Serene Travels: Packing Part II | An Extended Vacay
An overseas trip is always an adventure. But it's also exhausting. I am out of my comfort zone, I don't know my way around - everything is unknown and new. Traveling really reminds me how little I control. I'm not running this show called Life, guys. Yet in my typical day, I can sometimes trick myself into thinking otherwise - from daily routines to scheduled appointments to familiar routes. New experiences remind me I'm just along for the ride. So when prepping for travel, I like to focus on making the trip as serene as possible, come what may. And it has been my experience that the only thing I really have control over is 1) my attitude and 2) my ability to pack wisely. I've blogged about packing for a weekend getaway, but below are some adjustments for an extended vacay, and I'm once again referencing our Japanese adventure.
T H E C A R R Y - O N
A long plane ride wreaks havoc on the bod. And the processed food offered on planes doesn't aid me. So my preparatory TLS involves creating a snack pack.
It includes:
A pen & pad (the nutrients for any writer)
fruit & fiber bars
nuts
stevia packs (as opposed to the artificial sweeteners I used in my coffee for years)
green packs (that I mix in water to make up for a lack of green veggies)
Vitamin C powder (to boost immunity)
In addition to my snack pack, my carry-on bag includes:
passport
an eye mask
face wipes
kindle
laptop
iPhone
[huge] scarves (that double as blankets)
T H E S U I T C A S E
So here's the thing about traveling. I want to be comfortable… but I want to look good too. A Serene Space is all about an organized approach to the art of simple, stylish living. How little could I pack yet still feel put together? I assessed the essential facts: Japan's summer humidity and nearly two weeks of jam-packed sight-seeing days (i.e. walking walking walking). And I decided that loose summery dresses + sandals/Converse were my uniform. I packed five dresses and wore them each twice. In terms of accessories - my every day jewelry is rather minimal and delicate. I wore all of it on the plane, except for one gold cuff, which I packed. In addition, my floppy hat basically never came off. I don't know what I would have done without it.
*Sidenote: One of our hopes for this trip was to climb Mt. Fuji, so I devoted a good portion of my suitcase to layered hiking gear. (From our research we knew the hike would start off warm, but the temperatures would really drop as we climbed.) In the end, for various reasons, Mt. Fuji didn't make the cut. But I didn't regret the excess packing - I would rather we came prepared for anything.
Usually when I travel and pack my typical day-to-day uniform (button-downs and skinny jeans) - rolling my clothes proves the most efficient. However, I don't condone rolling dresses (who does, am I right guys?!). Garment bags are great options here. But I prefer my mother's tried and true solution: tissue paper. I use tons and tons of tissue paper to fold in and around the dresses. And I gotta tell ya, when I arrived at my brother-in-law's and unpacked -- wrinkles I did not find.
My toiletries always take up a chunk of room, but anything for the sake of beauty. And while I had a snack pack for the carry-on, I had additional food supplies in my suitcase. I have a random selection of make-up bags that I hold onto for these very circumstances. By the end of the trip they were empty and lay flat against the suitcase.
When I'm not traveling, I store my excess make-up bags and tissue paper inside the suitcase. All supplies are right where I need them when I prep for my next adventure.
Sure, one could throw everything into the suitcase and rifle through it as needed, but that's not very serene.
