Packing: The Bane of My Existence
I LOVE to Travel. This is the reason I became a travel agent. Leaving home to explore some new, unknown and exciting location gives me LIFE.
But I HATE packing. I hate it with the fire of 10,000 suns. I hate it more than Apple hates Samsung.
This is how packing makes me feel. It sucks.
I have MASTERED the art of packing a carry-on bag for brief trips; for me, weekends and 4-5 day trips are a piece of cake. Even a one-week vacation doesn’t cause me much anxiety. But this two week adventure we are about to embark on? Whoooooole different story.
We have a number of challenges that are making this particular packing task a bit more formidable, such as:
1) The climate in our destination cities is pretty different from the one in Florida. We are accustomed to vacationing to the tropics, so to go to another destination with a more temperate climate is causing us stress. Although we were both raised in the Northern US, we don’t exactly remember how to dress for “upper 50’s/lower 60’s”. So we have a lot of sweaters, long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirts and confusion thrown into our wide open suitcases.
2) The logistics of our journey are proving to be a challenge. We love that British Airways offers one free checked bag per passenger, but that does not bode well for our need to navigate through Termini train station in Rome, where thievery and pickpocketing already run rampant. For this reason we are trying to pack as light as possible. Reason #1 is making this whole idea of “packing light” not work so well.
3) Toss in the fact that we are cruising, and a whole other world of wardrobe opens up. Thankfully we are cruising Norwegian, who is all about Freestyle Cruising and doesn’t stress the idea of a formal night, but still…it’s nice to have something to change into at night. On the other hand, the fact that we are cruising eliminates the need to unpack/repack multiple times which is great, since I hate packing sooooo much.
I am eternally thankful for Travel Fashion Girl and her packing lists, which have proved to be a God-send during this process.
Check this out!
But I still need help. So my people, I am curious: how do YOU like to pack for a vacation? Do you have any tips you’re like to share with someone who hates packing as much as I do?
November 14th, 2012 at 2:54 am
Looks good to me BUT it’s hard to tell how heavy or packable the clothes are. We’ve worked over time to put together some great light and easily packable clothes. For instance, one long sleeve crew top I’ll take on our round the world trip is very very light and packing size and weight not much more than underwear. It’s blush colored silk. I can use it to layer for warmth under other tops, by itself, or sleep in it. Packing clothes like that will allow me to use a carry on bag.
November 14th, 2012 at 2:59 am
Thanks for the comment! Those are the sort of items I desperately need. If you tell me “cooler weather”, my mind goes right to SWEATERS which are not easy to pack. Pieces that work for layering is where my focus needs to be. Do you happen to recall where you purchased your top?
November 14th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Lands End is where we finally purchased ours. Winter Silks also had some. Check it out.