Everything for Europe and at least 3 conferences has to fit inside two backpacks, one big and one small daypack! Help me out with some advice!
I was inspired by the Own 100 Things idea and various “packing light” sites including onebag.com.
I’ll be in three cities: London, Brussels, and Budapest. And, am moving around a couple of times within London. And I will be working full time, and keep in mind I’m mostly going to be getting around in a wheelchair and with taxis, so the less junk I have to carry, the better!
Here’s my packing list:
To wear on plane: jeans, tank top, guayabera, long sleeve flannel shirt
Clothes – in big backpack
==========================
- 1 pair of jeans
- 1 pair black pants
- pajama pants
- 4 tank tops
- 3 tshirts
- 1 other guayabera to wear over tank tops
- 1 nice suit jacket
- 1 fancy sleeveless shirt for suit
- 7 pairs of underwear
- 5 pairs of socks
- bathing suit (really, wind shorts; wear with tank top for bathing suit effect)
- cute skinny tie, bandana
- belt
Gadgets (mostly in small backpack)
==================================
- phone + charger
- camera + charger + mini-usb cord
- flip video
- eeepc laptop + cord
- folding cane with velcro strap
- Moleskine notebook
- pens
- at least 2 books
- crossword puzzle book
- small headphones
Bathroom stuff (attempting to be super minimal)
- prescrips
- hair wax junk, face scrub, antiperspirant
- nose irrigating squeeze thing
- eyedrops, lotion, qtips, earplugs, tampons
- kleenex (need lots on plane)
It looks like this, unpacked:
and here it is all bundled up in those “cube” compartment things, which I bought at the camping store in hopes it would turn me into one of those neat, organized people:
Here are my dilemmas. Help me out!
- skirt? (medium, black, utilitarian, house-dress-ish)
- miniskirt? (long-ish but above knee, black, pleated, cute)
- fancy black pants for suit? almost too tight, but still good
- big comfy tshirt for sleeping in?
- MacBook (ie big heavy computer, i would work faster from it)
- Fluevog boots, so cute, vanity, rather heavy
- hot pink psychedelic spats
- I will miss my big folding crutches
- I consider cutting one of my foam pillows in half and squashing it up
— because I am so fussy about pillows and my neck hurts at night
I don’t wear skirts much, especially since they are hard to manage in a wheelchair or on crutches. I could go without the big heavy boots. If I wanted a skirt, or even crutches, I could buy them in London.
Note that guayaberas really are the perfect thing. They are good over a tank top so you don’t have to wear a bra or sweaty tshirt but are still somewhat modest about your armpit hair and bralessness. They have lots of pockets! And they look cute!
But about those big heavy stompy cute swirly comfy Fluevog boots… Here’s where I need your advice.
What should I leave out? What have I forgotten?
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My dear friend Erin wrote this recently (though after I left for my trip!) and it's got lots of good advice that isn't only the same stuff from one-bag and the others: <a href="http://www.dressaday.com/2008/06/howto-packing.htmlhttp://www.dressaday.com/2008/06/howto-packing.ht… />(Also, you'll really like Erin when you eventually meet her, D. did!)The stuff about knowing your strength and knowing your style are both great and not something that shows up in boy-oriented packing blog stuff. I can't tell you whether you should bring the spats and boots, but you should *definitely* bring something that lets you feel super cute and put-together and totally yourself. Elbow crutches seem v. easy to come by here, but I haven't seen a single pair that *fold*. Everyone is fascinated by my folding cane. (Again, they are all a bit weak on the idea of variable ability.) Hope some bit of that helps! If I had to repack for this trip, I'd leave out my extra pair of shoes and my 3/4 sleeve cotton sweater, but nothing else that I brought. Also: Western Europe will sell you anything you discover a desperate need for! Have a fabulous time!
i say pack the spats.
I am not a good packer. I found your blog through a comment you left on someone else's blog. I don't do well wearing clothes more than one time so I tend to overpack.I did travel overseas for two weeks and packed several skirts. I bought them all at Blairs online. They are comfortable, below or at the knee, very lightweight, easy to wash and take up no room.I can offer a few other tips like packing socks and bras inside shoes. Saves some space. Also use every compartment available.I took very small travel size shampoos and such figuring I'd buy those heavy items once I was there.Hope that helps a little bit.
Zipper bags for all cords and batteries. Even tho you have those neat bags, it's good to have some zipper bags especially for those items. Have fun!!!!
I agree with all those tips from Erin. Shoes take up space and are heavy. Unless you'll wear them everyday, leave the Fluevogs behind and bring the spats instead. Definitely pack a skirt. Too bad your Europe trip doesn't include Moscow
Have a great time!
Just returned from a vacation…I wished I'd packed a better multi-purpose jacket. I ended up buying an expensive fleece instead. I can fit more in the suitcase by rolling instead of folding, and things rarely wrinkle, either.
Would you like to exchange links with us over at MomDot? trisha http://www.momdot.com
It turned out that I packed too many tshirts. I could have done with just one to sleep in. I needed the pajama pants, the skirt was nice but very optional, the fancy suit pants were unnecessary, and the tank tops under (unbuttoned) guayaberas were perfect. I did not pack a power strip, and very often needed one of my own!
And I never regretted NOT packing the boots.