Packing

Packing has been an adventure all by itself. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked how I plan to pack for this. And then how many times I've answered, "I have no idea." Well, for all of you inquirers, I think we've finally decided. After many hours of conversations/debates, we've decided to go the route of all carry-on. It might surprise you, but I was actually the one pushing for carry-on, while Matt was the one pushing for the checked bag. He says that he was only thinking of me... uh huh. :)

We plan to each have a carry-on roller bag and (normal size) backpack. Carry-on is, of course, slightly misleading since every airline has their own requirements and when we fly discount airlines we'll probably still have to check our bag. But our bags will be considered carry-on for all major airlines.

Now making a decision was only the first step in this difficult task, as packing for 6 months for all different climates in a carry-on is no easy feat. Even though our first flight is still two weeks away I sat down and spent all Sunday packing since it was stressing me out not having it done and not knowing if my plan of carry-on only would work. And if it didn't, I would need to hurry up and come up with plan B. I didn't want to be doing that the night before our flight.

So I broke down and bought myself my first set of packing cubes. Then I loved them so much that I bought two more sets (one for Matt). I ended up buying Eagle Creek Pack It compression cubes for both of us and I really like them so far. Obviously they haven't been road tested yet, but the clothes are still pretty accessible; I especially like that these zip on 3 sides which makes it easier to find/get the thing you're looking for. And the compression aspect was super helpful. I couldn't believe how much I could fit in those cubes and then compress it down.

The packing cubes were also helpful for organization and limiting how much I brought. I decided to pack all of my tops in one of the large cubes, and then all of my bottoms in the medium size one. And when they were full that meant that's all I could bring. I bought the other set because I wanted another medium size one to keep all of my socks and underwear, and I thought the other large one would be a good place to keep dirty clothes since it's ventilated and has some compression to it (the second set I bought was different, REI brand, and were not designed to compress as much).

Here's a picture of this half of my suitcase with the two different brands/sizes of packing cubes (my tops and bottoms):

I have various other items tucked in underneath the cubes- things like re-usable cutlery, a portable clothesline, travel adapter, and laundry detergent sheets (since we're going to be doing a lot of laundry!). Then squished in the last corner is our packable day pack that we plan to use in our daily outings.

Then in the other side is where I have my sock/underwear cube, non-liquid bathroom things, medications, and shoes. I really didn't budget nearly as much space for medications and I'm worried we're bringing too much. We have our prescriptions from our doctors for traveler's diarrhea and anti-malaria which I counted on, but then we decided to also get things like advil, zyrtec for allergies (who knows if we're going to have a problem with that?!), dramamine, tums, daily multivitamins, and melatonin. Some of those might get tossed out since they take up so much space, and really some of those we probably should've just waited and bought on the road if we needed them. (I can practically see my dad shaking his head and telling me we need the daily multivitamins!).

Here's a picture of this half:

I'm only bringing 4 pairs of shoes, the biggest pair being my ASICS tennis shoes that I plan to wear on every flight. Then the others are a pair of Bob's flats that have a memory foam insole, Teva Verra Sandals, and a sparkly white pair of flip flops that have a heel strap. Those three all easily packed on top of each other in the lower left corner.

Then in my backpack I plan to have 1 pair each of pants, shirt, underwear, socks, and bathing suit just in case my bag for some reason gets checked and then subsequently lost. I'll also have my headphones and kindle in there for the long flights, all of my relevant chargers, portable charge pack, and collapsible water bottle. Oh, and my ziploc of liquids so it's easy to get out for security.

I feel better now that the decision has been made and I've actually packed, but I'm sure I'll be adding and removing things in the coming weeks as I think of things. As I was writing this I realized maybe I should buy a pill organizer to more efficiently pack those vitamins...