Packing Problems

Or, How to Fit Your Life into One Suitcase With Austen

Ollie thinks he's helping me

So, I’m not going to lie, I’m more than a little overwhelmed. I began my packing sojourn by first pulling out all the clothes that I wished I would be able to bring with me to Leeds. Unsurprisingly, it was far too many than would fit in my suitcase and carry-on. It was immediately apparent that I needed to economize in a drastic way. 

As my roommates can confirm, I am not exactly a “light packer”. When I first moved in to college two years ago I brought an overflowing mini-van’s worth of stuff with me. I regretted 85% of what I brought with me, and (since I live 1000 miles away) I have spent the last 2 years slowly purging my dorm room and relocating extraneous items to my house in small doses. 

The Packing Heap

Two days ago I spent three hours trying on different outfits in order to decide what to keep and what I could live without. By the end of those three hours, I was exhausted (particularly due to the fact that it had been about 27 hours since I’d woken up). I threw everything I had decided to take into a heap in my suitcase and laid face down on the sofa to convalesce. 

Yesterday, I decided on what shoes, accessories, socks, underwear, etc. to bring. It was so time consuming to go through and decide on the number of each small item to bring (do I need 14 pairs of socks? who knows, really…), and then to play a maddening game of suitcase Tetris with all the items meticulously chosen. By the end of the day, I had packed up, sealed up, and weighed all three pieces of luggage (large suitcase, carry-on, and backpack) at least 4 times each as I tried to figure out how to fit everything in under the weight limit. After several hours of back-breaking labor (not a complete exaggeration, my back is killing me! I can feel my spine creak as I try to stand up, which is ridiculous), I thought I had fit everything into the best configuration. 

The Pocket List

Today, upon reconsideration, I decided to change my carry-on luggage and reduce my carry-on weight as much as possible. Yet another game of Tetris! The tricky thing about my carry-on luggage is that my rolling luggage was just a 1/2 inch too tall, and I’ve heard horror stories about KLM’s strict attitude towards luggage size restrictions. So, I decided to downsize the number of items and put them in a more flexible duffle bag. Technically, both pieces of luggage are the same size, but I figure that since the duffle isn’t full, it can squish up to a smaller size and fit in those luggage sizer bins! I’ve finally got everything fitting, and I’m hoping that my extreme attention and forethought will prevent any luggage mishaps or catastrophes at once I get to the airport. Sure, in order to meet all the weight requirements, I may have planned on wearing 3 rather bulky in-flight layers and carrying several ridiculous items in my pockets, but last time I checked, there was no weight limit for the passengers!

My finished and complete list of packed items includes:

• 6 short sleeved t-shirts, 2 long sleeved, one sleeveless
• 6 button front shirts
• 3 white undershirts
• 5 camisoles
• 4 sweaters
• 2 cardigans
• 3 pairs of jeans
• 1 pair of trousers
• 2 skirts
• 2 casual/semi-formal dresses
• 1 formal dress
• 1 fall jacket/casual blazer
• 1 set of pajamas
• 1 set of workout clothes
• 1 raincoat

• 2 scarves
• 1 hat
• 2 belts
• 1 set of mittens
• 2 purses

• 2 pairs of booties
• 1 pair of pink heels
• 1 pair of black flats
• 1 pair of gym shoes
• 1 pair of flip-flops

• And various socks, underwear, toiletries and notebooks, and what not that I won’t bore you with by counting and listing out. 

The Packing Finalists

My final weigh-in according to my handy portable luggage scale is: large suitcase— 40.5 lbs; carry-on duffle— 10.6 lbs; and backpack—12.7 lbs. Those of you who know me and have seen me pack for the long-haul know how big of an accomplishment this is for me! I mean, for 4.5 months, I’m only taking 63.8 lbs of stuff, clothes and beyond! This is a first for me! Let’s just say, they have been weighed, they have been measured, and my packing skills have not been found wanting.