My new carry-on is an old fashioned style, soft-sided wool case – 20”x14”x9”
Also a small Rick Steves guide book bag, which can fit inside the carry-on, carries all my important papers & items. (Just checked his site, I think he’s dropped it for a new version). I can wear it over shoulder, around my waist or take off the strap and clip it to my belt / belt loops with carabiners.
I take a lightweight fold-up tote to use for shopping or day trips.
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This is a tentative list for Sept/Oct 2010 - 4 weeks, 3 countries.
First two weeks in Spain at my parent’s home, with the washing machine and hand-washing, I hang clothes outside; they’re dry in half an hour.
The next two weeks in northern France (3 days), the remainder in England, mostly up north. We’ll base 6 days in a York apartment with a washing machine/dryer.
My clothes are very lightweight and pack small. Tops are cotton gauze / modal mix or poly mix materials even my jeans are a lighter weight stretch denim and easy to wash.
I can layer for cool weather (France/England) if it isn’t warm and the hooded jacket is waterproof / wind resistant (necessary when the wind blows off the North Sea).
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Items* worn for flights (4 of them). Colour scheme mostly black / shades of brown with some colourful turquoise thrown in.
All the tops plus underwear and PJs will fit into my Eagle Creek half cube.

CLOTHES
Rain Jacket* (carry through airport / fold up & pack when not needed)
Jeans* - 1 pr
Orvis Simoom Fleece/twill Jacket* (folds up as pillow on the plane)
Tee*
1 pr socks*, pants*, bra*
1 pr brown Dansko clogs*
PACK:
Stone convertible pants - 1 pr (crop/trouser length - cotton-nylon mix)
Black cotton knit trousers – 1 pr (dress up or casual)
Brown modal/cotton leggings – 1 pr (for slouching around)
Shirts x 3 (one is a shirt jacket – dress up or casual)
Tees x 2
Modal/cotton tank tops x 3
Cotton PJs & long tee for nightdress (can also be worn with leggings)
Socks x 2 pr
Pants x 3 pr
Bras x 1
Colourful cotton gauze scarf
1 pr black Colombia flat leather thong (padded insole) slides

TOILETRIES
Toothbrush
Dental powder (instead of toothpaste)
Floss
Soap (face, skin, hair, laundry all-in-one tablet)
Body Shop Scrub cloth
2 Microfibre towels (1 small for wringing washed items, works a treat)
Small pumice stone (keeps my feet soft & happy)
Razor + 2 blades
Hair clay (solid)
Hair pick
Hair band, 2 hair combs, 1 scrunchy
Body Shop matchbook of small emery boards
Mini travel solid deodorant
Tylenol
Mix of sinus, Echinacea & Ginseng pills (for colds….I usually get one)
Handful of Band-aids
Anti-bacterial wet wipes
Q-Tips (15)
2 large & 2 small Ziploc bags

MAKE-UP
Lauren Hutton Passport compact (all solids, has everything for face, eyes & lips)
Couple of make up brushes
Eye lash curler

LAUNDRY
Elastic clothes line
6 mini pegs
Sink stopper
Mini Tide-to-go pen

MISC (carried in small bag along with pills / wet wipes)
Glasses (I wear all the time)
Sunglasses (wrap-arounds go over my specs)
Adaptor plug (all-in-one)
Small fold up alarm clock
Miniature Tool Kit key ring (+ house key, Spanish house key, mini light, mini compass)
UK Nokia cell phone & charger (re-activated in UK)
Small notebook, pen & pencil
Print-out maps, sight info, train schedules
Train passes
E-tickets, confirmations, passports, other ID
Money
Lip balm
Couple of jewellery items

- I might take a swimsuit, depends what we’re doing that trip.
- I’ve just been given an MP3 player, if I manage to download my music, it might come along. Iffy! My husband has the camera gear, although I may carry the little digital camera as he has diabetic items to pack.

Well, you certainly can't be accused of not planning ahead!

If all of your shirts & pjs can fit into a half cube, I'd say you're off to a good start. That's about where I am with my shirts, and I'm really using that cube to compress stuff at this point.

Is your gauze scarf for warmth or fashion (just asking out of curiosity)?

What magical soap are you using? That'd be awesome to compress everything into one bar.

Thanks for the list. You'll probably get lots of good feedback here. You might consider a hat of some kind. A good hat can keep you warm if it turns unexpectedly cold and will make whatever coat you have seem warmer/less necessary. In Scotland during a really chilly June I found that a hat made my light jacket and layered clothing more than adequate.

Good list, Paula.

Berg, in principle you can wash EVERYTHING with Savon de Marseille. Hundreds of years old and based on olive oil. I haven't tried it on the hair but body, clothes and just about anything else works fine.

If you are using packing cubes to compress stuff you are using them just the right way. Anything else is essentially a waste of space and weight. You can gain the same organization from plastic bags.

Berg, the scarf is a colourful accessory to dress up my tops. I can also wrap it around my head (as opposed to wearing a sun hat.....in Spain), it keeps my hair off my face and neck in hot weather. In a pinch, it would keep my neck warm in cooler weather. I have several at home that serve that multi-purpose function. One unexpected use......one day I picked peaches off a tree, didn't have a bag so turned my scarf into one!

The soap? I found a lovely company in British Columbia who make gorgeous natural soaps. http://www.clearwatersoapworks.com/site/1501105/page/45029
Not tested on animals, chemical free and lather up a dream. I buy in bulk, preferably when my favourite is on sale, Tea Tree and Clove. The price per soap is discounted over a certain amount.
Last two times I've ordered, I had to wait as they'd run out of my fave. They sent emails apologising and threw in three free bars for being patient. They really do customer service perfectly.
I'm not a fan of Lush products, their perfumed soap gives me a headache.

That list is pretty general for our trips, although some clothing items would change according to season at our destinations, as would choice of second pair footwear.

On our last trip I used the cube which held the same amount as listed above. My tees and tanks roll up so tiny (thank you Modal inventor), they hardly take up any space. I enjoyed having all that in one cube, it made packing the bag so much easier.

Brad, having stood on the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle on a warm & sunny May day only to have the wind freeze my ears off, I know exactly what you mean about a hat. ;-)
(I could've done with a parka that day). LOL!

It's funny, I love hats but never wear them, not even in - 25 oC temperatures at home. I have a trusty Polartec fleece scarf/wrap that serves me well in winter. That did multi duty in the UK in December as a scarf, hat, blanket and pillow.
I have always fancied a tweed driver's cap but never got round to looking for one.