How to Pack for a Cold Weather Destination in Just a Carry On

Ever stared at your bulky winter coat and thought "there's no way I'm going to be able to pack light for this getaway"? In this episode of Untethered and Wanderwise, we're cracking the code of cold weather packing. From layers that will save your suitcase space to the surprising hacks that flight attendants swear by, you'll learn how to ditch the checked bag without freezing. Because let's face it, the only thing worse than overpacking is standing at baggage claim while fresh powder calls your name.

Transcript

# Winter Packing Tips for Travel - Untethered and Wanderwise Podcast

[Show Introduction]

Welcome to Untethered and Wanderwise, where adventure has no age limit. We're your co-hosts Heide Brandes and Nicky Omohundro, and we're here to inspire and celebrate women over 45 who are embracing their independence and want to explore the world on their own terms.

[Episode Introduction]

Ever stared at your bulky winter coat and thought "there's no way I'm going to be able to pack light for this getaway"? In this episode of Untethered and Wanderwise, we're cracking the code of cold weather packing. From layers that will save your suitcase space to the surprising hacks that flight attendants swear by, you'll learn how to ditch the checked bag without freezing. Because let's face it, the only thing worse than overpacking is standing at baggage claim while fresh powder calls your name.

**Heide**: Hello, wonderful wanderers. I'm Heide Brandes.

**Nicky**: And I'm Nicky Omohundro. Pour yourself a glass of wine, settle into your favorite chair, and let's talk about something that's been giving listeners, and us, anxiety: holiday packing.

**Heide**: Oh my goodness, the number of questions we get on a regular basis about this topic. Everyone asks the same thing: "How do I pack for winter without checking a bag?"

**Nicky**: Especially when airlines are charging ridiculous fees now. Did you see that some are charging as much as $60 for a checked bag?

**Heide**: I mean, that's highway robbery, but you know what? Maybe they're doing us a favor. I travel so much better now that I've embraced the carry-on life.

**Nicky**: Although, Heide, maybe we should tell them about your learning experience first.

**Heide**: Oh God, are we really going there?

**Nicky**: Yes.

**Heide**: Well, ladies, picture this: heading to British Columbia for a ski weekend in February. I checked my bag because, you know, winter gear—big coats, ski pants, all that kind of stuff. Well, my flight was delayed in Dallas, and let me tell you, trying to stay warm in borrowed pants that were two sizes too big for me? Yeah, that was the highlight of my year. And that wasn't the worst part. Lost luggage. Sure, you're going to get that back eventually, but it was realizing that half of what I packed was completely unnecessary. I mean, I didn't need four sweaters for a three-day trip.

**Nicky**: Yeah, I know exactly how you feel. I lost my luggage going to Quebec earlier this year. My luggage was delayed by a day and a half and had to do the same thing. So that brings us to our first big tip: the winter capsule wardrobe. Can we talk about this for a minute?

**Heide**: Please. Because I think this is where most of us, including me, go wrong. We pack for imaginary scenarios instead of real ones.

**Nicky**: Exactly. Let me break down what's worked for me on my recent cold weather trips. Everything, and I mean everything, has to coordinate with at least three other pieces.

**Heide**: Okay, so give us that list. Our listeners and I love specifics. What does that mean, Nicky?

**Nicky**: Okay, so here's my foolproof winter travel wardrobe:

- Three pairs of pants: black jeans, dark jeans, and warm leggings

- Four sweaters: two crewnecks, a turtleneck, and a cardigan

- At least one long-sleeve tee for layering

- A black dress that doesn't wrinkle

- A packable down vest

- Seven pairs of underwear and socks

- Two pairs of shoes: ankle boots and walking shoes

- A medium-weight coat

- Two scarves and a beanie

Everything sticks to a color palette of black, gray, cream, and navy, maybe with a few pops of red with scarves and jewelry.

**Heide**: I went wrong for years. I'd pack random pieces I loved without thinking about how they work together. My biggest hangup was always wanting to wear something different in my pictures when I traveled because I didn't want to look like I was wearing the same thing. But then I realized that when I traveled to a new place, no one has seen those clothes, so it doesn't really matter and no one ever noticed.

**Nicky**: Oh, is that a different shirt you're wearing or is that a different sweater? No one noticed because they were too busy looking at what was in the background.

**Heide**: Yeah, and if you're with a friend, also, they're in the same boat you are. They're not going to shame you because you wore that sweater day before yesterday and now you're wearing it again.

**Nicky**: Exactly. And if you are traveling with someone who wears the same size, you technically have two wardrobes.

**Heide**: Yeah, we did that recently in Eureka Springs where we kind of traded off sundresses with each other.

**Nicky**: Yeah, and I found a whole new style of dress, and I'm like, I didn't know I could wear this, and I went shopping shortly thereafter. But let's address the elephant in the room, especially during the holidays: holiday events. Because that's what trips people up most of the time, right?

**Heide**: Oh my gosh, yes. Because everyone thinks they need separate fancy outfits for every event.

**Nicky**: No, because here's the secret: accessories change everything. I have a black dress that I've worn to three different events and no one noticed.

**Heide**: Let me guess, because you paired them with different scarves, different jewelry, different shoes.

**Nicky**: Exactly! And sometimes I can add a different sweater to it. So one night it can be casual with boots and a colorful scarf or sweater. The next day it can be dressy with strappy heels and statement earrings, maybe a sparkly wrap.

**Heide**: So let's talk about the real challenge: bulky winter gear. Because, let's face it, a big jacket can take up an entire carry-on.

**Nicky**: Yeah. This is where wearing your heaviest items on a plane comes in really handy. I know it's not always the most glamorous.

**Heide**: Okay, you gotta give us an example, Nicky.

**Nicky**: Okay, I'll use my Quebec trip. We were going for Winter Carnival, which actually we had a guest host on the other day and we were talking specifically about Winter Carnival where my luggage got lost. I wore my ski boots, wool socks, a pair of thermal leggings, my sweater, and my long down coat. It was massive, but I was really glad because guess what? My luggage was lost and that winter coat came in really handy. But waiting through security with all of that was interesting. I was sweating bullets, but my carry-on closed.

[Packing Tips Discussion Continues]

**Heide**: And you know, that's one of the first tips I learned when I started traveling: wear your heaviest items on the plane. So if I'm bringing boots, wear those boots on the plane. Speaking of boots, let's talk shoes strategy because I used to be a serious over-packer in the shoe department.

**Nicky**: You know, I used to bring two or three pairs of boots or two or three pairs of tennis shoes, but there's a better way. Seriously though, I've now got it down to a science. For winter trips, one pair of waterproof boots and one pair of comfortable walking shoes that can dress up is kind of my go-to.

**Heide**: And here's a tip that I find really handy: pick boots that slide off easily for security if you don't have PreCheck or Global Entry. Nothing is worse than being the person holding up the line while you're unlacing complex boots.

[Packing Methods Discussion]

**Heide**: So all that considered, I mean, we can talk about packing cubes, which hopefully everybody knows about right now. For packing tips, I'm a big believer in packing cubes that compress down. You can get a lot of sweaters, a lot of layers into those packing cubes and be able to smush them down into your carry-on. How about you Nicky, are you a roller or a folder when it comes to packing?

**Nicky**: It depends on the trip. I am very much a huge fan of packing cubes and actually I have a dedicated compression packing cube for my down coats. Rather than having this big bulky blob of a jacket, I'll pack it down into a packing cube and it's essentially the size of a small box. I can use it as a pillow or throw it in my backpack. That works really well for me. But I did recently start doing the hack that I saw on Instagram where they're packing vertically in their carry-on instead of laying the carry-on flat. They're sitting it up on its wheels and they're packing things one on top of each other. It automatically compresses and you can find extra room to kind of pigeonhole things into it.

**Heide**: Okay, see I haven't tried that and I'm really curious and I've got this trip coming up next week. So, that'd be a perfect time to try it, I think. For me, one of my favorite space-saving tips is to stuff your boots with your socks and underwear. You don't need a separate bag for socks and underwear when you could tuck them into the boots and things like that.

**Nicky**: Just make sure your boots are clean. You don't want to wear underwear that smells like your dirty boots.

[Laundry and Travel Products Discussion]

**Heide**: Now I've also started to take laundry soap with me. I have dry laundry sheets—they literally look like a dryer sheet, but they're laundry soap and they will disintegrate and leave soap when you use them in the sink. So lighter weight things can be washed while I'm at a destination if they get dirty or if they get a little stinky, and that way I can rewear them and not have to take as much with me.

**Nicky**: Yeah, I'm not a big fan of cleaning things in hotel sinks. I've done that with my undergarments and my socks before. Most hotels will have laundry services, and I know cruise ships do. So keep in mind that you can wash the clothes that you bring in a lot of instances. Let's talk about the whole travel size 3-1-1 liquid rule because one of my favorite hacks is I've discovered solid shampoo bars. You're saving space in your clear bag that you have to keep all your liquids in because this shampoo bar is solid.

**Heide**: And the same thing with toothpaste. Now, instead of a tube, you actually have little pellets. You just pop them in your mouth. It's really cool.

[Rapid Fire Must-Pack Items]

**Nicky**: So let's do a rapid fire round of our absolutely must-pack items for winter travel. Ready?

**Heide**: Okay, number one: packable down jacket.

**Nicky**: Merino wool base layer.

**Heide**: Oh, you do love the wool, don't you?

**Nicky**: I do. Wearing it now actually.

**Heide**: Number three: universal power adapter.

**Nicky**: A foldable tote for shopping.

**Heide**: Portable chargers. I swear by portable chargers.

**Nicky**: I swear by hand warmers, especially in cold weather destinations. And instead of using the chemical ones, I like a rechargeable or an actual battery-powered hand warmer.

**Heide**: Scarves and hats like little beanies because you can use them to dress up your outfits and you can use them to keep warm.

**Nicky**: Great tip. Moisturizing face mask and a lip balm because winter air is brutal.

**Both**: And the number one item we never travel without anymore on three, one, two, three: Cozy socks!

[Closing Discussion]

**Heide**: We should probably talk about laundry strategies a little bit more for longer trips.

**Nicky**: Oh yeah, most Airbnbs and hotels have washers and dryers. So you can do like I do: quick sink wash of essentials like your underwear, your socks, maybe your base layers.

**Heide**: Yeah, our listeners need to know it's all about the learning process and figuring out what works well for them.

**Nicky**: Yeah. And, you know, there are going to be times where you have to check a bag. If you're bringing a lot of gear, if it's like a ski adventure trip or a backpacking trip, and you need to bring tent and sleeping bags. Recently, when I went to Botswana, they suggested we bring sleeping bags. Well, you're not going to get a sleeping bag in a carry-on. So there are going to be times where you have to check a bag, but if you don't have to, why go through the added expense and hassle of that?

**Heide**: Exactly. And especially during the holidays, a lot of people will pack their suitcase with holiday gifts. And one of the things that I learned is it's actually cheaper to mail the gifts ahead of you than take them in your suitcase.

**Nicky**: Yeah. But if you're going somewhere and you get a bunch of gifts, you're going to want to bring them back too.

**Heide**: True, but you can also just do the same thing and just ship them.

**Nicky**: That's true. I do love the tip you said about a foldable tote. I bring a kind of foldable backpack when I travel because I don't want to haul a big backpack when I'm just walking around town shopping, but also it can be your second personal item. If you've bought souvenirs or little packable gifts that you can bring home with you, an extra bag that folds up and tucks neatly into your carry-on is always a helpful idea.

**Heide**: Exactly. And too, a lot of communities now are doing away with single-use plastic, and they will actually charge you for a paper bag, so having your own bag will help you avoid that expense.

[Show Closing]

**Nicky**: All right. So ladies, we hope that helped. Again, whether you're rolling or folding or using compression cubes, a capsule wardrobe, like we suggested, is a tried and true method of looking cute but still having enough to stay warm and stay comfortable and stay adventurous on your next winter adventure.

**Heide**: Definitely. And don't forget, join our Facebook group at Untethered and WanderWise, where we share daily travel tips and help each other plan adventures.

**Nicky**: And be sure to follow us on Instagram at untetheredwanderwise (there's no "and" in the Instagram handle). If you'd like to share your winter packing tips, tag us with #untetheredwinterpacking.

**Heide**: And remember, every Tuesday and Thursday, we're tackling another hot topic related to female travel over 45. Trust me, you won't want to miss what we've got in store for you this holiday season.

**Nicky**: And until then, remember what we always say...

**Both**: Adventure has no age limit!

[Outro]

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