Maximize Your Carryon Luggage for Easier Travel

Airlines not only reduced your leg space, they also reduced your carryon luggage space. Follow these tips from choosing your carryon pieces to packing them. Here’s how we maximize our carryon luggage when my husband and I travel together.

We typically fly Delta because we live near Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Delta’s main headquarters. Like many airlines, they allow you to fly with two carryon items: a roll-aboard and one personal item like a purse, briefcase or a small backpack. That’s four bags to carryon if we do things right. Keep reading to learn how we both maximize our carryon luggage!

Carryon Luggage #1: The Roll-Aboard

I pack my roll-aboard with the majority of my travel clothes and items. I roll my clothes and utilize packing cubes for maximum storage and organization. This piece is stored in the overhead bin on the plane.

Carryon Luggage #2: The Weekender Bag

Next I pack a weekender bag that has a detachable shoe compartment and a trolley sleeve. Inside this bag, I store my travel essentials like a light sweater, compression socks, travel size liquids, and laptop. I also store my small purse in this tote bag instead of wasting it as my personal item.

When I arrive at my destination, I remove my purse from the weekender bag and I essentially have carried on three bags instead of two. I slide the trolley sleeve over the handle of my roll-aboard and breeze through the terminal.

For detailed packing instructions, read my post: Carryon Women’s Weekender Tote Packing List.

The weekender bag will usually fit under the seat in front of me, but I have needed to store it in the overhead bin on a couple of smaller planes. Check the size of the one you choose to make sure it complies with your airline of choice. If you end up on a flight and it doesn’t fit under the seat, you can unzip the shoe storage compartment and squeeze it in the overhead bin with the roll-aboards. Then fit the tote under the seat in front of you.

I have had more than one passenger ask me about my Beis Weekender Bag when I’m traveling. Use this link to receive $20 off a purchase of $100 or more!

Now, time for the other two carryon bags!

My husband came up with the following amazing travel tip years ago when we flew to the Caribbean for a vacation. It saved us money when we arrived at our destination and it did a huge favor to the environment! Read on for the next two bags and how to maximize your storage.

Carryon Luggage #3: The Soft Backpack

My husband uses a soft (25 liter) backpack suitable for hiking as his personal item. He stores his travel essentials in this and stuffs it under the seat in front of him. The key here is to use a soft backpack or one that is well within the guidelines. Check the dimensions for your specific flight/airline!

Carryon Luggage #4: The Backpack Cooler

Instead of a roll-aboard, my husband uses a Yeti backpack cooler. Inside the cooler, he stores his rolled clothes and other items. This bag goes in the overhead bin.

When we get to our destination, he immediately unpacks his soft backpack and his cooler and now he has them both available to use on our trip! It’s genius! We pack them for the beach, for hikes, for day-trips, etc. In previous years, we would get to our vacation spot, head to a store and buy a styrofoam cooler. Of course we would have to throw it away at the end of our trip which was such a waste of money and bad for the environment. This plan works much better.

Note: He’s physically able to handle two backpacks to make this happen. If that’s not an option, try a softer backpack cooler like Ice Mule’s as your personal item and a roll-aboard for your carryon luggage.

Utilize Packing Cubes and the Compression Feature

Now that we’ve chosen our four carryon luggage pieces, let’s maximize the amount of storage inside them. If you’ve never tried packing cubes, definitely give them a try. You will see such a difference in organization and storage space.

• I use two different types: zippered packing cubes and zippered packing cubes with a compression feature. This means that there is a secondary zipper that runs around the outside to ‘compress’ the entire cube into a smaller size.
• Begin by rolling each article of clothing and arranging them side by side like hotdogs inside the packing cube. I’m a firm believer in rolling clothes to maximize space and to reduce wrinkles.
• If you need to include shoes in your carryon, stuff them with socks and other small items to save even more space and pack in a zippered shoe bag.
• Keep important items like medicines, identification, and chargers on top and easily accessible so you do not need to be digging around in your luggage to find them.

Ready for Take Off!

With a little planning and creativity, you can make the most of your carryon luggage. Embrace the challenge of packing light, and enjoy the convenience of traveling without checked bags! Happy travels!