Two Girls. Two Countries. One Carry-On.
In exactly seventeen days I will be bolting off to Europe for nearly three weeks of blissful balleehoo with a friend. We have spent the past two months, meticulously plotting a course that will deliver us to the streets of Barcelona, the peaks of the Pyraneese, to Cannes during the film fest and the cafes of Paris. I’ve been giddy-girl for weeks!
On the topic of packing, we have committed to pull our travel weight in a single carry-on each. And well, that means a list.
I’m a proud and self-proclamied “mac girl” but because of my obsession with spreadsheets I’ve developed a micro soft-side that, despite trying, I simply can’t shake. In fact, Excel spreadsheets manage my workouts, my budget and my grocery shopping templates (arranged by the flow of products as organized in-store, one for Trader Joes and one for the Whole Foods on California street). However, the pis de resistance is my patented “wardrobe management system” (my WMS, if you will). Only Cher Horowitz had a more sophisticated schema. Hugs to you, Clueless.
I can’t say that I use this tool ‘o mine daily but when the shopping bug bites it helps me identify what I really could use vs. what I’m just wanting. It becomes tough to justify a new pair of pants when rows 20 – 40 are full of ‘em and as I start to think about packing my American apparel this wacky system couldn’t be handier.
It seems we all have our way when it comes to pre-travel packing prep. One friend draws stick pix of each item she plans to take and maps each piece, connect-the-dots style. A mommy friend keeps lists of everything she needs for Mom, Dad and and baby and ticks the boxes to help keep her organized. My travel buddy and I seem to be kindred spirits here in that we both prefer some form of a written list along with photos. We also like to be prepared for anything so this one-bag program of ours requires some strategic planning.
So, first, lets look at the occasions we’ll need to suit up for:
Beach days
City strolling
Hiking
Dinners out
Nightlife
Paris
(oh yes, Paris is it’s own occasion)
Next, I’ve identified the multi-purpose items in my closet: skirts that can be dressed up for dinner or slippped over a swimsuit, tops that serve for both “going out” and say strolling through markets, looking for vintage textiles. And of course, I’ll need a jacket that fits for all. A few snaps with the ‘ole point-n-shoot and voila, a packing list (in progress):
Know that I’m not nutty enough to ‘dress to spec’. That wouldn’t be much fun. The aim here is to simply make sure I’ve got the wares to cover off on all projected adventures. It’s tough make out the items in this chart but know that each of these pieces will play in multiple categories in lots of ways. I also took special care to choose clothes that won’t take up too much room in my bag.
This still needs some work. Not sure I really need 2 swimsuits and need to make space for a fleece, some yoga pants and PJs. But if all goes something like this I’ll have plenty of room in my rollie for cameras, books and an extra bag to tote back treats. Let the countdown begin!
How do you prep to pack?
[...] I do, I have cooked up a number of spreadsheets to help ‘produce’ the trip (as seen here). One of those tools is documenting our activities including those we’ve booked in advance [...]