simple packing

last year's road trip…big sur, ca

our tribe is getting ready to go camping in a prius.  i've written about packing our essential camping items, and now i'm thinking about personal packing.  in order to keep our packed items as compact as possible, we are packing our clothing and personal items in baggu bags.  i will pack a couple extra empty bags…one for dirty laundry and one for groceries.  as items switch bags, the bags expand and compress to fit exactly what is inside.

here is what i plan to pack:

caftan
black tank dress
black tee dress
grey cardigan
olive button down
constellation tank
black tee
olive shorts
light jeans
flip-flops, toms, athletic shoes, socks x2
hat, swimsuit (we are going to the beach!)
microfiber towel
underwear
1 jacket/coat (it's going to be in the 50s F at night)
pi's:  leggings + tunic tank (+ long underwear)(+ all of the above layers)(+ maybe a wool hat- there may be a story about me tying my hair under my chin to keep my ears warmer)

toothbrush, razor, conditioner, comb, deoderant, tiny hairspray?, hair-ties, bobbypins

water bottle
camera + charger (with a roomy memory card)
phone + charger
1-2 book(s) + notebook, pen
(no computers!)

i'm excited about only taking 11 main pieces for the 9 days we will be gone!    i drew out my outfits, especially for the days that i wanted to look a bit better when seeing family and friends.  that made me feel like i'd have enough and be happy wearing what i have in those situations.  my eleven main pieces include:  3 dresses (that also look cute with jeans), 2 layers, 2 tops, a pair of shorts, jeans, toms and flip flops.  i could probably do with less.

i usually plan to do laundry on longer trips, since this allows us to take half the amount of clothing.  last year, we stayed at a airbnb where they offered to take our laundry to a laundromat.  we left it out in a bag in the morning…and there was a bag of folded, clean laundry when we returned that evening.  it saved us from spending one of our days in the laundromat.  this year, i think we'll be ok without doing laundry.

camping in durango, co last summer was cold!  we ended up buying winter coats at the rei scratch and dent sale in los angeles and wearing them in our sleeping bags in big sur and yosemite.  this year, we are going to try to be a bit more prepared.  my minimalist side does not like to use up so much packing space on coats, but it is necessary!  we bought a stuff sack to put our coats in…to compress them as much as possible.

i hope it all fits!!

love, 
jane