Turn your back on bulky organisers and over-engineered bags. Here’s a minimalist packing system, with simple pouches, to help pack quickly, keep track easily and lighten your load.
When you’re living out of a small bag, it’s the little things that go walkabout. Cables, battery pack, passport – they’re all easy to forget or misplace, especially when packing and repacking in a rush. As a regular traveller, I’ve learned having a simple system to keep track of things, and one which is easy to stick to, is essential.
I ditched bulky organisers because they added weight, and they didn’t add enough value. Previously, every time my tech setup changed, I found myself buying yet another organiser to work with those specific things. Similarly with toiletry bags and travel bags full of zips, mesh pockets, and “admin panels,”. I found myself choosing things to fit in the slots, or simply misplacing things, if I wasn’t consistent about where I stored them, in amongst the sea of options.
Set of four lightweight travel pouches arranged left to right: toiletries (floral pouch), tech (green), just-in-case items like first aid (beige), and international travel accessories (pink).
Now I’ve switched to four lightweight pouches, each with a very clear function. Packing, repacking and finding things is faster, and it’s easy to switch a pouch from a travel bag to a day bag or a drawer to store at home. They’re also cheaper and lighter: mine cost £3.28 each and weigh just 19g (0.7oz) each. And let’s just consider the visuals too, my bag used to be full of mismatched bundles, usually in black or ‘shouty’ colours and loud brand names. Now I open my bag and enjoy a calm, cohesive look, and honestly it brings me joy. I’m not going back.
So, if you’re overwhelmed by the choice of organisers and bags with their combinations of pockets and sections and wondering if everything really needs to be this complicated, bulky, or expensive, you’re asking the right question. It doesn’t. And if you’re naturally disorganised, easily distracted or just crave calm, order and symmetry, this simple, easy to maintain, system, could be a game changer for you too.
| Transparency note: This guide includes a few affiliate links. If you choose to buy something through one of them, I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you). Everything included here, I personally own and use on my trips — no random fluff. Thank you for supporting One Small Bag and helping keep this resource ad-free and independent. |
4 Pouch Minimalist Packing System
✅Keep it Simple • ➖Less is More • 🎒Baggage Freedom
Pouch 1: Toiletries
The contents of pouch number 1: My minimalist toiletry kit is enough for around a month. It avoids fiddly refill bottles or overpriced airport minis through use of solid products, multi-use items and fewer products generally. I guess for short trips, it could be reduced further with some more decanting. But honestly, I travel often and it’s small and light enough as it is!
Pictured: Comb and Nail File Set. Soap dry bag with sucker, Shampoo bar, Dry Oil for hair, face and body oil, Toothpaste tablets, Mini floss, Folding toothbrush, Deodorant Balm (decanted). Tinted SPF face cream, Mirror, Mascara, Lipstick, Eye pencil, Pouch from Søstrene Grene
I won’t repeat things – see my full minimalist toiletries kit here → Carry-On Toiletries for a Month? Here’s What I Fit in a Tiny Pouch
Pouch 2: Tech
The contents of pouch number 2: My minimalist tech pouch is enough to support my blog, travel admin, and day-to-day connectivity, without taking over the bag. I’ve tested and refined every item to keep the weight low and function high. I do also travel with a small laptop, folding mouse and Kobo E-reader (not shown), so this pouch is to keep the little things together.
Pictured: INIU 10,000mAh 45W with USB-C Cable , Beats Flex wired Bluetooth earbuds, Anker USBc to USBc 100W cable (1.8m), UGreen 65W PD Gan Wall Charger – UK/US/Europe, Basesailor USB-C to USB-A Adapter Pouch from Søstrene Grene
You’ll find a full breakdown of my ultralight travel tech here → Lightweight Tech for Travel: What to Pack and What to Skip
Pouch 3: Just-in-Case
The contents of pouch number 3: A compact “what if?” kit plus a few items I might not use every day. If something needs fixing chances are the answer is in here. The phrase “don’t pack just in case” gets thrown around a lot, but the truth is, you do need to consider “just-in-case” scenarios. You just need to set limits.
Pictured: Venus Razor, Victorinox Swisscard Multitool, Muji Sewing kit, Folding cutlery, Loop earplugs, Chipolo Pop Tracker, Laundry Sheets, first aid items, snack pouch, Pouch from Søstrene Grene
Fix-it & health
- Mini first aid kit: painkillers, antihistamines, cold remedies, tummy trouble treatments, blister pads etc. Enough pills for a day or two, after that I’m off to a local chemist or doctor
- Sewing kit including safety pins
- Swisscard multitool (Swiss precision mini-tools – scissors, tweezers, toothpick, mini pen, ruler and screwdriver set)
Clean & calm
- Laundry detergent sheets (works with washing machines or hand washing)
- Compact razor
- Loop earplugs – way better than foam – reusable with a tiny case
Snacks
- Coffee, tea, and a soup sachets in a ziplock
- Folding fork and spoon – definitely useful
Track & secure
- Chipolo tracker – to track my travel bag. I’ve been using these for a while and found the tracking consistent and pretty accurate. Works with both Android and Apple, Particularly useful for android users looking for an alternative to Airtags.
Pouch 4: International Travel
The contents of pouch number 4: A pouch to keep the things needed for International travel. Most of my trips are in the UK, and for those, this pouch gets left behind. But keeping the necessaries together for travel abroad, makes packing easier. It just saves rushing around last minute, trying to find the right plug end, money, documents and so on and keeps things together while away.
Pictured: Neck Pillow Case – shown stuffed with down jacket, Pouch from Søstrene Grene, cash, documents, card with zero foreign transaction fees, Chipolo Wallet Tracker, Passport
And here’s my full list:
Comfort
- Neck pillow case
ID & admin
- UK passport
- Zip wallet with:
- GHIC card (for EU healthcare access)
- Printed emergency info
- Small amount of cash in multiple currencies
Power & tracking
- EU plug adapter (flat and lightweight – I keep a plug with clip on ends for different countries in my tech pouch)
- Chipolo card — discreetly tracks this pouch which contains a passport
In case you’re wondering about the neck pillow, I removed an inflatable inner, which wasn’t very comfortable from one I bought in Decathlon a few years ago (not sure it’s sold anymore). Now it’s filled with my puffy jacket when needed to make a very comfy down pillow. There’s no way I would make space for a regular neck pillow in my minimalist setup, but this compact DIY solution definitely has its uses.
You may also be wondering why there’s no International plug adapter, While I do have one, I’ve found I haven’t needed it for a long time.
- My regular plug has fold away US prongs (type A) which fits Type A and Type B.
- My regular plug has a UK 3 pin (type G) which fits over the US prongs
- My regular plug has a removable European adapter (type C) which works in type E, F, J, K plug sockets.
- I have a plug end for Aus/NZ (Type I)
So that means I’m missing type D (used in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Namibia), type M (South Africa) and type H (used exclusively in Israel, although Type C is used there too). I’ll buy a type D or M plug end or any other I don’t know about, if and when I need them. I can’t justify carrying a big lump around with me, for a rare eventuality, which I could easily fix with a cheap lightweight plug end bought locally.
You’ll find the details of my regular plug which fits flat to the wall and is light so it doesn’t drag, pull or fall out of sockets in pouch 2 (tech).
Packing less can be transformational. Once you’ve mastered it there’s no going back. If you’d like to see how this fits into the bigger picture, here are more minimalist packing travel guides you might enjoy:
- Minimalist Travel Essentials: My Top 15 Tiny Travel Accessories
- Minimalist Packing: Why I Ditched Bulky Organisers for 4 Simple Pouches
- Carry-On Toiletries for a Month? Here’s What I Fit in a Tiny Pouch
- Lightweight Tech for Travel: What to Pack and What to Skip
- One Travel Capsule Wardrobe for All Seasons in One Tiny Bag
