I leave for my Greece + Turkey trip in four days! I still can’t believe it’s finally the time. I’m not really prepared. This summer has been my busiest summer ever and I really didn’t have the luxury to constantly think about my trip like I normally am used to. I finally don’t have to work after today, so now I can really start preparing myself for my trip.
The one thing I constantly obsess about is packing. I tend to overpack all of the time. Lately, I’ve been getting better at not over packing, like on my trip to Disney World in July, I went with just a packed duffle bag. But I’ll be away for 3 weeks this time and while I don’t want to pack a lot, I still need to pack enough clothing to get me through 3 weeks. So here’s how I went about it.
I wrote up a check list. Yeah, I always write one of these up, and even though I do follow it, I never make a specific distinction of the quantity of the items I want to bring. I usually just label things like, shirts, shorts, socks, etc. This time around, I specified quantity. My trip lasts roughly 22 days. I did some math and figured, if I wear a bottom for about 5 days before washing, I’ll need about 5 bottoms. That with a dress that I can wear at least twice, I have just enough bottoms to get me through to 22 days. Jeans are always the best because you can wear them multiple times before they are deemed dirty. I used the same math with tops. I’m packing 11 tops that I can wear twice if I hand wash them along the way. That gives me 22 tops, not counting the dress I can wear twice. I figure that’s just enough to get me buy. If anything, I can always buy things as needed and still have enough room in my bag.
While clothing is one thing, I constantly obsess about entertainment and electronics. From my previous Eurotrip I realized that I don’t really need much entertainment. I brought my Kindle along and barely touched it, so it simply added to my worry that some one will steal it if I left it in the hostel. So this time around, I’m limiting my electronics to just my simple point and shoot camera and my iPod Touch. I made the sacrifice with my camera only because I’m traveling alone and the idea of carrying a bigger camera with me sort of freaks me out. I don’t want to have to worry about my electronics being stolen from me, so limiting them is the best move I can make. I’m taking a USB flash drive as well as an extra memory card (you can never have too much extra space!). I’m substituting the Kindle for one paperback book (which I have yet to pick out) and like always, I’m bringing a journal to write in. I’m taking the Remains of the Day journal I made to semi-scrapbook while on my trip. I’m bringing along a pack of Glue Dots as well, so that I can stick tickets, receipts and brochures into my journal without any of the hassle and mess of glue and such. Glue Dots are the best invention ever.
I’m taking some playing cards and lots of pens. I’m also taking a very small makeup bag and two wallets. I tend to separate my coins from my bills, as carrying all those coins together with my cards and bills can get heavy. I figure have two separate places for my money is smart idea as well, though I’m not too concerned with wallets being stolen. Passport and important documents, toiletries and a few extra I’ll take as well. I tried to stick with my 10 things to take on a trip list as much as possible, so most of those things listed will definitely come with me.
I haven’t decided yet what sort of luggage I’m going to pack everything in. I was thinking of my hiking backpack, but if when packed all of my things might fit in a smaller piece of luggage, I might just opt for that. Maybe taking a small luggage carry-on and a slightly bigger than my norm personal item bag, and just splitting my items accordingly. I don’t know yet, I have to try packing things first and seeing.
If you’re curious, I’m going to attached the packing list that I made up for you to check out if you need any help packing yourself. The download is a Word document, so if need be, you can easily edit it and use it for yourself! Download it here.
Well, I just wanted to update you all on my current status, seeing as I’ve been a bit MIA as of late! Hopefully you can find this packing mess I’m in helpful. I’ll try to update here and there while I’m away. Hopefully I can get good Wifi somewhere just to write up a few posts about Turkey and Greece! I’m definitely going to share this trip with you in full detail as much as I possibly can. I will definitely be active on Instagram though, so you know you can always follow me there!
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