He packed, she packed

Apparently it’s lame to call your backpack a ‘backpack.’ If you want to sound legit, just say pack. Ok, got it...(Later, Will claimed he never said that).

When we decided to uproot and travel, it was obvious that less would be best; less risk of losing something valuable, less worries for leaving our stuff in a cheap hotel or hostel, less junk to haul around… I could go on and on. Since we were packing light, we had to be strict with what we brought. Each item needed to pack a punch that made it worth it’s weight. So, we followed a few rules to help us decide what was worthy of joining us on our trip.

Apparently there are two ways to pick a pack - buy all the stuff you want and then find a pack that fits it all, or buy a pack and force yourself to buy only what fits in that pack. We started with our packs. Will picked out sizes that were much smaller than his 65 Liter camping pack. This way we never have to check a bag for any flight we take. Removing the risk of losing our bags and waiting times in airports was ideal. And, smaller packs forced us to be picky about our gear coming along for the ride. I have an Osprey Exos 34L and Will carries an Osprey Talon 44L. I feel like this thing is more important than my left arm!

Packs purchased, we set out to figure out what to wear. Although Will looks ever so manly and rugged in everything Marmot and Patagonia, I knew I didn’t want to look like I stepped out of an Eddie Bauer catalogue; I still needed some style sense with my performance wear. We decided to pick clothing items that were comfortable, flexible, multipurpose, could be dressed up or down, moisture wicking, fast drying, and could be paired with almost everything else we brought with. We did a lot of research from numerous world traveler blogs to determine what would make sense for our trip, and decided how many articles we should bring. At the end of the day, we don’t feel there is a magic rule to packing. We simply wanted to be comfortable, feel like ‘us,’ and have pieces that would serve us well. Mostly synthetic fabrics for their performance benefits; we slowly found shirts, tanks, pants, and shorts that made sense for our journey.

We knew we needed killer footwear, too, so Will purchased a great pair of light-weight Merrell hiking shoes and brought his favorite Rainbow sandals. I grabbed an amazing pair of New Balance tennis shoes to run and walk in, and am a recent Birkenstock fanatic. I’m obsessed with my incredible gold Birkenstock’s. I’m sure they will serve me well.

Toiletries were simple enough: strip out the all the junk from the bathroom cabinet and bring only the absolute necessities-in travel size. I love Norwex products, and a few years ago I stopped washing with cleanser and only use my antimicrobial Norwex Baby Body Cloth[SS1] to wash my face. It’s perfect for traveling, too, since they are so light and can be washed and rewashed over and over again. Bonus- no need to purchase refills. To moisturize, I bought a small travel jar and filled it up with my favorite Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil. There are 30 million uses for coconut oil, so I knew that was the way to go.

I rarely wash my hair. Almost never. And, if I say so myself, I have pretty nice hair, which got longer and nicer after I stopped washing it. I can say that now with pride, because anyone who knew me as a child knows my hair was horrendous. I have earned the right to state, “I have nice hair.” Anyway, since I don’t plan to wash it often, I wasn’t too worried about shampoo and conditioner. I grabbed travel sizes of both, and will continue to pick it up along the way. Diddo with Will (although he washes daily. But he also has nice hair!).

Obviously, we packed a few other necessities: contacts and solution for me, tooth brushes and tooth paste, body wash (Dr. Bronners 18-in-1, we can use it for more than bodywash: shampoo, detergent, face wash…), but it all fits in a small, clear travel sized bag for liquids that’s TSA approved for carrying on.

Make up wasn’t tough for me, either. Although I love a good smokey eye, I put my make up bag away months ago and only wore my essentials: bronzer and mascara. I also packed an eyebrow pencil and 3 punchy lipsticks to crank it up a notch for date nights and going out (like my birthday in a few days!). That’s it. My skin feels great, and my morning routine takes 5 minutes, max.

Clothing and toiletries purchased, we started focusing on other key living essentials, like sheets. Not knowing the exact conditions of where we will be staying (some hostels don’t provide or charge for sheets, others that do provide them may be questionable), we grabbed uber light-weight silk liners that we can shimmy into at the end of the day. Same situation with towels. We each packed a light-weight, super absorbent towel for showers or even beach time.

To stay connected to the rest of the world, we knew we wanted to bring the MacBook Air. Although we won’t have phone numbers any longer, we are bringing our iPhones for use when we have wifi. We will use a handful of apps to message and call friends and family as we can. Chargers and converters also made the cut.

When all was said and done, Will’s pack weighed 22lbs and mine was 17lbs. Not too shabby!

Here’s a way to detailed breakdown of what made the cut for each of us, starting with Will:

44 Liter Pack

REI Stuff Travel Pack (not pictured)

Rain cover for pack (with stuff sack)

4 packing cubes

Baseball hat (no logo)

Light packable rain jacket

Light weight-tight fitting fleece

1 long sleeve button down collar shirt

1 long sleeve T-shirt

1 short sleeve polo

2 short sleeve T-shirts

2 pair of pants (light/moisture wicking)

2 pair of short (can be used as swim suits)

1 belt

4 pair synthetic antimicrobial underwear

4 pair smartwool ankle running socks

1 pair shoes

1 par flip flops

Bandana

N-Rit compact hand towel

Cocoon silk travel sheet (with stuff sack)

REI MultiTowel XL (with stuff sack)

Combination lock (not pictured)

Crappy watch

Passport

Slimfold wallet

ID

Credit Card

Debit Card

Backupcards/photocopies of travel documents (not pictured)

Sunglasses

Ear plugs (shooting kind)

Headlamp

Extra AAA batteries

Paracord/Clothesline

iPhone 4s (with otterbox)

iPhone charger

Headphones

MacBook Air

Neoprene sleeve

Computer Charger

Outlet converters/adaptors

Small bag for electronics

Journal

Pen

Travel First Aid Kit

Zip-lock toiletries bag

Duct Tape

Concentrated travel soap

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Floss

Deodorant

Hand sanitizer

Insect Repellent

Sunscreen

Eye drops

Tums

Chapstick

2 disposal razors

Sink plug (for laundry -not pictured)

Here's how it packs down, minus an outfit for the plane.

And for me:

34L pack

2 pairs of leggings

1 pair of hiking-ish pants

1 pair of running/sleeping shorts

1 long skirt

1 sleeveless dress

1 large packing cube for bottoms

1 long sleeve shirt

1 light sweater (can be worn 5 ways!)

3 tank tops

1 tee shirt

1 chambray button down

1 kimono-ish wrap

1 medium packing cube for tops

1 pair of running shoes

1 pair of Birkenstocks

1 pair of shower sandals

3 pairs of socks

4 pairs of panties

2 bras

1 small packing cube for ‘negligée’

1 sports bra/swimsuit

1 bikini

1 one-piece suit

1 rain coat

1 light-weight jacket

1 turban-style headband

1 bandana

My Fit Bit

2 necklaces

2 bracelets

1 scarf

Travel toothbrush and toothpaste

Deodorant

3 razers

Insect repellent

Sunscreen

Contacts/soltion/travel case

Melaleuca oil (for cuts, scapes, and owies)

3 Norwex Baby Body Clothes

Shampoo/Conditioner/Body wash

Mascara

Brow Pencil

Bronzer

Mini bronzer brush

3 lipsticks

Chapstick

Fingernail clippers

Tweezers

1 homemade by mom makeup pouch

Hair ties

Bobby pins

Mini straightener

Diva Cup

1 towel

1 sheet

1 inflatable travel pillow

2 pairs of ear plugs

Cross-body purse

Credit cards

Passport

Travel documents

Vaccination papers

Baggu

Sunglasses

Cell phone + charger

Ollo Clip (camera lens for phone - not pictured)

Headhones

Journals

Kindle and cover + charger

1 backpack rain cover

Here's how it packs down.

2 uber important things didn't make the cut- our wedding rings. They are tucked away safey until we return home. No need to risk losing those pretty little things.

I used to check a bag. It was always, without fail, 49.9lbs. My how things change.

From Minneapolis, with love.

Sara + Will

#backpack #packinglist #aroundtheworld #norwex #osprey #travel