This week I started packing. Not clothes, yet, but a variety of other items I know I'll need once I'm over there. A first aid kit, a couple of coats, a towel, and flip flops are but a few of the things now resting in my suitcases. In three weeks time, those suitcases will be fully packed and on an airplane headed for London.
I've done quite a bit of planning and organizing for my trip so far. Air, bus, and rail tickets are bought. Accommodations are figured out. My London itinerary is planned, and I've bought travel insurance. Yet out of all the tasks I needed to conquer before my trip, packing scared me the most. I've read a plethora of travel blogs and sites that provide advice on what and how to pack. But when it comes down to it, those sites can only get me so far. They can't tell me precisely which of my clothing items I should pack. They don't specify how to pack for changing seasons, since I'll be in Spain during Autumn and Winter months. And they very rarely mention items I may need other than clothes, shoes, and jackets.
Because I'm a planner (And because I have nightmares about forgetting some super essential item at home and being stuck in a foreign country unable to survive because of not having said essential item) I made a list. It is divided into six packing categories and written on three separate pieces of paper, which are all taped to my closet door so I don't lose them. So far, I've found this method highly effective. I've been able to look at my list and pack some of the things I won't need to use in the next few weeks. As they go into my suitcase, they get crossed off. Items from the "Health" and "Electronics/Office" categories are easy to pack now, whereas I'll wait to pack "Shoes", "Clothes", and "Beauty" a few days before I leave.I keep telling myself that I'm going to Europe, not the middle of the desert. I know there will be stores that sell whatever I may forget. Still, I think packing slowly over the next couple of weeks will help ensure that I remember all of the necessities, as well as make packing an overall easier task. Plus, as excited as I am, its fun to put things in a suitcase. It makes the dream that much more real :)
21 more days!!!
