Suitcase Tetris

Hello again and sorry it has been so long!  I have been making slow but steady progress on my checklist of things to do before I leave.  Most of it would make for a dull blog post, which is why I haven't written.  But, I promised one on the crazy feat that is packing for two years in two suitcases, so without further ado I bring you:

Suitcase Tetris: The Method to My Madness 

The mountains of toiletries have been purchased, the spiderwebs dusted off the suitcases and I am again effectively taking over the entire computer room with my things.  Sorry, Mom, but it's all part of the process.  A process at which I am lucky to have gotten a lot of practice.  And I've gotten pretty good.  Good in the sense that I always find a way to make everything fit and I very rarely forget things.  As far as efficiency goes... lets just say there's a reason I've already been "packing" for a week now.  I'm not sure why anybody would want to be this obsessive about packing but, if you do, here's a guide on how to pack like me.

Step One: Lists.

Packing lists are a necessity.  I think that's a pretty universal rule (even for the non-obsessive).  It will also help you think through what it is that you really need and also prevents you from forgetting something crucial.  It's best to do this a few weeks ahead of time because there are probably a lot of things you need to buy and/or locate in your house and you don't want to be panicking trying to find it last minute.  

Watercolor painted headings are optional but fun when you've already got the paints out and are enjoying a freakishly mild August day on the screen porch.

Step Two: Floor Closet

This is probably where we depart from normal and enter the obsessive.  Lay all of your clothes out on the floor so you can see everything.  Keep in mind you're going to get dog hair all over everything.  Don't try and pick it off because you will probably be weirdly appreciative of it later when you're feeling maybe a little homesick and you realize you still have Shelly fur on your polar fleece.  

Be incredibly stubborn and picky about what clothing you bring.  Spend more time contemplating which tee shirts you want to bring than you should.  Also when your mom really wants you to bring another skirt and an extra polar fleece don't relent.  Embrace the fact that you're going to be wearing the same 8 skirts every day for the next two years.  Also embrace the fact that you're probably going to be wearing an absurd number of layers on top whenever it's cold.  It's okay though because you can rock the layered look.

Step Three: Single-Handedly Keep Ziplock in Business

Everything gets packed in a ziplock bag.  A relic of the camping years with Girl Scouts, you will pack bags to the brim and use your perfected kneeling-on-bag method to essentially vacuum-seal all of your clothing.  You will then spend a sort of ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out which bags still have a fresh enough seal so that they don't slowly refill with air and expand within the next few minutes.  But, on the plus side, this saves a ton of space and reduces the impact of the inevitable exploded-toiletry-disaster.  Speaking of which, you  pretty much individually seal all toiletries in their own ziplock because you can never be too careful.  Shampoo-splosions are serious.

Step Four: Piles, Piles, Piles

Essentially the "floor closet" but for everything else.  Toiletries, art supplies, and electronics all go through the same intensive scrutiny.  It is at this point you remove all the excess packaging you possibly can and transfer the contents into ziplocks.  That cardboard packaging on cold meds is dead weight anyways.  Cross check with your packing list, marking out which bag each item needs to be packed in.  Consider that weight is probably going to be the biggest issue with the two suitcases, especially since you're bringing big, heavy art books and around 10 pounds just in power bars and protein powder.  Which brings me to...

Step Five: Weight is Just a Number... 

Except When you Have a 100lb Weight Limit

Which means a scale becomes your best friend and you end up obsessively weighing everything to figure out how to best distribute that weight between bags.  It also means that once you've tried packing things in two big suitcases and can't seem to make it under 50 lbs a bag you have to reevaluate. And empty out the two big suitcases you spent the past day packing.  Once you take everything out and weigh them empty you'll realize they're both over ten pounds a piece.  SO you'll end up looking for lighter, but smaller options.  Including a really old rolling duffle bag and your 55 liter backpack.    

And now back to the regularly programmed, non-instructional portion of this blog:

After all of that, I got it all to fit! Well, I guess I can't really say that yet. I still need to fit a few odds and ends.  Like a container of Gatorade powder and my iPhone charger... and my first 10 months of malaria medication.  But, I have no doubt I will figure out how to fit it.  I have a week to figure it out at least (my flight leaves at 10 AM on the 31st).  The next time I write I will likely have started the adventure.  

Until then!

-Carolyn