Ah, packing – the crème de la crème of one’s organisational skills. This particular activity can one second be an exciting, mesmerizing, painting-a-wonderful-picture objective, and one second later it can become a daunting experience. Usually, the sweet side of packing is brought to us by a surprise vacation whisk-away , invitation or plan. Making lists and checking things with a little ‘v’ as soon as we purchase them is indeed a powerful process, especially for the ladies. It’s all fun and games ’till you’re left with a pile of white, insipid plastic bags lying on the floor, containing the things you’ve been so eager to buy , but are now not too pleased to organize in a compact mass in your lonely suitcase. I know what you think, it’s already bad enough having to fork up the power to sort through your outfits, toiletry and leisure items for a mere ten days of holiday, but what do you do when you literally have to pack your life and move 2634 Kms away? And so the packing nightmare ensues.
That picture above pretty much sums up what my life is going to be like in about two and a half weeks and I sure hope my poor suitcase will oblige. I have to fit all of my belongings (clothes,shoes, toiletries, books, accessories, laptop, giant candle and a few stuffed animals) into a 32 kgs suitcase, courtesy of WizzAir airlines. I’m actually grateful for their baggage limit (also an additional 10kgs hand baggage free, yipee!), since other airlines have a maximum limit of 23 kgs. How on Earth is someone supposed to fit everything in that, when there’s one of my best friends people carrying two suitcases with them only for a seven day beach vacation 500 kms away from home?! Usually, I could say that I’m a pretty light packer, but I’m actually afraid of leaving important things behind now. There are a great deal of voluminous items needed to be taken with me, such as bed linens and quilts, bath robe, towels, shoes and I’m afraid I will have to leave some of them behind. Fortunately, I’ve worked out a system for my clothes : since Bristol (and the UK in general) is pretty chilly and breezy, but not freezing cold, there is no point in me taking shorts and tank tops, which form a big part of my wardrobe. Instead, I’m taking layer-able items, such as t-shirts, sweaters and blouses, three pairs of jeans, three pairs of leggins, socks and that’s it! I figure since I’m probably coming home for Christmas break in December, I can take the remaining winter-y clothes with me then. It shouldn’t be that difficult fitting everything in, but let’s not forget about the almighty hair-dryer and pressing iron, the life-saving saucepan and frying pan aaand I’ll stop here before I reward myself with a headache. I must confess, I pretty much dislike packing and the feeling must be mutual; honestly, if it were up to me, I’d just throw the whole lot in ( ok, maybe I’d try folding them first), clench my teeth until the zipper goes all the way round, and then be a happy camper- or should I say ‘ packer ‘?
If anyone has any tips on space-saving packing or just general organisational advice , I would appreciate it if you’d send it my way so I don’t end up standing on all fours above my suitcase, yelling ‘ Close, damn it, close! ‘
Hei, don’t forget to get some medicine as in the uk you need a prescription even for cough syrup, don’t forget some thread and needles, maybe scissors, an alarm clock, tweezers, nail polish, make-up etc. My list is about 3 pages big, hope I’ll give up some items, i found an iron at argos for 4 quid and pillows and quilts at pretty good prices on ebay so might be worth a look
Good luck with your packing, I’m leaving in 2 weeks… :-s
Hi! Thank you, those are useful tips, I hadn’t thought about medicine and scissors (I had considered make-up though, but I don’t own that much, so it’s fine). I’ve yet to make my list, but I’ll get to it soon. I don’t know what Argos is (store,website?), but I’ll Google it, and I’ve looked on the IKEA website for bedspreads, and they are reasonably priced.
I’ll check your progress on your blog.
Good luck with your move, have a safe flight and keep in touch!
Jeez, I definitely know what you’re going through. I’ve been trying not to think about it since I have to move out of my apartment first before I even start to compile a list of things I need to take with me.
On the plus side, because I’m flying over the Atlantic, I’m allowed two bags.
It’s a terrible situation. I’m still dreading it myself, although time’s running out. Two bags – lucky you! I had to pay extra for another one, so I didn’t, fingers crossed I manage now and get the rest of my stuff (if any) at Christmas.
Good luck!