By now, we’ve all seen (or if you haven’t, go look it up) the viral “Sudoku Packing Method.” It is a minimalist packing strategy that involves 3 tops, 3 bottoms, and 3 layers. 

So, as we were packing for this recent trip, I decided to try it out, and ALSO put my own spin on it (because I literally cannot help myself).

Let’s dive in!

Sudoku Packing Method: The Basics

The premise is that if you pack colors and styles that will all go together, you can create a sort of “capsule wardrobe” where everything will match with everything else, and you’ll be able to make 27 different outfit combos. 

Here’s an example.

1 white shirt, 1 pair of black shorts, and 1 tan sweater layer becomes one row (1 outfit)

1 blue shirt, 1 navy skirt, and 1 white button-down layer becomes another row (1 outfit)

1 green shirt, 1 set of jeans, and 1 cardigan becomes one row (1 more outfit)

And then, you mix and match from there. So you could put the white shirt with the jeans and the tan sweater for a whole brand-new outfit.

So what’s the problem? This sounds amazing.

We were packing for 15 days in Europe (during the summer, mind you). Please, pray tell, can you last with 3 shirts total for 15 days? I don’t know about you but for me, after walking 20,000 steps in a day, that shirt needs to go in the wash. 

So I saw another spin on this strategy- pack double the shirts. 

If you were going to pack 1 white shirt, pack 1 white short sleeve and 1 white tank top. This gives you double the shirts (6 total shirts), which IMO is much better than the original.

BUT… because I’m me, and I LOVE a good challenge, let’s add the ultimate plot twist.

What if you prefer to wear dresses over pants/shorts because, you know, mom bod?

Here is where my spin comes in.

I’ve found a few different travel dresses, at different lengths, and I use THOSE as my bottoms. Then I layer the shirts and sweaters on top if it gets cold or I need to be a bit more modest to enter a church or place of worship.

Here’s my base layers:







1 shorter tennis dress, black (yes, this is activewear. Yes I’m aware they frown upon this in Paris. No I don’t care.)

1 midi tank dress, black

1 maxi spaghetti strap dress, navy

From there, I added in short sleeve shirts (all in blues/greens, these were my typical “shirts”) and also long-sleeve linen button downs (for the “layers”).

And lastly, I threw in one more dress for good measure (and fyi, I am GLAD that I did).

This dress came in REAL handy when I spilled my glass of lunchtime red wine on myself not once, but twice, in the same meal. 

<– Photo tax of the extra dress brought at the last minute

Moral of this story- can the Sudoku Packing Method work for you?

Yes, I think that it can. I already packed this way to begin with (blacks/navy “bottoms” or dresses in my case, and then shirts/sweaters to go on top), but it was a fun visualization method to see the outfits laid out while packing. 

Here’s the thing though. If you’re traveling as a mom, or a parent, or even traveling with any kids whatsoever… I think you should throw in a couple more items. Just be ready for the inevitable accident, whether it’s self-inflicted (as it was in my case), or child-induced.

I ended up using every single item that I brought, including the sweater that I accidentally left on the train from Bruges – Ghent (whoever now owns this Gap cardigan, you are WELCOME it’s my favorite item in my closet).

So! Enjoy your packing. You don’t need to overpack, you can find laundry where you’re going, or also worst case GASP you could go shopping in your destination and find a fun new item if you are woefully underprepared.