How to pack for five weeks in Europe into one suitcase...

Pack for a week: You don’t need more than a weeks worth of clothes because you’re going to do laundry on your journey. Also there’s no way anyone can carry around 5 weeks worth of clothes on a trip through Europe. Not unless you have a private butler to carry it for you. The trick is to pack outfits that are interchangeable and layered. For example I brought neutral colored tank tops, that went with all of my button up sweaters, and also brought a couple long sleeve button up shirts. On the cold days when we were in places like London or Edinburgh I would wear a tank top with a long sleeve button up shirt and a sweater over that, along with my jacket (which was always a carry on). On warm days just a tank top and cardigan/sweater. Here's my Packing List.

Underwear: A week worth of underwear will not be enough, obviously, for 5 weeks of travel, but that’s all you need because you can easily wash underwear in the sink. Lace and micro fiber underwear dries faster than cotton so make sure you leave the cotton undies at home. And believe me when you're only staying one night somewhere and you need underwear to be dry by the morning (hanging in the bathroom of your room) you need fast drying underwear. Also, I only packed one bra and wore one, that's all you really need.

Scarves/Accessories: Your week of clothes can get pretty boring after a couple of mix and matches. Also having a neutral pallet with your clothes allows you to mix and match easier, but not as fun to wear. The best way to add some variety, without taking a lot of room in your suitcase, is accessories. Bring a couple scarves, necklaces (nothing valuable!!), earings, etc. You can change your whole outfit just by adding some accessories. Also these might be things you want to purchase on your trip as great souveniers so you may not need to pack any, just leave room to bring new ones home!

Febreeze to go: This little bottle of Febreeze was a lifesaver. For example, both of us brought one coat each (mine was a military style jacket that is in-between a heavy winter coat and a light raincoat) which we needed quite often, especially in Ireland, Scotland and England. We were not able to wash these in the sink and after a couple weeks of almost constant wear they were starting to smell not so fresh, thank goodness for the Febreeze. We also used it on other clothing, especially when clean clothes and dirty clothes were in tight quarters together, such as a suitcase during our travel days.

Laundry: If you bring only enough closes for about a week then you will need to do laundry along the way. Especially underwear. Make sure your packing list include a small bottle of laundry detergent, a close line (I got mine from the dollar store, and attached two hair ties to the end for easy way to hang in the bathroom), and a drain stopper (I think I got this at the dollar store too). Most hotels do not have drain stoppers (to avoid flooding in the sink, I guess) so make sure you bring one of these.

Hanging our clothes to

dry in the bathroom after being

washed in the sink.