Last week I had the awesome opportunity to travel to Florida and spend a few days with my best friends, basking in sunshine and beach-ness. It was gorgeous and such a fun time.
Of course, with every trip comes the step of packing for that trip. And I hate packing. Make me decide on only a few articles of clothing to bring with me out of my wardrobe? You might as well tell me to put individual grains of sand into a bucket. It's just not how I get dressed. But because of my experience participating in last fall's 30 for 30, I have learned how to work a limited and disciplined wardrobe. So packing has lately turned into a sort of hybrid disciplined yet free-for-all combination of getting dressed.
I thought I would decide to evaluate how I did for this particular trip for this post.
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| The suitcase - Carry-On size. It also has those awesome kind of wheels that go in any direction, which makes it perfect for constantly moving while making your way through the airport - which I love :) |
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| Going to the Beach Baby! 2 One Pieces and 1 Bikini. I could have left the bikini at home - it just wasn't happenin'. |
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| Two cover-ups. I could have left the cardi at home because it as well just wasn't happenin' in the Florida heat! |
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| 3 Bottoms - 2 shorts and 1 pair of jeans. The jeans were thrown in there because I wasn't sure if I was going to want to have a pair of pants. Turns out, I didn't need them! |
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| 4 t-shirts - 3 short-sleeve, 1 long-sleeve. 2 bold colors and 2 stripes. The long-sleeve stripe t-shirt could have been left at home, as it wasn't worn. But the 2 colored short sleeve shirts were well used! :) |
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| 2 Blouses - 1 worn, 1 not. Should have left the coral pink one home. |
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| 2 Cardis - Got this one right! Both were used for layering. |
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| 1 dress. I had to fight myself to not bring 2 dresses, but I made the right call! 1 was all I needed! |
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| 2 scarves, 4 belts. Scarves ended up not being needed, but were good to use to help keep some things separated from each other in the suitcase. And 3 of the 4 belts were used, so I feel like I did well on that front! |
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| 7 Necklaces, 8 earrings, 2 fun rings, 3 everyday rings, 2 everyday bracelets, and 1 watch. A tip to keep your accessories, especially necklaces from getting tangled? Package them by ones or twos in tiny, snack-sized baggies. It will save you TONS of time de-tangling chains! (I totally owe my friend, a professional organizer, Kristin Long, for that tip!) |
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| 3 Pairs of Sandals and 1 pair of flip-flops. 2 pairs of sandals were used (the pink and brown ones) and the black ones stayed in my suitcase. The flip-flops were used every day :). I had thought of bringing my pair of sandal wedges, but a) they didn't fit in my suitcase and b) I realized that I wasn't going to wear them :). |
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| This was my outfit for the plane. Silk blouse (aka, Taco Shirt), J.Crew shorts, Cardigan, and Jacket (which I should have left home, but you just don't ever know when you might need a jacket!), pink sandals, chunky necklace and belt. It was a great outfit to travel in - comfy, casual, and yet still just a little bit dressy. |
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And there we have it! In every category, I over-packed by one item. Honestly, that is a small victory for this girl, as I always have a propensity to grossly over-pack. However, I tried to be realistic AND creative with my choices, while also knowing that I had to fit everything into my carry-on. There were a bunch of items that I probably would have shoved into there if I wasn't working with size limitations though! But I am glad that I was able to pack everything up (A DAY before I left for vacay - I don't know what was up with me!) and carry it on the plane.
I am lucky because I'll have another opportunity to go on another vacation later on this summer! I think it'll be interesting to see if I've learned anything (probably not :)) from this packing experience when I go to pack for that.
Tell me about your packing experience! Are you a chronic over-packer, or are you able to travel to Europe for three weeks with only a carry-on (like one of my best friends did recently?)?
6 comments:
Chronic over packer in the hizous!! I always try to learn, but I always fear I will be stuck with nothing to wear, leading me to shopping temptation. I am (hopefully) spending a week in Fla. visiting family in July. So let's see if I can learn from you :)
Btw, we really need to get together again! When could we make that happen?
This is a great post! I'm quite the opposite of most-- I never pack enough. Ever. One time I brought three pairs of pants, 7 socks, one shirt for a 5 day stay at my parents' house. I guess I was hoping to borrow my sister's clothes? I leave for the beach this weekend... We'll see how my packing goes this trip!
I am jealous that you get to go to Florida - I really loved it there -
although, I think I just like to travel in general :).
And yes we totally need to get together! July is kind of a crazy month for
me, although I am around next weekend if you have time!
Florida is awesome! I couldn't take the heat year round though. My roommate and I are having a small party next Saturday if you are interested. I'll find you on FB and invite you there :)
That is so funny Viktoria!! I hope you have a great time at the beach!
Nice! I love Florida... I'm not sure how I'll be able to use my "remixing skills" for my next vacation. I didn't even consider it for the recent one I took (but that was because it was a roadtrip.) I totally overpack but then I tell myself that whatever else I may need, I can always buy... dangerous thought there. :)
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