Guess what’s in here? I packed a bag for an overnight stay in NY this past weekend. In this bag, there are two pairs of pants, a set of pajamas, a pair of shoes, two shirts (one for warm weather and one for cold), socks, clean underwear and a fold out toiletries bag with all the appropriate accessories.
Alex trained me for about an hour on her last visit on a whole packing system that has revolutionized how I pack now. The brief version: Her method involves placing every single thing in an appropriate sized Glad freezer bag or sandwich bag and then wrapping it up in a stack of pants (staggered and layered) like a giant sushi. For example, all underwear in one bag, all socks in one bag and each individual shirt you will wear in its own bag. So seven days, seven freezer bags with seven shirts. Stacked up and rolled up in your pants.
I am in awe by how small everything was and how organized I felt. I can’t wait to incorporate this system on a longer trip. But being able to backpack it around NY sure made things super easy.
Of course, I will probably run into bumps in the system, so I am constantly in touch with my guru and asking questions. In the meantime, here is a picture of her with her protegé.
Aha! The secret revealed… every instinct is screaming “Nooo! Don’t do it!! Overpacking is friend!”
But, secretly I am plotting “If this means I can pack EVEN MORE…!?!”
p.s. My instincts are not gramatically impaired- that’s just my Monday-brain. They really scream, “… Overpacking is [your] friend” : P
Kitty, the other great advantage was the organizational side of it. I had to go in there before I left to switch out a shirt, and it was so easy. I found the “shirt bag” right away without rifling through every single thing, and I placed everything right back and into the backpack again in about 30 seconds, no lie!
pants and undies sushi? does that come with miso soup?
Seriously, that’s way impressive that you were able to get all that stuff into the backpack. I’m a complete overpacker.
I always pack everything I check in plastic — that way if they have to go through my luggage, no one is pawing through my fine washables. They can just pick up a bag and see what it contains without making a big mess…