Someone please tell me I’m not the only one whose FYP has suddenly been overtaken by a carry-on suitcase. It’s everywhere. I clicked on ONE link and now I cannot escape it. 😭
©Carry-On Closet
To be fair, I clicked the link because the suitcase looks pretty cool. It has this built-in storage thing that means you can unpack in SECONDS. As someone who hates packing and unpacking, I was intrigued. But then I saw the price tag and I was suddenly less intrigued and more scared. But when I looked at the suitcase more carefully, I thought “hey, I think I could make something similar.” So I went to Amazon and — sure enough — you can create essentially the same thing for less than a QUARTER of the price.
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I’ve got to start this post off with a disclaimer: I have a problem, and it’s called “I see something and think I could definitely make it when in fact I have no skills to back that up.” There’s that beautiful but expensive antique furniture piece I saw one time and thought “Yep, I could totally just make that.” Do I have any furniture-building or woodworking skills? Nope. But how hard can it be? (Don’t fall into my trap — I’m 100% positive that high-quality furniture building is in fact very difficult. Especially when I have a tough enough time with Ikea bookshelves.)
All that to say that, when I saw the fancy Carry-On Closet Suitcase that keeps popping up on my TikTok and Instagram feeds, it wasn’t really a new thing that I had the audacity to believe I could DIY the same thing for way cheaper. But what makes me think this time is DIFFERENT is that it really doesn’t take a ton of specialist skills for the knock-off version that I’ve created in my head — you just need a couple of different parts!
Suitcases
Now, the Carry-On Closet Suitcase actually is really cool. It’s got a built-in shelving system (patented, of course) that you can pack up and then literally just pull out and hang on the handle and voila — you have a travel closet. The version we’re making today is SIMILAR but definitely not quite the same. But for less than a quarter of the price, it’s pretty dang close.
All of the items you need for this DIY come from Amazon! Most are eligible for Amazon Prime, which means Prime members get faster, free shipping. Don’t have Prime? Just click the link below to start a free trial.
First, you’ll need a carry-on suitcase. If you have one of these already, just use that. And now this hack is even CHEAPER for you! Way to go! If you need a new one, this carry-on on Amazon is the top pick and has 4.3 stars with over 30,000 reviews.
©Amazon
This suitcase is simple and straightforward, wich is perfect for what we need. It does have a divider between the two sections of the suitcase, and there are straps to secure your belongings as well.
©Amazon
It gets lots of good reviews that claim the bag is lightweight, fits in an airplane overhead bin, and is pretty durable.
Next, you’ll need to create the closet inside your carry-on! We found these portable hanging shelves on Amazon that look like they’d be perfect.
©Amazon
You can hang up these shelves and pack them with everything you’ll need, then compress them down and pop them right into your carry-on! Once you arrive at your destination, just pull them out and hang them up in your hotel.
©Amazon
The shelves have three different compartments, including a zipper compartment.
Shop the portable hanging shelves here!
And there you have it! Your very own $65 carry-on closet. If you want an even CHEAPER option, you can go for packing cubes instead of the hanging shelves.
©Amazon
These packing cubes can keep your bag organized and neat, but they’re not quite as convenient as the hanging shelves that you literally just have to remove and hang up. However, at just $17 for eight packing cubes, it’s hard to pass them up!
Shop the packing cube set here!
So what do you think? My hacked version is definitely not quite as fancy as that $300 suitcase, but it does a similar job, and $65 is much closer to my budget!
Stay tuned to DFB for more travel hacks and tips!
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