Almost ready to go!

Just 2 full days until my big adventure, I'm so excited! Our living room looks like my closet exploded in it, but I assure you it's "organized chaos"!

I did a little packing class for some ladies from church last month and thought I'd share some tips with you. I am utilizing these little helpful hints as I pack and it's making everything quite efficient!  For 25 days, I'm just taking one checked bag (a roller duffel) and one carry on (a good sized backpack).

Packing Tips 

"Less is Better"

Carry on bag:

• Toiletries, in clear Quart sized ziplock bag
• Medicines/first aid kit (carry all prescriptions with you in original marked bottle)
• extra change of clothes, especially underwear
• eye mask, ear plugs, slippers or soft socks
• reading materials, music – consider Audio Bible & audio books that can be played from an MP3 player. Kindle, Nook or ibooks are good ideas too.
• inflatable travel pillow
• pocket tissues packs and hand sanitizer (packed in Quart sized ziplock)

General Travel tips:

• Documents: Scan your passport, passport photos and paper tickets (if not the e type) in. Store this in an email in your web based email account. You can also store the details of your emergency 'lost card' telephone numbers in your web based email account so you know who to contact if your credit card or ATM card is lost or stolen. This way, even if you lose everything, you have immediate access your all important information. You can even email the details page of your passport to the embassy or consulate when applying for a new one.

• Laptops or other electronics - LABEL your laptop computer. Tape a business card or other identifying information beneath your laptop to avoid loss or the accidental "exchange" by other passengers.

Checked luggage:

• If using a lock, make sure it's a TSA accepted and recognized one
• Consider writing your home and destination address (and mobile number if you have one) on a self-adhesive sticky label to stick INSIDE your luggage in a visible place. If your luggage is lost and the baggage label has come off, at least the airline can still figure out whose luggage it is.  For an interesting view into what happens to unmarked luggage, check out this site: http://www.unclaimedbaggage.com
• If you're taking rain gear that you aren't wearing, make sure to pack it in a readily accessible place.
• Pack an empty daypack or backpack flat in your main bag.
• Place any electronic cords in clear ziplock bag, try to minimize what needs to be plugged in

Shoes:

• If you want to make sure everything else in your bags stays clean and odor free, place the shoes inside old socks and then inside airtight plastic bags (ziplock). “Shoe bags” can be purchased as well.
• Make sure to use the empty space in your shoes to pack things: socks, jewelry and underwear are all good options.
• If at all possible, limit the number of pairs to no more than 3 (1-2 is preferable).

Clothing

The five cardinal rules of traveling clothes:
1) Nothing white
2) Nothing that wrinkles
3) Clothes you can layer
4) Lots of pockets
5) Very few

Clothes take up the most space in your luggage, so don’t pack many. Just get used to doing a bit of laundry each night or two in your room. Laundry soap sheets can be found on magellans.com (or Amazon also sells them for cheaper).

• A universal sink stopper and portable clothesline can come in handy when doing laundry in hotel/hostel rooms.
• Pack everything in clear plastic bags (preferably zip lock), divided into items e.g. underwear, t-shirts, shorts etc. before packing in your suitcase or backpack. One plastic bag for each type of clothing. This is extremely useful in various ways. When you unpack your bag you just take out a series of bags and you can see immediately what you want. So an overnight stay somewhere just means taking 1 item out of a bag - no rummaging!! In addition, if you have to unpack at customs etc, instead of having to disgorge all your clothing etc out in front of everybody, you can calmly take maybe 5/6 bags out, the contents of which can be clearly seen by the officials. To repack then is also dead easy.
• Consider fast-wicking (drying) layers of expedition clothing. These clothes are light, designed for frequent washing, high durability, and are rated by "zones" for specific climates.
• Pick neutral colors so your outfits are easier to coordinate.
• Wear clothing with pockets whenever possible so that your essentials (ID, passport, credit card, money, hotel key) are on your person at all times. An alternative is a money belt or leg wallet, especially if pickpockets are a concern.
• If you do take something that may wrinkle, fold it in tissue paper first.
• If flying with someone, divide the clothes between different suitcases/backpacks/bags etc. If one persons luggage doesn't arrive at the destination, they'll still have clean clothes available. Airlines generally don't compensate lost luggage for the first 24-48 hours so this will save you money if it happens to you.
• Share detergent, shampoo and books if traveling with someone.
  
  
  Misc tips:

• Bring books you're OK with giving away, many places have a library that you can leave a book and take one.
• Don't wrap gifts
• Bring older clothes with you and donate or throw them away as you go
• Mail dirty laundry/gifts/souvenirs back to yourself
• If you appreciate cold drinks think of using a six-pack cooler (soft-sided) as a toiletry bag. Once you arrive at your destination and unload your toiletries your 'toiletry bag' guarantees cheap cold drinks on the beach, no matter how remote.
• Belts are available that have zippers on the inside to store cash and a copy of your passport.
• Lay out every-thing you think you’ll need to take and consider the pile. Put away any item that’s not really necessary. Take whatever remains, pack half of it, and leave the other half at home - you won’t need it. 
  
  
  Here are some rules:

• If it doesn’t all fit in one carry-on sized pack and daypack, you've overpacked.
• If you can't lift it over your head and hold it there for 10 seconds, you've overpacked.
• If you can't shoulder your load and walk five times around the block without breaking a sweat, you've overpacked.

Resources:

www.onebag.com  A site dedicated to helping people pack for their trips in one carry on bag

www.magellans.com  Good travel products 

www.seatguru.com  Type in your airline and flight number and a plane seat map will appear to help you choose the best seat