Packing Tips for an Extended Trip Abroad
Organization and minimization are crucial techniques when packing for your long journey abroad. It can be very difficult to determine what to bring and what to leave behind, especially if you have limited space. Let’s take a deep dive into some of our packing tips.
Just interested in seeing what is inside our backpacks? Scroll down to the bottom!
Find the right baggage for you
The first step in making your packing list is to determine what type of baggage you are taking. You need to know how much space you have to work with. For us, we each have 1 large backpack and 1 smaller backpack. Within these 2 bags would be everything we need for the next 9 months.
Our backpacks have many compartments, zippers, and pockets. Organization is key. Having many pockets and zippered compartments makes it easy to store your items in a strategical way. I like to have all like items in the same area- for example, I roll my pants and put them all into one compartment and put my hygiene items in a separate smaller space. Exterior pockets or other easily accessible areas are very helpful to store everyday items, such as phone chargers and medicines, especially if you are on the go. I find this especially useful when at the airport.
Make a list of your wants
After you have decided on the amount of space you have, make a detailed list of all of the items you WANT to take. Or better yet, grab all of those items and lay them out. Not all of these items are going to make the cut, but it’s ok to start with a “wish list.” If you are taking minimal luggage like us, you will quickly start to realize that not all of your ‘wants’ are going to fit.
Questions that must be considered
What type of activities will you be doing?
What is the climate of where you are traveling?
How often can you do laundry?
What is your travel budget?
What makes you comfortable?
What is important for you?
Minimize
Look at your items from your ‘wish list.’ Do you have space for all of those things? Probably not. Even if you do, you may want to consider removing items simply due to weight and to eliminate “stuff.” Many travelers have told us “you aren’t going to use half of the stuff you bring.” If you pack correctly at the beginning, you can prove them wrong :)
Minimizing can be very difficult. I don’t know about you, but I routinely pack multiple bags just for a weekend trip. I am always packing extra “just in case” or “what if” items. Being prepared is still important, but you must think about the importance of these “just in case” items. A small first aid kit still made the cut for me, but my umbrella did not. There is simply no space for these extra things.
We all have that shirt, undergarment, or pair of shoes for that ONE outfit. Those items will need to stay behind. Save that space for items that you will be able to enjoy more often. Bring items that can be mixed and matched with multiple outfits. For me, I packed clothes relatively all in the same color family- mostly blues, greens, and purples. These items can easily be interchanged and worn with different outfits.
After laying all of my items out, I could easily identify some items I could remove- either I had too many of a particular item, it didn’t match any other clothes, or it’s space could be used for something more important.
Use Packing Cubes
These are a space-saving dream! Since buying a 3-pack about two years ago, I literally never travel without them. I don’t know which result I like more: the space-saving or the organization. Most travel backpacks will easily fit 3 packing cubes, depending on the size. Some, like Topo Design, sell an assortment that fits their specific backpack. This is the system that Greg uses. Once you have your packing cubes, trial out rolling different clothes into them and see what works for you. We always like having short sleeves in one, and long sleeve shirts in another. I advise choosing separate colors for your cubes or ones with mesh tops, so you can easily identify what is inside each cube.
Vacuum seal bags? Maybe.
I don’t love them for everyday traveling, but they do come in handy for your longer journeys. Pack your clothes into the cubes FIRST, and then seal them shut. If you do not put them in the cube first, it will create a funky shape and makes it difficult to properly pack into your bag. These are quite handy for your bulky items, such as coats. As you likely will not routinely have access to a vacuum, be sure to purchase bags that come with a manual pump.
Don’t use original containers
This especially goes for medicines and toiletries. Original packing can be hard, bulky, and heavy. These take up too much space. We squeezed our hair products and lotions into smaller, pliable travel pouches. We also managed to bring our perfume/cologne by transferring it into a small atomizer pump. Granted, perfume is not essential for our journey, but because of how little space it took up, we decided to each bring one. I put our medicines into ziplok baggies and labeled each bag. This is a huge space saver!
What I packed
You may be surprised what I was actually able to fit into just 2 backpacks, but by using the above techniques, I was able to make it happen! From rainy Ireland in April to sunny Spain in July and snowy Germany in December, we needed clothing for all sorts of weather. We also needed ‘work’ clothes for all of our workaway assignments throughout the year. So far, (a month into our journey), we are both pretty happy with everything we have packed. I would have switched out a sweater for more of a leisure/work jacket, but other than that, no complaints!
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4 pairs of shoes
7 pairs of pants
6 pairs of shorts
2 skirts
1 bra
4 sports/lounge bras
10 undies
7 pairs of socks
6 long sleeve shirts
6 short sleeve shirts
2 quarter length shorts
7 sleeveless shirts
3 dresses
1 vest
1 coat
2 jackets
1 swimsuit
1 scarf
1 pair of gloves
1 ear warmer
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1 sunscreen
1 conditioner
1 hair cream
2 face creams
1 mascara
1 eyeliner
1 concealer
1 eyeshadow stick
1 razor
2 razor blades
1 electric toothbrush/charger
1 toothpaste
1 brush
1 flat iron
First aid items: band aids, gauze, bacitracin, tweezers, qtips
Meds: ibuprofen, zytrec, benadryl, pepcid, tylenol, sudafed, excedrin
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1 camera
2 lens
2 converters
1 portable charger
1 go-pro
1 hard drive
1 Microsoft surface pro
2 headphones (wireless/wired)
chargers
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1 passport
1 purse
1 fanny pack
1 water bottle
1 laundry bag
1 hammock
1 pair of sunglasses
30 laundry detergent sheets
1 battleship game
1 Skyline chili mix
2 necklaces
2 pair of earrings
1 bracelet
3 headbands
2 scrunchies
1 laundry bag
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