system with you today.
So the first step is by beginning with my customized notion template. So this template, there’s been variations of it that I’ve used for the last, I’d say conservatively 15 years. But for right now it exists within Notion and I like it too because it’s easier to customize as well as to be able to replenish and make new ones right, which I’m gonna show you in just a second.
So this is my reusable packing checklist and it includes every single category. Including my wardrobe, my toiletries, my tech, even my kids stuff, right when they’re coming along. So each trip starts with this master list, which I then customize for the destination.
In step two, what I do is I customize the list for my trip.
Corrie LoGiudice-2: So I [00:02:00] actually need to create a packing list for an upcoming event gig that I have. I’m actually gonna be gone two nights and I’m doing two different events. So walk along with me as I use my Notion template to build that. All right, so first thing that I do with this custom template that I built, I click here to create a new one.
And it just automatically has all of my categories safe for the different things that I bring on each trip. So you can see I got essentials and carry on, I’ve got my clothes, my personal care. Now I’m gonna go through for this specific trip to customize and delete stuff that I don’t necessarily need because this is everything I could ever need for a trip in, whether it be a business trip or for a family or a vacation.
So I’m gonna go through and make sure I’m removing stuff that would be family related since this specific trip that I’m packing for is a business trip. So going through my essentials and carry on, I’m not gonna need my passport and my Visa, [00:03:00] so I can actually delete that off of here. I’m gonna need my valid ID, my credit cards, house keys, sunglasses, phone, iPad, Kindle,
I’m gonna wanna bring all that. I’m probably not gonna need my earplugs and my eye mask, I’m actually taking a train, to my next destination. So I will not be traveling via air, noise canceling earbuds. I’m not gonna need my travel pillow,food and snacks are always important for me, so I leave that on there.
I’m gonna bring my Kindle. I’m go to my Chargers, water bottle. Any kind of jewelry I always keep in my carry-on, and medications, so that all looks good. Now for clothing I follow the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 packing formula. I have it referred or referenced up here to make it really easy for me to know what to pack and when it actually comes time for me to pack this, I’m gonna pull it from my closet and curate it as if it’s a capsule wardrobe.
But for right now, this is my list that I’m gonna work with. And then I’m gonna circle back and I will show you guys when I actually pull the items. For my [00:04:00] personal care, and this is all the stuff that’s in my pre-done toiletry kit that I always refill every time I get back from a trip, so I know I don’t need.
Any of these additional items because they’re already in the bags, which I’ll show you in a second. And then, I also, oftentimes I’ll bring a travel yoga mat with me. I am gonna bring it for this trip, so that I have it. And I also make sure I put other things for personal care, like my journal, would be on here too.
All right, makeup, it’s all my standard makeup stuff. I always put this on here ’cause I do not keep a pre-done kit. For this, I bring it from my regular everyday stuff, and having the checklist is helpful for me. Not that I forget something. Electronics are gonna be big for this specific trip because I am speaking at an event.
So I’m going to need my laptop, I’m gonna need my adapters, I’m gonna need, my slide, advancer, all those things. So as you can see, I got SD cards, adapters, extra batteries. How many times have I spoken at an event that I went to [00:05:00] use the clicker and the battery didn’t work, which sucks. So I always travel with extra batteries. My Apple Watch is listed on here too, laptop, laptop, charger, battery bank. So my charging station For context for this, I have a, USB charging station. That’s the mag chargers that does my watch, it does my, iPhone and it also does my AirPods. So I actually travel with that and I will take it with me,
so it’s listed on here. So the charging station, my slide clicker, all that is good. Then for baby and kid stuff, I have the same packing formula for them. And then as you can see, I’ve got my two kids that I pack for on here, where I include the things I would need to be packing for them. But since they are not coming with me on this trip, I do not need it, so I’m going to delete it.
I also have a list of items that’s helpful if you’re gonna be gone for an extended period of time. Things like emptying the trash, making sure that we feed the cat, things like that because I am gonna be going away and there’s gonna be somebody else here, watching our kids [00:06:00] and taking care of things.
My husband’s actually traveling with me on this trip, which is kind of fun. my in-laws are coming to watch the kids. So we do wanna make sure things like the litter boxes and stuff are taken care of, not that they gotta worry about it.
so I’m actually gonna leave this here before I leave. Great hack for if you are traveling with family somewhere and you have little kids, don’t bother to pack things that you could buy at your destination. So when my kids were really little things like diapers and wipes, I never would bother.
I would always just get them at the destination. Super easy, especially if you’re traveling within the US. I would use, different sources, whether it be like DoorDash or Instacart and things like that to be able to order what I needed. And sometimes they would be at the door waiting for me when I got there.
And it was often cheaper than if I were to pack everything and have to check a bag. So these are some of the things that I would normally look for. My kids are actually bigger now, so I don’t really need this. But even things like sunscreen, if you’re traveling to a warm destination. Granted, if you’re going to a resort that they’re gonna jack up the prices, then you might wanna [00:07:00] bring sunscreen.
But in general, I usually don’t. So I don’t really need to worry about this ’cause this is a business trip, so I’m going to delete it. So then the other thing I’m gonna do here too, and this is just a personal thing for me. I usually will create and you do toggles is what they call them here in notion.
So I create one for my trip. I’m speaking at Wobe and, women’s Leadership Conference 2025. Those are the two events that I’m doing, and then I will include all of these and put them in that list.
All right, so now my list is all ready for me to go and actually start pulling the items that I need to pack. In the meantime, what happens is sometimes I might wanna just duplicate a packing list from a prior trip, like every single year we go to Florida, it’s the same time. So sometimes it’s easier for me to just re-poll the same thing.
So this is my database of all of my old packing lists and when I’m done, I just pull it [00:08:00] down into here and then I generate a new list when I got someplace new to go. But, basically this is how the template works.
All right, so once my list is ready, I start pulling pieces from my wardrobe that all mix and match. I try to make sure that what I am pulling from my wardrobe, it basically functions as its own capsule wardrobe, so that I can wear each item multiple ways to make multiple outfits. That’s my secret to fitting two weeks worth of clothing onto one carry-on.
And honestly, this takes way less time than it sounds. Make sure you’re sticking to items that are all the same color schemes. In general, I tend to wear a lot of black, white and gray, so I wear a lot of neutrals. I might pick one specific accent color. But honestly, it’s really not the biggest deal.
It is a lot easier than it sounds. So step four, I’m gonna pack smart. I only use a carry on and I’ve been this way for years, from when I [00:09:00] was a business traveler, as a corporate SVP in my former career. I always pack carry-on no matter how long the trip was, because I had more times than not where I would have a flight change or there would be a connection, and then I would arrive at a conference or an event and my suitcase would be two days behind me.
So ever since then, I’m like, no, it comes with me. And when I travel and it’s not business, when I’m with my family, my husband and each of our kids have their own mini version. Of their carry-ons too, so the entire family does carry-on. One of my tips that I love to do as well is utilizing packing cubes.
So the packing cubes are great. It keeps things really tight and organized. It lets you fit more stuff in there sometimes too. And then, one of the things I enjoy too with the packing cubes is sometimes I’ll just take them out of my suitcase and put them directly in the drawer and I don’t have to do anything else.
So it’s not like I have to take all the individual items out, it just [00:10:00] stays in the cube and makes things simple. For longer trips, I’ll sometimes skip the cubes and I will roll clothing directly into the suitcase, especially if it’s winter and the items are bulky. ’cause I do find I get more in the suitcase that way. When an item goes into the bag,
and this, it doesn’t matter if it’s my suitcase, my carry-on suitcase, or if it’s my business bag, my laptop bag or a backpack if I’m traveling for personal. Once it goes into a bag and it is officially packed, it then gets checked off the notion list never before. And the reason that I do this is because the morning of travel,
then I can go and grab any kind of devices that might be charging a lot of times I’ll, set up my iPad and I’ll charge it overnight. And I will also make sure I download a bunch of stuff. So I have movies and stuff to watch on the plane, and that takes some time. So I’ll set that up the night before.
And when I check my Notion list in the morning, I know, ’cause it’s not checked off [00:11:00] that it’s still on the charger, so it’s a good visual reminder for me to go back and pull those items to put it in the bag. So then that way I can grab all those additional essentials without worrying I forgot something.
Now step five is the return trip so you go away on your trip, right? Everything’s great, you unpack. Now you gotta deal with packing to come back. And coming home is just as easy because now when I’m packing up to leave my hotel, I just reopen my Notion checklist. It’s great because it syncs to the cloud.
I can open it on my laptop, I can open it on my phone, I can open it on my iPad, and I go through and I go to all of the checked items, and I uncheck them as they go back into the suitcase. So that way I know I haven’t left anything behind, not a phone charger, not my favorite lipstick, everything is accounted for and it’s one less thing that I have to think about, if I’m worried about trying to catch my flight.
Now, here’s a few extra tips that I absolutely swear by, like these help so [00:12:00] much. First is I keep a fully stocked toiletry bag that I refill as soon as I get home, so it is always ready. I never have to like worry about it. It actually works out great, even for me during the summertime if I take my kids to the pool or something that I have ready to go with shampoo and conditioner and everything else, and I just refill it when I get home.
It’s super simple. I also have a tiny Ziploc bag that’s my mobile office. So I keep things in it, like my battery power banks adapters extra, charging cables for me as a professional speaker, my projector clicker, my adapters, for, screen projectors. All of that is in there and it’s pre-packed and it never leaves the bag.
So it makes it very simple whether I’m working from home or working on the road, that I have everything that I need to conduct business in terms of office supplies in a little tiny bag.
I also own travel size tools of things like hair dryers and hair straighteners. I You can’t tell right now. I have curly hair and I can’t always, especially if I’m traveling during the [00:13:00] summer, use the hotel dryer. So I find it much simpler and I know I’m gonna get consistent results where I’m at using my own styling tools.
And my suitcases, this is such an unused hack. Every time you go to an airport count, how many black suitcases are there? Thousands. Everybody’s suitcase is black. And while I love black, it’s actually my favorite color. I make sure that when I choose a suitcase, it’s a bright color, right? So my current one is bright turquoise.
I’m transitioning that to a neon yellow one. Right now because I will never, ever have to hunt through a sea of black bags at a baggage claim or even, because again, I don’t check bags. when I have to gate check a bag, which happens often on a regional flight, it’s like I can spot it right out in the lineup,
it’s right there, I just grab it and I run. It’s such a time saver.
So I’d love to know what is one packing hack that you swear by? Or what’s the one thing that you always forget? Go ahead, drop it in the comments below. Send me a dm. I’m most [00:14:00] active on LinkedIn. I am always collecting new ideas and would love to hear what you do. And if you wanna try my exact packing system, grab my Travel Packing Notion template. It’s the exact one I use for each and every trip. I’ve made it so that you could customize it, you could duplicate it, you could reuse it forever. And it includes the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 formulas, the wardrobe planner and a checklist for business, personal and family travel.
It’ll save you hours before your next trip and honestly, a lot of suitcase stress. You can go ahead and grab yours by clicking the link in the show notes.
Hopefully you found this video helpful, if so, like, subscribe and I will see you on the next episode. See you next time.
Thanks for checking out the next step with Corrie Lo. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend, subscribe and leave a review. Together we’ll transform overwhelm into action and we’ll keep taking the next step towards competent leadership. See you next time.