I always assume someone will help with the carryon bag if needed - has anyone ever had no one offer to help? Maybe it’s the New Yorker in me - we may be rude but we’d never not help someone up the stairs with a heavy suitcase or a stroller! I never waited more than a few seconds when D22 was s baby before someone grabbed the other end of the stroller coming out of the subway and lest you think it’s changed in the 20 years since I lived away when D22 came home from her semester abroad and we were going air train to LIRR to subway from JFK someone offered to help at pretty much every staircase and escalator (and lest you think that doesn’t sound like what you’ve heard about NY I also had someone audibly annoyed at me when I had to put in my passcode to pay the subway fare from my phone - yes it took two seconds instead of one which was apparently a crime worthy of audible disgust - the best and worst of NY in one trip!). In any case I’ve always assumed someone would help me if needed (and if they don’t offer I’m not above asking!). I also help - or get someone in my party to - when needed. D22 no longer needs prompting, she just offers.
However, the person asking for help and their bag may be surrounded by people unable to help in a crowded airplane aisle.
Easiest & most efficient way to pack for a trip is to pack a high limit, low balance credit card.
“Half the clothes and twice the money,” is my long-standing mantra.
Then I’d put it on the seat and wait. But usually all I need is an extra hand if it’s heavy and I can allllmoooost get it up there myself
Not to get the thread off track, but I can totally lift the suitcase up myself and get it down. It’s a dumb “BUT WHAT IF” ! Also for work trips I can’t pay for any perks so I’m def not the first to board and space does get used up - sometimes because others put more than one thing up there. Sometimes I’ll do the gate check thing but honestly unless it’s on the way home and the last stop I don’t love doing that - but sometimes not a choice!
Although I have my obsessive packing routine I do remind myself, and my H who is an overpacker, all you really need are things that can’t be easily replaced. For us (we don’t do wilderness travel) that’s ID documents, prescription medications, prescription glasses / contact lenses (my own eye doctor never has trial contacts in my prescription), phone and (for me) pants because it’s a rare pair of pants that fits me comfortably and (for him) CPAP machine.
My nonnegotiable items which is different than a packing list or stuff that’s good to have.
My glasses, my mouth guard and my CPAP machine. Everything else is gravy. I know I’m making myself look very attractive!
I am one who doesn’t want to ask for help. I only bring an under the seat bag on planes and check one bag.
I also pack very light, usually my checked bag is under 35 pounds.
Reading all the replies makes me realize I’m not as organized a packer as I thought I was. I always check a bag unless it’s a weekend trip. I use a wheeled Osprey duffle like bag. Many of our trips are sailing trips and regular suitcases don’t work well on sailboats.
Traveling by car I bring a lot including my pillow.
I do layout my clothes ahead of time. I use a long shelf in my closet or the floor. My extra bedrooms are on the other side of my house so it doesn’t make sense to cart clothes through the rest of the house. I try to have coordinated clothes but I could do better and likely bring less. My husband always ends up bringing clean shirts home. He lays his stuff out and I go through and pull things out that I don’t like.
I have a partial toiletries bag filled but my day to day face washes and creams I use daily. The best is if I can get a bunch of small samples from my esthetician.
I can be such an over-packer. For our trip last fall I did pretty well, considering it was 7 weeks, but it was from September to November and I had to be somewhat prepared for changing weather/seasons.
Honestly, the worst is paring down cosmetics and toiletries. I have a horrible time trying to decide on the minimum and I end up with stuff I use very little of. At least I have samples and minis and only a couple full-size things. I’m one of those who can’t use whatever is in the lodging on my hair. Curls are trouble even with my usual products.
I also end up buying things - last year it was a handbag, sunscreen, other toiletries, a couple of sweaters, some bottles of wine and Chartreuse…and my otherwise appropriate packing turns into an evening of vacuum bags and crossed fingers.
The week before a trip, we spread everything out onto the bed in the guest room and then see what works together and what doesn’t. If we start early, it usually comes out better.
We’re going out in our 5th wheel next week for 2 weeks. I have to be careful not to take too much, but also not take too little. We won’t have laundry, which makes it very difficult to pack lightly.
Wouldn’t a 5th wheel RV trailer have more than enough room for the stuff you need for a 2 week trip?
One that I have yet to master but I am working on it! I think I posted in the over-packer’s thread that my family takes bets each time we fly of how close my checked bag will be to the 50lb limit (I only went over once!) I am doing well with cutting down the number of shoes I take but still struggling with toiletries and hairbrushes and tools. I will likely always be a bag checker (my CC allows for free checked bags). I carried on during a trip to Europe and found it stressful trying to wrangle for bin space, especially once I was in Europe.
I have yet to find the perfect toiletry bag (for me). In lieu of having one massive one, I’ve switched to several small ones but still want to get that number down a bit. I just bought 2 of these and am thinking they will be pretty functional:
https://portlandgear.com/products/cascade-dopp-kit?variant=44645675761851
I also have a few of these but struggle to fit everything I need into them:
https://www.dagnedover.com/collections/the-hunter-toiletry-bag#Dune-Large
I also admit to being a tote bag addict. I have many and still searching for the perfect one to take as my personal item, that doesn’t kill my shoulder and still fits under the seat. I’m traveling at the end of this month and have yet another new tote bag to test out 
I typically use packing cubes but have recently found it difficult to Tetris them into my suitcase so I now use a hybrid method of some packing cubes and some rolling and stuffing things in. My problem is that I like options. It’s hard for me to commit to specific outfits. I am working on it. My favorite scenario is when we drive somewhere so I can take as much as I want 
I have small containers for all of my shampoos, lotions, etc. I used to have some kind of hanging toiletries bag, but I gave up using that a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve ever purchased other toiletries bags. I had MANY (like 50) bags cosmetics bags from Clinique that I saved for years. I finally donated most of them. I also reuse the Clinique “gift” item small containers for other lotions, etc.
My primary suitcase is a large (Eagle Creek) rolling duffel, that’s basically just a big hole (with some mesh storage places).
I have more toiletry bags than I care to admit - I had a hanging one for a long time but I didn’t like the way it was organized and it was too big. Then I was gifted a beautiful embroidered bag from Belgium that was gorgeous but just one big open compartment which I also don’t like.
I’m currently using a bag from the same manufacturer as my backpack, Bagsmart, (recommended by a poster here on CC) that I LOVE! Because it’s the same manufacturer, it fits perfectly inside the backpack, right above the shoe storage compartment. What I like about it is there are three different compartments so it’s really easy to keep things organized. The main compartment is large enough to use my mini see-through packing cubes. Best yet, it was really inexpensive.
I love this bagsmart toiletry bag which I settled on after some trial and error - it somehow manages to fit in a bunch of stuff without getting bulky.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SL2RKJK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Can you share a link?
This is the one I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DDPMHQWZ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
Good stocking stuffer!
My toiletries bags are always various sized Ziplocs. Not the best for the environment, but it works for me. Keep make-up in one, face-washing and lotions and potions in another, dental stuff in another, and shower stuff (razor, deodorant, etc) in another. I throw medications into the Ziploc that is the least full.