The Re-Packing Project: What’s In My Bag Now
When I returned to the states this fall, one of my main goals was to downsize my possessions (again), sell my car, and re-pack my bag for mutiple seasons and all types of adventures. Because my options are truly infinite. Perhaps I’ll fall in love with a place (or person) and settle in. Perhaps I’ll just keep going. Perhaps I’ll spend the year in chillier climes. Perhaps I’ll chase the sunshine.
So there lies the challenge ahead of me: carrying everything I, Luna, and the business need on my back wherever in the world we go. And, while I’m sure I’ll make some changes along the way—tweak things, add things, break things, destroy some more shoes—for now, with more than eight months of nomadic living under my belt, these are the things I carry with me:
Personal care items: Bare Escentuals face powders, one eye shadow (gold), four brushes, mascara, shears, tweezers, nail clippers (not pictured), Chapstick, moisturizer.
To be honest, I totally cheated and threw in a second eye shadow (silver) and some more moisturizer and Chapstick (just ’cause I hate wasting them and already had them), but as soon as they are used up, we’ll be back down to what you see above.
Toiletries: shampoo (slightly less full than that), Alterna hair concrete, brush, bobby pins, hair ties, deodorant, sunscreen, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, razor (and a handful of blades), curling iron (not pictured), small bottle of laundry detergent (not pictured).
Ignore the Dr. Bronner’s Organic Baby Soap in the photo. I did bring it with me to Italy, but I’ve decided I’m not a fan, so it’s probably getting left behind. Luna and I will just have to make do with shampoo doubling as body wash.
Clothes: two skirts (one from Amazon and one from Anatomie), jeans, one dress (not pictured), four tank tops (three pictured), three zip-up tops (two pictured), one long-sleeved shirt, one short-sleeved shirt, one tennis skirt, one warm sweatshirt, one pair of black pants, one sweater.
Accessories, etc.: red flats, black walking sneakers, boots, one hat, fingerless gloves, winter coat, spring coat, pajamas, small baggie of jewelry, one pashmina, two small scarves, undergarments, tights and socks (warm and usually knee-high), bathing suit, small backpack, hiking boots.
Business: laptop, portable monitor, 2 cameras (an SLR and a Lumix) and charging cords, camera case, extra memory card, pens, adaptors, portable hard drive, paper clips, USB drive, iPod and cord, screen cleaning cloth, small notebook, business cards.
NOTE: I am experimenting with not using my portable monitor and my fancy SLR camera. They’re super nice to have, but I could eliminate so much weight if I can do without them. So they may be taking a hike. Stay tuned.
Other: paperwork and passports, a novel, wallet, ziplock bags, one caribiner, small medicine kit, water bottle, poncho, alarm clock, reusable grocery bag.
Luna’s stuff: one dog sweater, one carrier, leash and Ezydog harness, one stuffed bunny (currently minus the stuffing), one tennis ball, bags of food and treats, two foldable dog bowls from Ezydog, and a small medical kit (Benadryl, heartworm meds). (See Luna’s more detailed packing list.)
FINAL NOTE: I also frequently carry a few food items or gifts with me from place to place. So, for example, as we’re getting ready to head to Paris for our next six weeks of adventures, I’ve added some pistachio spread, vinegar infused with truffles, local honey, and tea bags to my bag. They add some weight to the pack, but it’s so fun to show up to my Paris welcome party with some Italian treats, so I deal with the weight. And, this, my friends, is why I’m not an advocate of buying the absolute smallest pack you can. Sometimes it’s nice to have a little extra room.
What about you? Is there anything on my packing list you wouldn’t pack in a million years? Anything you can’t believe I didn’t bring?
Comments
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Rob
Travel packing is an art. I’ve mostly got it down so that I use everything I pack and don’t have anything extraneous, but sometimes .. not.
That whole seeing into the future to know what I’ll need is kind of tough 🙂
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Rebeca
As for me I probably wouldnt pack any pajamas but, then again since I have had a child having something to sleep in is better that not.
As for what I would pack would be my Kindle as well along with cord for charging and my netbook and cord for charging it too. -
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Footloose
I wear my hair short and spikey (Jamie Lee Curtis-ish). That eliminates, hairbrush, elastics, pins and curling iron. I towlel/air dry it in 5 minutes, add some gel and I’m done.
I probably wouldn’t choose hoddies with printing on them as it makes them definitely casual. I have a plain black one I travel with. At a quick glance it passes as a black cardigan. I likely wouldn’t take a dress either (unless it’s so versitile it can be a cocktail dress, sundress and beach coverup. Instead I have a black tank and skirt in similar fabric that appears to be a dress but can be used separately.
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Footloose
My make up consists of eyeliner and mascara. Perhaps a lipstick. I don’t even own four makeup brushes.
I’ve never travelled with electronics geared to working so I have no idea if what you’re carrying is reasonable. We take a camera/charger and a laptop/cord/converter. The lap top is mostly just to dump photos onto every night and to make the daily entry in our travel journal. We also draft emails we intend to send, so that when we do pay for internet access we just have to copy and paste. We also resize the photos on the laptop for posting/emailing.
When I retire I plan to travel longer and at a more relaxed pace. I also plan to start carrying a sketch book and pencils and really pause and study my suroundings.
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Ali
My packing list is an ever-evolving thing. I dress casual, don’t think I currently own a skirt or dress that fits me, so it’s pretty much jeans and t-shirts in my bag. I do whatever I can to be carry-on only, which I know isn’t quite so easy for you since you have Luna. My upcoming goal is to only have my 40L backpack and a purse, with a small collapsible daypack that I can shove in the backpack. On my RTW trip I had the 40L and a 20L daypack, and it was fine, but the double backpack thing gets old quick.
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Montecristo Travels (Sonja)
More colour … that is the only major difference. I have a lot of teal, turquoise and emerald greens. Less black and grey. They still go with each other and all work together. 🙂 I just can’t live a life without loads of colour!
Montecristo would add a sweater to his pet list. He gets super cold really easily. That and his little rubber boots. When in Italy his paws got pitch black (they are pink padded) … the constant licking of that “oil” off his paws made his tummy really upset. We now know … he needs the protection.
Of course we sail … so for us the items are sailing geared. More water resistant, UV protective etc.
and … lastly … we only use organic products. Pretty much every item from deodorant, shampoo, conditioner etc. would be organic brands. We use organic coconut oil as a body lotion, face cream, healing agent, dried hair remedy etc.
Oh and … I cut my hair so it’s super short in the back … adios hair brush, elastics, hair pins etc.
Love these posts!
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Lisa
I am a frequent flyer and I do travel a lot. Usually, I need a high capacity backpack for clothes and accessories.
If it comes in pink and good design, it will be awesome. Do you have any good recommendation on this?
Thanks for your tips and please keep it up.
Brandi
The things I carry when I travel that you don’t are a Kindle, phone, bandage tape, umbrella, reusable bag, and probably a few more things I can’t think of. 🙂