Thursday 16 June 2011

Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag...

I said I'd do it on Monday and today I finally got round to starting my packing. Go me...Go me...

I haven't finished packing yet but I'd say I'm 80% done. Considering I usually leave it all until the night before I think that's pretty impressive. No photos or video of the luggage yet but don't worry...the packing vlog WILL happen!

One thing that concerns me a little is that I seem to have more room in my case than last year yet I'm taking more stuff, a LOT more stuff! I'm really not sure how that one works but there you go.

This year I've changed packing tactics slightly in relation to the vacuum bags and so far have only vacuum packed 2 things: my comforter and my spare suitcase. Last year I tried to vacuum pack all my clothes and I'm not convinced that it made THAT much difference to the total volume.

I know that some people are struggling with packing everything into one case/ keeping the weight under 23kg so here's a really brief description of what I've packed in my suitcase:

3 month supply of contact lenses
Business Attire (1 pair of trousers, 2 blouses, 1 pair smart black shoes)
7-10 days worth of summer clothes
Swimsuit
1 pair Flip Flops
1 pair black trainers
Minimal quantity of toiletries (sun cream, razor, deodorant, very small bottles of shampoo and conditioner)
2 Vinylmation
1 pin lanyard
signing book (from last summer)
Duvet
Spare Suitcase
Wireless Router + ethernet cable
A bear named Bear

My hand luggage is going to contain:
All paperwork
All electricals (cameras, hard drives, laptop, phone etc)
E-book reader.
Medication
Toothbrush + Toothpaste
Deodorant
2 pairs contact lenses
Spare T-shirt

Then the plan is to wear Jeans, T-shirt, Zipped Hoody and White trainers for travelling to Orlando.

When planning the amount of clothes that I'm taking I keep 2 major things in mind:

1) I will buy clothes in Florida.
2) There are laundry machines.

Doing laundry last summer was so ridiculously convenient that I'm not too worried about taking loads of clothing with me. If I need anything extra desperately then I'll buy it cheaply in Walmart or a discount store.

My number one tip when deciding what to pack is to prioritise things that are difficult to buy in the USA because anything else can be acquired if you forget it or don't have room. Ultimately the important thing is that you turn up with all the necessary paperwork, a couple of days clothes, business attire, and any medication/contact lenses/etc that you'll need.

Tomorrow is, arguably, the busiest day of my week so far, yet the middle of it seems fairly empty. I've got my haircut in the morning and then I'm working in the evening. Yeah, that's right, only I could do pretty much nothing for a month and then work less than 2 days before I leave! It should be a fun night though because I'm working an event at a school near where I live, promoting King's College. It will be my last day wearing my flashy, super cool, red Student Ambassador T-shirt.

Before I sign off for the night, apologies for so many posts in the last 24 hours. It can't be helped I'm afraid....the excitement is building!

2....


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