Packing, learned the hard way.

What do you pack when you plan on going to England, a cruise with a few black tie events, New York, Salem, Mass., and Florida all in one month…? Apparently, everything…

Let’s be honest. This was our first trip and we had NO idea what we were doing. I wish we had better documented everything because I seriously have no clue how we pulled this off. All we fully remember about planning was booking the Titanic Memorial Cruise, booking a hotel in Southampton, booking a hotel in New York, and booking a B&B in Salem. I know we booked flights and a train, and even looking back at that, I’m shocked we accomplished any of it.

The Monster known as packing.

Packing is something we DO remember, all too well. We were trying to prepare for all climates and many events ranging from casual to black tie. Originally, I (Lydia) really wanted to take a steamer trunk, an old one. I even went out and bought one at an antique store for $100. And then I found out that it would cost me more than $500 to fly it overseas to get it on the ship. So instead, that steamer trunk was our coffee table for the next 6 years, and I must say, it served us well.

We, by far, overthought and over-packed because we were hung up on the idea that we would forget something or not pack the right clothes, shoes, electronics, toiletries, etc. On top of everything we packed, I had also shipped three or four boxes of stuff to my cousin who was stationed in England. We were staying with them for most of our England leg and I figured it would save time and effort by already having things there. It didn’t.

What we actually took.

For a full month, we lugged around two giant suitcases, two carry-on bags, Billy’s laptop bag, and my ‘purse’ (a large tote bag with my actual purse and a plethora of other things in it). We made it about a day before vowing to NEVER pack like that again. And to top it all off? We had to add the contents of the boxes I’d shipped over to our already bursting bags. Talk about overkill!

Most people end up packing a week’s worth of clothes for a weekend vacation. We were packing for a month and it showed. Here’s a short list of the things we took (that we can remember).

• Heavy winter coats for England
• Long johns, undershirts, long socks, hats, gloves, and a few other cold-weather items.
• Nice jeans, shirts, and dresses for the nicer events.
• A tux with tails for Billy and three formal Edwardian style gowns for Lydia for the formal dinners onboard the ship.
• A multitude of other Edwardian era clothing.
• Light jackets for the chilly weather in New York and Salem.
• Shorts, short sleeve tees, tank tops, and bathing suits for Florida.
• Shoes for walking, formal dinners, casual days, and beachwear.
• Our huge laptop that weighed a million pounds.
• Neck pillows for the plane.
• Curling iron and makeup
• All forms of toiletries
• A small camera with extra batteries

Packing, present day.

Since then, we’ve developed a great packing strategy. Sure, some things are vital (your passport, your wallet, your money). Those are the only things we check a thousand times to make sure we have. Everything else? Not so much. People in other countries wear clothes and use toothpaste, and they’ve got shops that sell it.

Here’s a few insights into how we pack now.

1. Wear your luggage.

We hated lugging suitcases all over God’s green earth. It slowed us down, wore us out, and took up loads of space. Our solution? Backpacking backpacks. This worked for us because it was something we already intended to purchase since we do a lot of hiking and camping, and they can hold tons of stuff! Great storage space and free hands made backpacks the perfect choice for us.

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

If you’re going to another state or country that has your basic necessities, don’t worry about forgetting the small stuff. We’ve gotten to the point where we don’t pack many toiletries anymore. It slows us down in airport security and we know we can pick it up when we get to where we’re going. We packed deodorant in our checked luggage on our last trip and bought everything else when we got to Dublin. We also bought towels and full-size pillows. Take it from us; a full-size pillow when you’re car camping makes all the difference in the world! And, you can donate those items to a thrift store if you don’t want to take them home.

3. Pack light.

When it comes to clothes, we pack a weeks worth of socks and underwear, a couple of pairs of pants, three long sleeve shirts and three short sleeve shirts (give or take), a few undershirts and long johns, and usually some cold weather pajamas if we’re camping in a climate that needs it. Usually, we choose the comfiest items out of what we packed to wear on the plane. Besides camping equipment and electronics, that’s about all that goes into our bags. We wear our coats to the airport if we are landing in cold weather, and we’ll pack a change of clothes with cold-weather gear (hats/gloves) in one of the carry-on bags in case our luggage gets lost.

4. Take a versatile pair of shoes.

Gentlemen, you might not care about this one too much, but ladies, I think we all know the struggle. I was after a pair of hiking shoes that would also look decent if we went out to a nice restaurant. I searched and searched and finally found a pair of boots that I really liked. They had a great sole for hiking and walking but also looked nice with a good pair of jeans. In the bottom of my bag, I also stashed a pair of black flats. They went with everything I was taking and didn’t take up much space. When we went to Scotland, Billy wore a nice pair of boots on the plane and packed his hiking shoes. He only wore the boots a handful of times, but they were a nice backup.

5. Make a list.

I am a list maker by nature (thanks, Mama!). The first time we pack for a trip, it’s always on paper. We have a list of must-haves, like our passports and such, and then we have a general packing list. It’s nice to get my overpacking habits out of the way with a pencil rather than pulling everything out of the closet, and it’s helpful to jot something down right when we think of it. We tend to fully pack our bags about a week before we go and then go through them one more time the night before we leave. We double-check what we’ve packed against the list, and most of the time, we take out a few things we realize we don’t need. In our opinion, it’s better to pack early and trim down later than pack last minute and nervously shove in extra items that you won’t need.

Happy packing and hopefully this will help you make a better go of it than we had on our first trip!
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy