How to pack for a week in a backpack

So the hubs and I went on a 5 day vacation to Washington DC a few months ago! It was so amazing and such a fun getaway! Our flights were super early getting in and late leaving so we would have as much time as possible in the city! We stayed in an AirBnB this trip, and because of that and the flights we had to be a little bit strategic with our packing! We didn't want to have to roll our bags around before check in or after check out! We had quite a few hours that our luggage would have to be with us so we wanted to be able to still go out and have fun without looking like super dorky and unprepared tourists!

I'm going to preface this with I am usually a way over packer! Like 12 outfits, 30 pairs of underwear/comfy clothes for a 5 day trip would be my norm! So I had to scale way back and think about how I would specifically wear each piece! 

What I brought:
1 pair of jeans

A jumper

Black maxi dress

Denim dress

3 t-shirts/tank tops

Army jacket

1 Cardigan

3 pairs of shoes

I wore my bulkiest clothes to the airport aka my jeans, jacket, and tan slip ons.  I usually where jeans twice before I wash them, so they made the perfect travel day outfit! And I was able to just change out the shirt and where basically the same outfit back! I then was able to wear the dresses and jumpers the other days and add a cardigan or jack to make it nicer/more evening wear appropriate! 

For makeup I took my capsule makeup products!  5 shadows, my lash trio, foundation and liner! I added a couple of LipSense colors that I could layer and wear alone that would go great with each outfit for day and night.  

I obviously packed all of my skincare and toiletries in a clear bag that way I could easily pull it out as we went through TSA! I have been using the Oily to Acne line from SeneGence and adding Nangia Oil at night and it has completely changed my face! 

And thats it! I was super impressed with myself for how little I packed and it actually took a lot of anxiety out of packing and while I was there! I hope this is helpful if you are wanting to take a vacation and not wanting to check a bag! 

This would be even easier for beach vacations or summer trips where jackets and closed toed shoes aren’t necessary! We are headed to the beach for a vacation in a few weeks! We are actually going to be able to both pack in one larger backpack since all of out clothes will be smaller!!

Leave a comment if you have any packing tips I didn’t share or find this post helpful!