Pack for Your Life

Life has been hectic lately; we’re between places, crashing with family members, updating our address information with banks and the like, and tying up the last loose ends with regards to storage and packing. A few more Rubbermaid bins need a home, and plans are in the works to store our vehicles while we are gone, but overall it’s all coming together.

With our packing at home taken care of, it’s time to turn our attention to what we will actually take with us – the clothes we will live in for four months. This task doesn’t seem to be as daunting for Travis as it is for me, and I’m quickly learning that “what to pack” is one of the more controversial travel related topics out there.

We have received as much, if not more, “what to/not to pack” advice as we did opinions on Europe's "must see" attractions. Although it's well intentioned, all these opinions can become frustrating; these "helpers" aren't all within our demographic, haven't traveled to the same destinations, at the same time of year, and for the same duration as we are, and don't always have the same experiences and travel style as we do.

Early into our trip planning process I decided that there isn't a single reason I can't feel pulled together and presentable while living out of a backpack for four months; we aren't planning any strenuous excursions or overnight treks. This means that there is absolutely no place in my pack for the following items: any kind of zip off pants, oversize sports t-shirts or shorts, chunky white running shoes, or ill-fitting clothes that claim to be quick drying or sweat resistant.

It also means I’m playing with the idea of taking a few hair products, some makeup, and maybe an accessory or two with me as well.

That is the sound of disappointment coming from 67% of our closest friends and family.

Call me vain, self-centered, high maintenance, but the truth is that I have more fun and am more comfortable when I feel well-dressed, and since this trip is a once in a lifetime opportunity I’d prefer not to spend my time insecurely tugging at my wardrobe.

For a complete packing list of everything that made its way into our packs check out our Packing page under the Pre-Trip banner (above).

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9 Ways to purge your house before travelling

If you’ve been following our posts recently you may already know that we are in the throws of a full scale move – having to vacate our house by the end of June to make room for the new tenants. Being a planner and Excel spreadsheet junky, I jumped on the opportunity to make list after list of moving priorities, most of them were ignored. 

To say we have a lot of stuff is an understatement

However we did manage to make our June 30th deadline and now everything we own is either hibernating in a Rubbermaid bin in the back corners of a garage or being put to use by our friends and family in their homes. If we had to do it all over again (please no!) here are some things that we think worked well, and a few areas for improvement… 

Start early –The minute we bought our plane tickets we should have been making keep and toss piles for all our bits and pieces. Although we tried to be proactive a lot of things piled up at the last minute. 

Borrow a truck – The majority of our moving in to the house was done out of my Honda Civic hatchback; great little car, not necessarily designed for moving large amounts of belongings. We had to beg, borrow, and nearly steal a truck for the weekend but it was essential in moving some of the larger pieces of furniture. 

Purge, purge, purge – Due to the amount of stuff we had, we needed to cut it down to a storable size. Therefore, if we hadn’t worn or used something recently it was headed for a new home. With that being said, don’t feel obligated to get rid of something that holds sentimental meaning. Also don’t forget to consider the seasons when purging clothes – we may not need toques and mittens now, or on our trip, but they will be greatly appreciated when we return home at the end of December. 

Share the love – A lot of the furniture and decorative items we were storing or getting rid of are in excellent condition, so before sending them to a storage unit or second hand store we asked friends and family if they needed anything. As a result all of our furniture found new, temporary homes, and we didn’t need to pay for a storage locker. 

Rent partially furnished – We were extremely lucky to find two great tenants to rent our place while we are away, and as they don’t have a lot of furniture, and we have too much to store, we were able to compromise by renting our place partially furnished. Again this saved us from having to pay for a storage space or give away pieces that are in good shape but not worth storing. 

Have a garage sale – We wish we had our act together in time to have a garage sale. In the end we gave away a number of nice items because we simply ran out of time and the extra money we could have earned for an afternoon of work would have been a nice addition to our budget. 

Rubbermaid bins are amazing – Although a bit more expensive than regular cardboard boxes, we chose to pack the majority of our stuff into plastic Rubbermaid bins. Waterproof, bug and vermin proof, and sturdier than cardboard they will keep our belongings safe and stack easily. We also tried to remember to add a dryer sheet to each Rubbermaid bin to keep the contents fresh. 

Keep travel in mind when packing – Because we are moving out of our house two months before we leave for Europe it was easy to start packing absentmindedly without considering what we needed for our trip. Make a rough list of what you will be taking in your backpack, then consider when you will need for the next few months before your trip, decide what you no longer need and will be giving away, and then finally pack everything that doesn’t fit in any of those categories. 

Don’t forget the small things – Changing over your home insurance, utility bills, and cable/internet bills may seem small but can have a big impact. This holds true for updating mailing addresses as well. The paperwork piece of moving can easily slip through the cracks while you’re focus is on moving furniture and electronics so make sure to add it to your to-do list (or Excel spreadsheet!). 

Unfortunately moving seems to be one of those things that gets easier with practice – although we’re practiced out for now. Each time you find better and more efficient ways to do it, but in the end we are just glad we made it out in time. Now to adjust to the next two months living out of suitcases and Rubbermaid bins...

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Travel Prep is Hard Work

Isn’t the idea of travel enchanting? Picture yourself strolling cobblestone steps in an ancient city, looking out over a brilliant orange sky as the sun sinks into the sea...

(via)

This has always been my vision of travel. Romanticized, captivating, even a bit glamorous; simply purchase a ticket, pack your bags, and live in the moment. The pre-trip planning, organizing, and overall effort never factored into my thoughts. Now I know better. Anyone that has simply booked a flight one day and departed for adventure the next boggles my mind. Honestly I won’t even believe it’s possible until I see it with my own eyes. 

 I’d like to think I’m not completely naïve about the travel process, as some preparations are obviously needed – an updated passport, any necessary vaccinations, savings and perhaps a new credit card – but I never expected the months leading up to our trip to be so exhausting; the annoying thing is that most of this pre-travel planning isn’t even trip related. If we were forced to read up on travel forums and guide books the excitement of planning our once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe would easily trump any tiredness, late nights, or endless amounts of research, however besides some discussions on countries and cities we’d like to visit, and a bit of internet time perusing accommodation and transportation options, the majority of our time has been spent preparing to rent our house and store our belongings. 

Again, I was naïve and thought this would be a simple task. Merely find renters we trust, move everything out, and couch surf for a couple months until our departure date while simultaneously having someone else pay our mortgage. Clearly I’ve repressed our experience two years earlier when we moved into our house because moving is never that easy. Also, in two short years our belongings have somehow tripled. Either someone is sneaking into our house late at night to leave junk in closets and on shelves, or our furniture has figured our binary fission as a way to procreate – either way I’m not happy about it. 

Deciding which we could keep was the hardest part.

Goodbye lovely mauve...

And so here we are, attempting to vacate our house in less than two weeks and find storage for all of our belongings that cannot simply go back to where they came from. Quite a bit of these items, not making the cut, will find themselves on the shelves of our local thrift store, the rest are destined for a prolonged stay in a Rubbermaid bin. Since we aren’t quite sure what our living situation will be once we get home they may have to stay boxed up for quite some time.

Moving has been trying at times, tiring and stressful at others, but it has also been surprisingly sad. We are leaving our first home for the unknown, and as excited I am to explore another part of the world, I really don’t want to re-paint our guest bedroom - I love the mauve walls very much, just as they are.

We hope our home will be as comforting for its new inhabitants as it was for us, and perhaps one day we can be together again. Until then we’ve got a bathroom fan to fix, thirteen Rubbermaid bins to move, and too much cleaning to do. After all of this we will definitely need a vacation.

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