Jenna Carr, who goes by the name ‘The Travel Mum’ on TikTok, has revealed how she fits clothes for a week in a single carry-on
A world-traveling mom has found a way to fit a week’s worth of clothes into a single carry-on backpack — and she’s convinced her way of packing will help travelers save “hundreds” on “excessive” airline baggage fees.
Jenna Carr, who bears the name ‘The Travel Mother’ on TikTok, shared a video online showing her packing everything from vacation outfits to cosmetics and footwear into a small blue backpack ahead of a recent family outing, saving her from having to pay for extra luggage.
“Low-cost airlines allow you to bring a free “personal item” on board,” the 33-year-old explains, adding, “Each passenger, including children, gets their own backpack.”
The mother of one, from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, says: ‘Over time, the hundreds of pounds you save on luggage really add up. Making a few changes to how we travel as a family has allowed us to travel so much more.”
The film material — which has been viewed more than 31,000 times — shows Jenna gesturing to a small backpack and remarking, “We’re going to use a vacuum bag to get double the amount of clothes in there.”
Jenna uses vacuum bags to carry her clothes in a backpack so she doesn’t have to pay “excessive” luggage fees. “Low-cost airlines allow you to take a ‘personal item’ on board for free,” she says
Former NHS doctor Jenna sucks the air out of the bag to halve the space her clothes take up. She also sucks air out of the plastic sealed bag once it is placed in the backpack so that it molds to the shape of the backpack
Jenna reveals that she sucks air out of the sealed plastic bag once it is placed in the backpack so that it molds to the shape of the backpack.
In the clip, Jenna – who worked as an NHS doctor before leaving her medical career behind to become a full-time content creator – notes that thanks to the vacuum-packing trick, she still has “a lot more room” to fit extra items in her backpack.
She then explains how she wears her “bigger” shoes on the plane and wraps her smaller shoes — like sandals — in cling film to keep everything else in her bag clean.
After vacuum-packing her clothes, Jenna points out that she “still has a lot more room” to fit more stuff in her backpack. The TikToker puts underwear in a zippered freezer bag (right) that can be reduced in size using a vacuum
Jenna wears her “bigger” shoes on the plane and wraps her smaller shoes — like sandals — in cling film to keep everything else in her bag clean
“Food bags (left) are great for keeping things organized,” says Jenna. A child’s mother uses refillable travel perfume bottles (right) to take her perfume on a trip
Jenna, who has 367,000 TikTok followers and counting, then reveals that she puts underwear in a zippered freezer bag that can also be reduced in size using a vacuum. She reveals that she uses the freezer bags as a “place to put used underwear” during the trip.
When one user wondered if her clothes wrinkle a lot after being vacuum packed, she replied, “It depends on the material, most things survive pretty well.”
Her next tip? “Food bags are great for keeping things organized,” says Jenna. She explains that she likes to put her jewelry and her non-liquid makeup—which doesn’t need to be taken out of her purse at security—in plastic food bags to keep them separate.
Every passenger, including children, can take a backpack on the flight for free, explains Jenna
Jenna packs her laptop and liquids into WHSmith carrier bags as they do not count as carry-on luggage
She then shows how she uses refillable travel perfume bottles to take her perfume on a trip.
She says, “I only take liquids that are too expensive to buy when I get there.”
Her latest trick? She packs her laptop and liquids into WHSmith carrier bags and explains, “When I board the plane, it feels like I’m shopping.”
Plastic carrier bags from shops at the airport do not count as hand luggage, Jenna explains.
The response from her followers was positive, with ‘user0957747756’ writing, ‘WHSmith bag is such a good tip!’
And user ‘should betta know’ stated that the hacks are “amazing.”