Pam, Ace House Cleaner and Queen of Finding Missing Things knows me too well. This morning when she arrived for work I was bemoaning the fact that people go for a weekend away with a small carry on case and my packing so far for a two hour flight and three nights in Munich involves a suitcase, a cabin sized suitcase and a handbag sized back pack. (And that's just my stuff. Dennis says he can't choose what to take until he sees how much luggage is left for him.)
"How do they do it?" I asked Pam "Why can't I do it?"
"It's all the quilts." she said.
Huh. All the quilts is an exaggeration. But it is true that the cabin bag houses a sizeable hand quilting project and a box of threads. Well, I have time at the airport and on the plane and after dinner (because we are notoriously early eaters on holiday)...... But even if I take that out there is still the matter of the suitcase. I have pared to the minimum but clearly I need help. Which is why God invented Blog Readers.
I was about to ask you this:
Which of the following shall I take out?
Long, smart coat and short, casual coat
Two hats and two scarves - one to match each coat
Snow boots because snow is forecast
Trainers because a day without snow is forecast
Decent shoes to wear to restaurants
Three pairs of jeans (bear in mind one or more pairs might get wet in snow/sleet/rain )
One pair evening trousers
One glitzyish jumper for nice meals in evening
One big polar neck thick sweater
Two different sets of three thin sweaters to be worn in conjunction to create two warm outfits that can be peeled off when I go from colds markets to hot cafes/ shops. A trick I learned in Kyoto
Swimming costume for hotel pool
One book, three magazines
Washbag
Camera
I will cop to the fact that a pair of jeans could be sacrificed. But really - is that one pair going to make a difference?!
But then, I was driving to work pondering which part of this made me abormal and when I arrived I had a an email from a dear friend telling me that she had gone to Starbucks for a couple of hours and had packed
2 Quilting Arts magazines
sketchbook
list notebook
new book on collage
new book about marriage
laptop for online shopping
That email made me happy.
These people who carry on a small bag..... Shame. So abnormal. They must really struggle with that.
I might add another scarf. just for variety.
11 comments:
No use asking me - I always take far too much!
Here's my recommendation:
one coat and matching hat and scarf
one set of walking shoes
one set of fancy shoes
one pair of jeans
one fancy "jumper" --- is that a dress?
two thin sweaters
You must feel like you look fabulous is every single one of these items. Have a little fashion show for yourself before you go.
Pictures please!
I vote with Deborah. I now pack only two or three outfits and wear them multiple times during 8 days. For a weekend it would be one or two outfits and plenty of undies.
I would carry the coat.
I always WEAR the heaviest items on the plane. (I wear a blazer if I plan to wear it with jeans)
I would wear the thin sweater set on the plane and pack the dressy sweater.
Two pair of shoes.
Bathing suit
Take a beautiful shawl to change things up and add to the thin sweaters for an extra dressy outfit.
I was in Munich for the Christmas Markets once upon a time and no one cares what you are wearing and with a nice warm coat and hat you are good to go everywhere.
I have come to the conclusion that what I wear has little to do with how I enjoy the trip.
I take the maximum baggage I can have and fill it up with a variety of stuff because you never know what you may need. Of course, I usually need something I didn't pack or I end up wearing two of the things I packed. I am a really lousy packer.
I'm with Deborah and Joanne, especially about wearing the heavy stuff to fly. Including the boots. You might find it a pain, but not as much a pain as packing heavy boots or coat!
Make sure all your items go together, that way you can ring the changes more easily. Have a "Travelling Colour Scheme" you know you feel and look great in.
When a friend of mine and Iwere gong to Florida to visit another friend, we found out that it was going to be $40 per bag, each way! So we packed very little and decided we would spend $80 each on anything we did need and ship it back. Worked great. Got $80 worth of fabrics and wore the same stuff for 4 days. She had a washing machine, and no one really cared.
Deborah & Joanne have my vote too. How can men just have only 2 pair of shoes in their entire wardrobe? Or something like that.
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I'm with Deborah - wear the coat, and don't pack another one. Personally I usually pack one extra plus enough to wear for the days I am gone, so I have some variety, and make sure I can mix and match everything.
I would take:
-1 coat + hat,gloves, scarf
-1 pr. jeans
-1 pr. dressier pants
-2 basic tops each of which will go with either pair of pants
-dressy scarf that will make one of the tops dressier
-warm sweater (jumper) that will go over either top
-As many pairs of shoes or boots as you may need. Never skimp on shoes!
-1 book, 1 magazine (buy another at the hotel if you need it)
-will you really swim at the hotel? I never do, even if I think I might.
If anything gets wet or spilled on you have an excuse to shop for something new!
I hate having a ton of luggage.
I agree with most of the above and will only add that when removing items, take out the bulkiest ones, i.e, the bulky sweater, the trainers [which I assume is what we on the other side of the pond call sneakers] If you must have casual shoes make them light slip-ons that will be comfortable in the hotel if it doesn't provide slippers. One pair of jeans should do it, if they're wet, wear the evening pants. Maybe the quilting project could be a smaller one. Do you really need snow boots? Can't you take taxis if walking is messy? of course, only one coat, scarf and hat. If you don't want to bore yourself take 3 or 4 silk scarves for variety, they weight nothing and take up no space.
I don't know about anyone else but no matter how little I take I come home with something I never wore at all. Have a wonderful time.
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