I discovered a while ago that I'm the kind of person who needs to start packing far in advance for a trip. Mostly this is because I always forget things, and if I start packing in advance I have more time to remember everything I need. I also have discovered that if I wait until the last minute, I don't feel like packing. Now, two days before departure that is true, so I'm incredibly thankful that I started packing the day I came back from school.
I am a notorious over packer, so another benefit of starting this process early is that I was able to reassess what I had packed and remove things that I decided I didn't need. Granted, I think I still overpacked, but tant pis!
Above are photographs of all of the clothing I packed, not including the outfit I wore to fly (my grandfather's Saint Ignatius Alumni shirt, Under Armor leggings, Mizuno running shoes, and a Gamma Phi Beta sherpa) as well as an extra outfit should my luggage get lost (Nike leggings and a black target workout top). The first photograph is my suitcase prior to using the space bags that my mom so lovingly found for me at Marshall's. I used two of the Roll and Pack storage bags, and one of the Cloudz compression bags.
What I packed - Clothing: In a large suitcase (which came out to weigh forty-eight pounds) Two long sleeved cropped sweaters (one from American Eagle, the other my mom found for me), one skirt from Altr'd State, one pair of Old Navy jean shorts, one pair of Old Navy elephant print shorts, three jumpsuits (two from Target and one that I bought at a boutique in Las Vegas last year), seven dresses (from H&M, Old Navy, and Kohl's) one shawl bought from an online boutique, nine nicer tops, (tanks, halters, off the shoulder, etc. I accumulated these all over the years from a variety of vendors, including Old Navy, American Eagle, Altr'd State, Francesca's and more), one pair of pajamas, two pairs of high-waisted blue-jeans from American Eagle (one ripped and one not), one pair of white jeans from Kohl's, two cropped casual shirts (one from Target and one from Forever 21), three pairs of running shorts, and four pairs of running t-shirts.
In terms of shoes, which I did not photograph, I packed the Mizunos I mentioned earlier, a pair of silver slides, black Rocket Dog slip-ons, a pair of Chelsea Rain Boots and a pair of black wedge heeled sandals. Granted, this may end up being too much clothing, but I'm going to be gone for eight weeks, and I didn't want to have to do laundry every week in order to have clean clothes.
What I packed - Carry On Items: For my carry on items, I brought my Jansport backpack and Longchamp Le Pliage tote bag. In my backpack, I packed my toiletries bag, which contains all of my makeup, travel sized containers, medications, and little things. I also packed extra contact lenses, my planner, a notebook and folder for classes, my first aid kit, sunglasses, chargers, wall adapters, and my laptop. In my tote bag, I packed all of the travel things I needed: my passport, wallet, plane information, program information, two books, Cruel Prince by Holly Black and Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't be Wrong by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow. I had originally included another book, Mademoiselle Chanel by C. W. Gortner, but decided against taking it in the end. I also brought an Edgar Allen Poe pencil pouch and a neck pillow for sleeping on the plane! I also have my glasses, some hand sanitizer, moisturizer, my jewelry container, and a small notebook.
Now that I'm finally packed, I feel much more prepared but still really intimidated for the trip. Should this all end up being too much, I'll write another post after the trip ends, with what I didn't end up needing or found myself not wearing. But, hopefully, everything will have been used!