I love packing for trips. I’m a pretty modest packer; I never had an overweight luggage at the airport, and I tend to under-pack more than over-pack. But for a longterm trip like we are planning to do, it can be hard to estimate how much (and what) to bring.

Getting my belongings together and making a selection of what to take with me is the cherry on the getting-rid-of-things-pie. It’s the selection of a selection. Packing everything you are going to use in the following months in a portable luggage feels pretty liberating.

We don’t want to bring too many luggages (that would not be practical), so we are taking one big luggage for us all together, and one hand-luggage each. The big luggage will be already quite full from the baby-tent we’re bringing, so space is limited.

Clothes
Luckily we are going into the warmer season, so I won’t need to take too many big clothes like sweaters or jackets. I have a pretty minimalistic wardrobe anyway, so it was not too hard to make a clothing selection (I’m actually bringing all the clothes I’m wearing most). Plus, I can always purchase some clothes along the way (and leave some other clothes behind). Counting:
– 2 pairs of jeans
– 1 pair of leggings
– 2 pairs of shorts
– 1 skirt
– 1 pair of loose summer trousers
– 3 sweaters
– 1 raincoat
– 3 T-shirts
– 5 singlets
– 1 bikini
– 1 pair of sneakers
– 1 pair of flip-flops

Of course I’ll try to wear as much as possible of the (biggest) clothes on the day of the flight, so the remaining clothes won’t take too much space in my luggage. It gets cold on the plane anyway ;-)

Gifts
Stroopwafels (syrup waffles) are the best gifts from Holland you could bring, and they don’t take too much space in your luggage. I used to bring people licorice (‘drop’), but found out that the strong, salty taste didn’t make people so happy.

Devices
My iPad will mainly be used as communication-tool to stay in touch with friends and family back home, and as my blogging device. I will also bring my phone (I’ll get a local simcard for it).

And more
Of course there is more. I’m bringing a little black book to take notes, a book to be read and then traded during the trip, a multi-fiber towel, my camera (which fits in my hand-luggage) and the usual travel necessities like toiletries, sunscreen, passport, driving license, etc.

I know that I’ll be switching and replacing stuff until the last minute, but this gives somewhat of an idea of the size of our luggage. I don’t have to worry about JP’s packing; he is quite the minimalist.

Packing my stuff is not the hardest thing, the real challenge is to keep myself from bringing back too much stuff when we come back from our trip!