Most packing lists are inventories of garments. This one is organised around outfit slots, because the thing that causes overpacking is packing clothes that only work one way.
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Packing List Template
A slot-based packing list with quantity, packed and worn columns. Prints on one page, and the worn column makes the next trip easier to plan.
Pack combinations, not days
The arithmetic that makes a carry-on work is the same one behind a capsule wardrobe. Four tops and three bottoms that all combine produce twelve outfits. Seven separate outfits that share nothing produce seven, and take up twice the space.
12
Before you pack anything
- Check the forecast for the actual dates, not the seasonal average.
- Pick one palette. Two neutrals and at most one accent.
- Count how many days and how many genuinely different occasions — not the same thing.
- Choose bottoms first. They are bulkier and they constrain everything else.
- Pick tops that work with every bottom you chose. Anything that does not, leave.
- One smart option covers most evenings. It is rarely worth two.
- Wear the bulkiest shoes and coat on the travel day.
The columns
The Outfit Slot column is the point. Marking each item as Base, Layer, Full or Activity forces you to notice when you have packed four base tops and no layer — which is the failure that turns into buying a jumper at the destination.
The Worn column is filled in during the trip, not before. It is the only reliable way to find out what you actually pack and never use.
What most people over-pack
Consistently, across trips: too many tops, a second pair of shoes that duplicates the first, and one "just in case" outfit for an occasion that does not occur.
The Worn column catches all three within two trips.