One of my super obsessions is organising.
Bookshelves, any shelves, pantries, paperwork, my life - and packing for travel.
It has been a constant goal of mine to see how far (literally) I can get with the least amount of 'stuff'.
Back story:
I love stuff. I fill my house with it. I have been trying really hard to cull, to not need to clutter, to leave my nesting attributes behind. But I just love knick knacks, and quirks, and pretty little trinkety treasures. When we moved we moved into a tiny cottage, so things have had to go. It's fine. It's a challenge. I love a challenge.
I also LOVE to travel. And I REALLY love to pack!
I don't leave for the USA for another 9 weeks. And during planning times the other day, I realised that the tricky American flight carriers make it almost impossible for you to pre-book checked baggage for internal flights. Which resulted in me failing to book checked luggage for all four of my flights zig-zagging across the USA. (If this can happen to ME - planning is MY LIFE - it can happen to anyone! Beware! They really wanted to snake that extra cash out of me when I was sleep-deprived & unaware & filing through airport lines.)
Instead of paying the $125 it was going to cost me to add bags to all my flights, I decided I would really challenge myself by trying to back only carry-on luggage for the entire duration of my holiday. I know heaps of people who are tetris-backpack-masters, and I'm pretty good at it myself. Why not try?
It cost me $100 to buy a brand-new 35LT Black Wolf day pack. I recently experienced an unexpected windfall so I treated myself to $100 spending money on a pretty new pack. It was still cheaper than booking baggage! (Even though I bought myself a new 55LT Caribee pack (which I LOVE) just last September - naughty, naughty!) This little guy will be better for my back, better for avoiding baggage-claim lines, better for lugging around strange cities on strange trains. I took the United Airlines carry-on baggage size requirements with me to the camping store, with a tape measure in my pocket. The nice man in-store helped me contort and document all angles of my new pack before I committed. It needed to fit in the luggage racks else it wouldn't be worth it one bit! I have also printed out a copy of their carry-on luggage requirements, highlighted, to keep with my travel documents. Just. In. Case!
Bookshelves, any shelves, pantries, paperwork, my life - and packing for travel.
It has been a constant goal of mine to see how far (literally) I can get with the least amount of 'stuff'.
Back story:
I love stuff. I fill my house with it. I have been trying really hard to cull, to not need to clutter, to leave my nesting attributes behind. But I just love knick knacks, and quirks, and pretty little trinkety treasures. When we moved we moved into a tiny cottage, so things have had to go. It's fine. It's a challenge. I love a challenge.
I also LOVE to travel. And I REALLY love to pack!
I don't leave for the USA for another 9 weeks. And during planning times the other day, I realised that the tricky American flight carriers make it almost impossible for you to pre-book checked baggage for internal flights. Which resulted in me failing to book checked luggage for all four of my flights zig-zagging across the USA. (If this can happen to ME - planning is MY LIFE - it can happen to anyone! Beware! They really wanted to snake that extra cash out of me when I was sleep-deprived & unaware & filing through airport lines.)
Instead of paying the $125 it was going to cost me to add bags to all my flights, I decided I would really challenge myself by trying to back only carry-on luggage for the entire duration of my holiday. I know heaps of people who are tetris-backpack-masters, and I'm pretty good at it myself. Why not try?
It cost me $100 to buy a brand-new 35LT Black Wolf day pack. I recently experienced an unexpected windfall so I treated myself to $100 spending money on a pretty new pack. It was still cheaper than booking baggage! (Even though I bought myself a new 55LT Caribee pack (which I LOVE) just last September - naughty, naughty!) This little guy will be better for my back, better for avoiding baggage-claim lines, better for lugging around strange cities on strange trains. I took the United Airlines carry-on baggage size requirements with me to the camping store, with a tape measure in my pocket. The nice man in-store helped me contort and document all angles of my new pack before I committed. It needed to fit in the luggage racks else it wouldn't be worth it one bit! I have also printed out a copy of their carry-on luggage requirements, highlighted, to keep with my travel documents. Just. In. Case!
65LT+15LT bag in northern India, 2012.
55LT pack in Spain, 2012
55LT pack + front-pack in Fiji, 2013
So. What do you pack when you're going on a trip?
This is a question I have posed to myself on many, many an occasion. And I go on lots of different trips - big trips, little trips, trips who climb on rocks. And I guess generally the requirements for each trip are different, depending on where you are going, when your are going, who you are with, WHY you are going. I did a lot of research. And I seem to fit pretty snuggly in between both the two typical packing lists that flitter all about the internets.
This is a question I have posed to myself on many, many an occasion. And I go on lots of different trips - big trips, little trips, trips who climb on rocks. And I guess generally the requirements for each trip are different, depending on where you are going, when your are going, who you are with, WHY you are going. I did a lot of research. And I seem to fit pretty snuggly in between both the two typical packing lists that flitter all about the internets.
LIST #1 is for corporate travellers. People who like bags on wheels, straightening their hair, wearing high heels, stemming business shirts. LIST #2 is for people who choose not to wash, to check their guitar as their baggage and pack their clothes into a backpack, instead. Who only need one teeshirt and one shoe and pretty much NO toiletries.
I fall in between these two profiles because I'm not in any way corporate. I'm not into wheeling my bag, I'm pretty fine with my natural hair & high heels are the devil. But I do wear makeup, I do like to at least WASH my hair (& myself), and although I usually look like I just fell out of an old-lady op shop or a garden workshop, I do care about what I'm wearing.
So. I'm crushing everything into a backpack, and my main focus is on clothes, and on emergencies. It's really nice to get bitten by something and realise that you have stingose in your bag, or to lose all your buttons off your jacket and know that during that 10-hour train ride you can finally put your tiny sewing kit to use. But a lot of the packing tips I read encourage you to pack things like fishing line and binoculars and a frisbee and a sink plug. I do have a swiss army knife (thank you Ryan!) that usually comes everywhere with me - not this time though, not allowed in cabin baggage! How I will eat my coconuts now I do not know.
20c coconut-flesh hunting in India, 2012
WHAT I AM PACKING:
I am going on a 20-day trip across the USA, starting in Los Angeles and going to San Francisco, New York City, & New Orleans. I am mainly couchsurfing as my accommodation - basically, staying with strangers anywhere they can have me. I haven't been murdered yet, so it's all fine and safe. I am mainly spending time in cities, not really hiking or spending much time walking, although hopefully I will make it to Yosemite for a gander. I am planning on taking one backpack, one shoulder bag & my camera bag.
everything I fit in my backpack
BACKPACK
clothes:
> bathers
> bathers
> 5x socks (light & heavy duty)
> 2x cardigans
> 2x cardigans
> 1x flanny
> 1x jeans
> 1x jumper
> 3x t-shirts
> 1x beanie
> 1x belt
> 1x skirt
> 2x long sleeved tops
> 4x dresses
> 1x rainjacket
> 1x everyday bra
> 1x sports bra
> 7x undies
> 1x scarf
toiletries:
> shampoo
> conditioner
> moisturiser
> body wash
> henna (for holiday body decoration fun!)
> face wash (in a snaplock bag)
> face washer
> bobby pins
> hairties
> cotton buds
> razor
> toothbrush & toothpaste
medication:
> sleeping pills
> antibacterial cream
> nurofen/paracetamol
> tampons
> bandaids
> gastrostop
> hydrolyte
> rennies
other:
> travel towel
> sleeping bag
> a tiny handbag for going out at night
documents: (all in a snaplock bag)
> plane ticket copies
> passport copy
> debit card copy
> driver's license copy
> credit card copy
> snap lock bags (for dirty/wet clothes, miscellaneous things)
SHOULDER BAG
clothes:
> scarf (for sleeping under and putting over my head on the plane!)
documents & cash: (all in my travel wallet)
> plane tickets
> passport
> AUD cash
> USD cash
> debit card
> driver's license
> credit card (for emergency)
other:
> notebook with addresses, flight details, my details
> torch
> purse for day-to-day use - with a small amount of cash. So if it gets stolen no biggie!
> purse for day-to-day use - with a small amount of cash. So if it gets stolen no biggie!
> iPod
> headphones
> books x2 (or kindle.. if I get one in time!)
> 2x pens
I have tried not to be too wasteful with my packing - for example, I usually always would pack wet ones. But this time, I am taking a face washer in a snaplock bag, maybe I'll pack another into my handbag too. I figure I'll never be without water, so I can wet and rinse as we required, and I won't be throwing away every time I get a bit sticky. I crocheted my face washers from 100% cotton! They're lovely. I got my shampoo & conditioner in bulk from the wholefoods store here, I filled up the re-usable containers I got from kmart right in-store. Same with the body wash.
The only thing I have bought specifically for this trip is the backpack - every thing else I already owned or was able to borrow. I sometimes can get a little excited buying tiny toiletries and such for trips - things I don't really need.
When I pack - I use stuff-sacks, which work exactly as the name implies. You shove all your clothes into these little bags as hard as you can, and the magic of physics results in a fantastic space-saver! Just like shoving a sleeping bag into a sleeping bag cover. These do not help with weight though, so be careful and make sure you weight your bag to comply with restrictions. I roll things up, use all pockets and use packing 'cubes' (little fabric bags) to separate my undies from my socks, etc. Rolling your clothes up is another amazing way to make the most of your space!
Actually - my best travel tip yet? Write down your details, and take a photo of it with all the cameras you are taking on your trip. That way, if you lose your camera or your memory card (sob, sob) the nice person who picks it up knows where to send it so it will find you again!
thank you Dad for being my model on the way to Fiji!
I'm 100% sure I have packed too much. But I might narrow this list down some more before I leave, or if I feel like buying some clothes and what-not over there, then I will. On my flight home I have checked baggage - so I can pack another bag for the trip home if I really feel the need.
Maybe next time I'll bore you with my outrageous budgeting?!
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