If Nathan is the king of spreadsheets, I'm the queen of packing. I'm not, but it makes me feel important.
Our luggage was actually free, in the end. I know, score! We bought a set of 3 and one arrived damaged. Received a complete replacement and sold the extra two we didn't need for the same price we bought all three of them. Amazinggg. In the end, my awesome packing skills condensed everything to two checked in luggage instead of three. Something that could help our budget when flying between places.
Here's a breakdown of the things we used and things we packed.
Packing cubes. Amazing. I'm hoping they stay amazing throughout the duration of our trip but for now, they keep all our things separated in designated places.
Travel vacuum bags. Mainly for our winter coats we knew we would need in six months.
Winter coats - yes, we packed them because 1) we wanted to save money 2) they are amazing All Black jackets! Say no more...
We nearly replaced every item of clothing we owned with new ones. Not because we were living the high life. No. But because most were already on their last threads and for Hadrian, he needed bigger clothes for a growing boy and Nathan and I needed stretchier clothes for our growing… wrists. But we bought things that were interchangeable and we were realistic about the amount of times we would change clothes. As long as we had enough to have different bottoms with different tops to last us a week, sweet as - and they had to be darker colours, to cover food stains we know we will get! As long as we had enough underwear to last a whole week in case a machine is not accessible, all good. As long as we had shoes that could be worn to church as well as day to day, even better. No one will judge us for wearing jandals to church, will they?
I packed more toiletries than I did clothes. I know... so high maintenance! But do you know how hard it is to find the perfect moisturiser? Very. And what if we get there and I waste money testing new ones only to be disappointed and take my anger out on everyone? I’m basically saving their lives, guys, bringing this moisturiser with me. Even better, the more we travel, the lighter the luggage will become because of the usage of said moisturiser. I’m saving lives everywhere! I packed more toiletry related things, but more on that in my post for the ladies...
If I packed more toiletries than clothes, then we packed more electronics than we did anything else. We packed a monitor, yes precious, we did. It was light, plastic screen and beneficial for Nathan to work hard for the money, so it came with us.
We packed tripods and extra phones and a still camera and an action camera and a drone and their batteries and power banks for when we’re travelling andddd a laptop each for our sanity and schooling and Nathan is bringing his Surface which he swears by. And back up cables for phones and headphones and USBs and hard drive and converters and adapters. Basically everything.
I also packed a pillow. Yes, for the princess. I learned this from my parents who would take their pillows on all their travels and I would totally judge. BP (before princess), I didn't know what I was missing until I stayed somewhere and had the thinnest pillow in existence. After that, I jumped on that high maintenance travelling wagon and vowed to take my pillow with me. Nathan is still in denial stage but I have a big, loud I told you so waiting for him on the other side when he's struggling with terrible pillows.
Lastly, we packed little things we would need... umbrella, first aid kit, chewable pain killers, Sea Legs for potential windy roads, electrolyte tablets for quick hydration, sleeping pills for the tough times and consecrated oil - a must. Oh and Marmite - no explanation needed!
Will we need it all? Watch this space. One thing I know we will need is the moisturiser!... and my pillow.
Related: For the Ladies
Sup
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