This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I make a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Disclosure here.

It took me a while to realise just how annoying overpacking can be. From heavy luggage to expensive fees for hand luggage to having to pack and unpack huge amounts of clothes, it was adding so much unnecessary stress to what was supposed to be a fun holiday.

I have since become a bit more minimalist, and I recently heard a few people mention the 54321 method for packing. Today, I want to give it a go and see if it works for me as I pack for our summer trip this year on the Isle of Wight. And I’ll also share my best folding tip to minimise creasing towards the end of the article. 

Keep reading below or watch the video:

1. The carry-on method

A few years ago, we travelled at Christmas time. It was just three of us back then—me, my husband, and our son. We were travelling for over a week, I believe, and we chose to have only a carry-on per person. So a carry-on for me, one for my husband, and something for our son, too.

My husband actually came up with the idea. And at first, I thought that there’s no way we’re going to fit everything in just a few carry-ons. I was very sceptical. And as I was packing, I realised it’s a bit limiting. We had to pick what we really wanted to take because we had limited space. 

However, it turned out that this decision made things so much easier and less stressful overall. 

We had less stuff to carry around as we only had a few small carry-ons that were backpacks. That’s all we had on our backs.

When we got back, there was also less stuff to unpack and wash and deal with. And it turned out, we hadn’t really missed anything during that trip. We hadn’t felt like we were missing out or needed more clothes. We actually made do with what we had in our carry-ons. 

That was the first time I’ve experienced the benefits of travelling with only a carry-on. 

Since then, we travelled to Romania last year, this time as a family of four. And with our daughter being a baby, we thought we needed to take with us a lot of nappies and other baby stuff. So we decided to travel with one big suitcase and a few little carry-ons with snacks and activities for the kids. 

What we realised is that having a huge luggage is really annoying. Unless we absolutely need a ton of stuff with us for a specific reason, it’s so much better to travel light. 

With a huge luggage, we had to wait, with two kids, in long queues to drop off the luggage. Then, when we arrived at the destination, we had to again do a lot of waiting for the luggage to come on the conveyor belt. And these parts weren’t very fun. It was just a confirmation that travelling light, even with kids, makes things so much easier. 

This year is a bit different. We’re not travelling by plane. We’re going to the Isle of Wight by ferry, so we’ll be travelling by car. And I aim to pack light still, but we are going to take the one big luggage we have for the entire family.

So my goal is to pack everybody’s clothes, the swimsuits, and everything else, in one suitcase. I don’t want to deal with lots of little bags to carry around. We’re keeping it minimal, and I’m going to show you what we pack in there. 

2. The 54321 packing method

This packing method sounded really interesting to me, and it says to pack, for a week away, five tops, four bottoms, three layers, two pairs of shoes, and one of each accessory—bag, jewellery, things like that. 

As I was doing research for this, I noticed that people have different categories in each of these numbers. But this is what I thought would go really well for our upcoming trip, as we’re going for about a week. 

For the five tops, I’m going to pack the black and white T-shirts. I’ve got a COS white t-shirt and a black V-neck T-shirt from Mango. I think I’m also going to take two bodysuits because I’ve been really enjoying wearing them. One is white and one is black, both from Zara. I really like having basics because then they go with everything. And I think instead of another top, I’m just going to pick a dress. One is enough, as I want to keep it simple. 

These are my five tops. Now let’s do four bottoms.

I’m going to take two wide-leg trousers, one black and one cream, both by H&M. These are long ones, so I’ll also take some shorts. And I have two pairs, also by H&M, that I love. One pair is blue and I love their colour. The other pair, with a print I love, is actually a recent Vinted purchase. I decluttered some of my older shorts as I wasn’t keen on them anymore, so I sold those and bought these ones instead.

Moving on to three layering pieces, because it might be summer, but it’s still England. So I think I’m going to pack a white linen shirt, as it’s really good for beach days or if I want to cover up in the evenings. 

I’m also going to take with me a grey sweatshirt, in case it gets a little chilly. And then I have a lightweight raincoat that I think I’ll pack. 

This is just my plan right now. I will have to actually look at the weather forecast before we leave and adjust. If it predicts nice hot weather, I might not bring the raincoat, or I might not bring the sweatshirt. Or if it looks really rainy, I might swap some things out. But this is my plan for now.

Next are two pairs of shoes. I’ll take my simple white M&S trainers, and I’ll probably wear them on the way there. That’s going to save some space in the suitcase. And then I’m going to pack my Birkenstocks. These are a new addition to my wardrobe this year, and I think they’ll be the only sandals that I pack because they just go with everything. 

Last on the list, one of each accessory needed. So I’ll take one pair of sunglasses and one little bag that I feel goes well with many outfits. I might also pack a reusable carrier bag to carry towels and things like that when we go to the beach.

I’ll also take with me a pair of earrings and one necklace, but I’ll be wearing them, so I won’t have to pack them. 

I’m also going to pack swimsuits for all of us, two swimsuits for me, and some for the kids as well.

And that’s that, this is how I’m going to apply this 5-4-3-2-1 packing method. I found it really interesting.

3. The digital wardrobe method

I’ve been using a digital wardrobe for several months now, and it’s proven to be really helpful for decluttering and especially for packing when travelling. 

The app I’m using to keep my digital wardrobe is called Indyx, and it’s free to use. In this app, I’ve added to a list all of the items that I just took out of my wardrobe: 5 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 layering pieces, 2 shoes, and 1 pair of sunglasses. That’s a total of 15 items. 

And now I can create outfits with these items from the list just by pressing a button. For example, I created an outfit with the white bodysuit combined with the pair of shorts with a flowery print, the white linen shirt and sandals. This looks like an outfit I could wear travelling there, maybe even back. 

Because I packed some really basic items as well as a few fun coloured ones, I find that they combine really easily. This way, I can make many different outfits, so I’m quite happy with my selection of items that I chose for this trip.

4. Light laundry

In the past, when travelling, I felt like I needed to pack at least an outfit for every single day, perfectly curated. Plus some spares in case those got dirty. 

I then realised I don’t need to pack so many spares—because if I spill something, get dirty, or sweat a lot, I can just do a quick wash in the sink. So if some hand washing is needed, I can do that so easily. I can quickly wash one of my toddler’s T-shirts in the sink with some soap and then hang it to dry. By the next morning, it’s ready to be worn. 

I really like the “light laundry option” because it takes off the pressure of having to pack perfect outfits and having lots of spares, especially for the kids. It also saves having to lug around some really heavy luggage.

5. Folding to minimise creasing

Learning how to do this has been a game-changer, and it keeps my T-shirts and trousers looking nice.

If it’s trousers like my wide-leg ones, for example, I fold the legs onto each other, and then I simply start at the top of the trousers and roll them down all the way to the end. And that’s it—I just roll the entire piece of clothing, and this will prevent all of those little creases that can appear with regular folding.

And I can do the same with T-shirts or any other items that are more prone to creasing.

6. Makeup and toiletries

When it comes to these, I’m again going to keep it simple. I don’t want to be carrying around so many products. I know we’re travelling, but it doesn’t mean we have to have everything that we have available at home on holiday as well. It’s only a week. The purpose is to have fun, and the whole point is to focus on the experiences and not all of these products that we have to carry around.

For makeup, I’m planning to pack my little travel makeup bag with one of each product that I use. I’ll probably skip things that are not super necessary and just try to minimise things. For example, I’ll pack my foundation, but I probably won’t pack the concealer. If I need extra coverage, I will just put a bit more foundation in those spots.

For toiletries, I’m actually going to pack the kids’ body wash, and we’re all going to use it, even the grown-ups. I’ll also pack a shampoo for us. And that’s it.

7. Kids’ items

And when it comes to kids packing, I’m going to do it very similarly to us. I will also add a few toys, but not too many. I think they’re going to play with a lot of other things there. We’re going to spend a lot of time outside, on the beach or visiting places. So I’ll just pack a few stickers and maybe some little activity books. 

If you’re travelling this summer, let me know where you’re going, and how you’re planning to pack for that trip. I love hearing from you!