packing for a year in europe ...

if you thought the ... would be followed by a "in 1 suitcase," you've come to the wrong blog.

there's no way i was going to budapest with just 1 suitcase. i have mallory with me after all.

i did pack for this trip to north carolina in one suitcse

packing for a year away is a lot different than packing for a 1 - 2 week vacation. all of the "travel hacks" go out the window, at least they do for me. in addition to packing for a year away, i'm also moving out of my apt and into a storage pod, my belongings anyway, but i'll deal with that later.

i'm a list maker, i feel like i always have been. while i have an excellent memory for past events that is boarderline stalker, i'm incredibly forgetful in the present moment. i've almost forgotten where i was going with this train of thought. my lists! i make a packing list for every trip i go on, wether it's a week home to my parents or an overnight trip to go wine tasting. the list ensures i have everything, within reason, i could need for the occation. it also ensures i leave nothing behind. i left a pair of blue jellies in france when i was 13, i'm still not ever it.

most of my lists can fit within evernote, budapest was not. i made a spreadsheet, thankfully i had weeks of planning before packing, the spreadsheet grew over time. that is good and bad at the same time. i was able to plan out what to bring: broken down by category, as well as what needed to be purchased on a personal and professional level. the bose speaker is for me, but the wireless keyboard and track pad are for work.

that's right, shirts divided by sleeve length

yup, it does math too

now you may be thinking "why not just take all the clothes, it's a year!?"

i had a friend tell me while packing for his own trip, "if you're not going to pack it for a year away, you don't really need i." sounds very zen, but f that trash. i may not "need" all of the clothes but i still "want" all of the clothes. yes, i have too many unc shirts, and i am not parting with a single one. it's my right as a fan, deal with it.

i'm not just taking clothes. electronic items i decided i'd take with me, and pray don't get fried, include: ps3, nintendo 3ds xl, bose bluetooth, kindle, nutribullet, hair drier, a curling iron and straightener. i searched for a long time finding a suitable power convertor/adaptor. it's not just about making the plug fit, you gotta make sure the voltage is right too. i went with 2 of this bad boy.

i did show restraint. the xbox 360, ps2 and keurig all went into storage, along with the rest of my kitchen goodies that i'm really going to miss.

i'll miss you!

the finally tally

checked bags: large rolling, large duffle

carry on: small rolling, mallory
sent ahead: 2 contico boxes, 1 large bin of work items, 5 boxes of personal/work items

not too shabby if you ask me. check out my traveling with the cat post from last week.

helpful links:

contico storage trunks

sleepypod air pat carrier