You know the excitement you get for your next travel adventure! You do the countdown! You double check your hotel accommodations and flight. You tell everyone who is willing to listen. You post it a million times on your social media accounts. You go shopping for clothes you don’t need. Then a couple of days before the trip, you panic!
I have to pack! What do I bring? What will the weather be like. Even though you’ve check weather.com a million and one times but you really don’t know. Do I over or under-pack? Will I be over the kilo/pounds requirement?
I’ve been traveling for work and pleasure for 14 years and this year has been rough. I’ve either under-packed, over-packed, or just ran out of toiletries.
In Haiti, my adventures where active and I did not pack for it. I wore strapless dresses to climb rocks. Really! Read my blog post on What was I thinking?
Furthermore, my trips have been a combination of work and pleasure. How do you balance the two? The work takes priority but the need for the right tourist outfit is essential. Did I forget to mention that I need to include workout attire? This has been my plight for the last 4 months.
The Plan to Stop the Panic
This time I decided to make my room into a command (maybe a hurricane) center for InterNATionalcaty. Preparation is the key right?
However, for this upcoming trip to Australia and New Zealand, I decided on the following:
1. Get a new luggage that is bigger than a carry-on but small enough that I don’t go over the airline weight requirements.
2. Stock up on the travel size toiletries
3. Get a new toiletry and makeup bag
4. Lay out the clothes and make quick choices
5. Make a checklist
6. Don’t panic!
While I was going through my panic episode, I asked on my Instagram account (interNATionalcaty) “How many days and/or long does it take for you to pack for a trip?”. Apparently, I am a planner and ahead of the game compared to some (lol).
Anyway, with every new travel adventure, I will have the moments of panic but as long as I have a plan and/or checklist, it will resolve itself.
Now, I am going back to packing.
lol, while I procrastinate habitually when it comes to packing, I have certain rules. I -never- check bags so I don’t worry about going over weight limits and I also travel in color schemes. That way, I can mix and match. I actually did my Eurotrip with a duffel bag.
Enjoy your trip!
A great post. Packing is nothing to be panicking about. Just make a list and decide what you need.