It was exactly four months from the day my plane touched down in Buffalo on October 8, 2010 that I departed once again for Oz. Somehow in that short period of time I had made up my mind to quit my job, rent my house & leave my family & friends back home for a year of adventure abroad.
My house in snowy Buffalo, NY
Once the the big decision was made, the most difficult part of my preparation was figuring out what to pack?!
Just think for a moment about all of the things you use each day; now imagine trying to squeeze them into one suitcase & backpack, both of which by the way, you have to lug around with you everywhere you go. Remember, too, that my first few months in Oz were spent on the road & my last month or so probably will be as well. That means that as much as I may want to at times, I have to try not to collect *too* much stuff while I’m here – my suitcase was already busting a gut before I even left home! 😦
No, I did NOT bring all of this with me - hahaha! These are some of the boxes I packed & stored in my attic so I could rent out my house while I'm away.
So what *did* make it into my suitcase? Well, in the end I packed pretty much the way I would for a two-week vacation – except that I had to account for four different seasons (thank goodness I didn’t have to worry about boots!) I also tried to think about work clothes – although I wasn’t 100% sure what type of job I would end up in & what the dress code would be. I wanted to bring some jewelry, but I had to select items that would be somewhat versatile so I would get enough use out of them. And of course shoes, bulky as they are, had to be chosen carefully.
So much to think about!
My winter jacket from The North Face
One of my first concerns before I left home was finding appropriate jackets that would keep me warm & dry, but that were also lightweight & compact. Thank goodness for The North Face! The winter jacket above may appear bulky in the picture, but it is super light & it kept me nice & warm through the winter months. The one below is just a “shell,” but I’ve used it often as a raincoat/windbreaker.
My rain jacket from The North Face
Amazingly, both jackets fold up into neat little bundles, as you can see in my next photo. Very convenient when you have limited space!
Both jackets fold up into small bundles for easy transport
As for other clothing, I tried to pack a range of items that would be easy to care for, & on the whole, not too bulky. I also tried to bring tops that would match more than one pair of pants & this line of thinking also helped me to select shoes.
I’ll start with the outfit I wore on the plane, which has become a standard for me on long flights: a grey sweatsuit & sneakers. The sneakers are the bulkiest shoes I have with me, so it was easier to wear them rather than try to stuff them into my suitcase. The sweatsuit is nice & comfy which makes it easier to sleep on overnight flights. The top is basically a zip-up hoodie, so I always wear a t-shirt underneath so I can take the sweatshirt off if I get too warm. The perfect flying outfit! As an added bonus, I figured the hoodie would come in handy in cooler weather & the sweatpants could be used as pajama bottoms. 🙂
The only other shoes I brought with me were a pair of black Sketchers (which have turned out to be the perfect shoes for my job at Ghermez Cupcakes) & a pair of flip-flops (a.k.a. thongs in Australia), which are great for use in hostel showers & of course on the beach! Oh! And I also brought slippers . . . no, not Dorothy’s ruby slippers, just regular old wear-around-the-house-in-winter-so-your-feet-don’t-get-cold-slippers. 😉
Pants were relatively easy to figure out – I brought one pair each of jeans, khakis & black pants. I also brought two pairs of capris – jeans & khakis – & a pair of jean shorts.
Tops were a bit more difficult – how many to bring & of what type? I arrived in Australia in late summer & I knew the weather here would be much warmer year-round than it is in my hometown of Buffalo, but I also realized it could get cold in the winter, as well as in the Outback at night, so I wanted to be prepared. To that end, I decided to bring the following:
- 2 sweaters (in addition to the hoodie mentioned above) & 1 3/4-length sweater
- 1 long-sleeve shirt & 2 3/4-length shirts
- 9 t-shirts . . . yes, 9!
T-shirts packed & ready to go
Nine may seem like a lot of t-shirts to some people & perhaps not enough to others! Considering I would be away for a year, I figured it was a good compromise. Although I have had a few things mailed to me from home since I moved to Sydney & I have also bought a few things (yeah, I know, there’s *no* way I’m getting everything back into that one suitcase!), I wanted to have some variety at the beginning of my trip while I was still on the road. Even more than that, I wanted to make sure I had enough clean clothes to wear without having to do laundry every other day!!
Sweaters - yes, it does get "cold" in Australia!
As my mom started calling me, I was now officially a “bag lady:” all of my clothes were neatly tucked away into the “Space Bags” you see above. I’m not sure if they really saved much space when all was said & done, but the organization certainly helped in those months I was literally living out of my suitcase. I also used them to separate clean clothes from the dirty ones.
In addition to the sweatpants mentioned above, I also brought another pair of pajama pants & 2 more shirts (1 short-sleeve & 1 long-sleeve) to use as pajama tops.
- About 2 weeks worth of socks & underwear, plus a few bras
- Bathing suit & Beach towel (I still can’t believe I actually stuffed a beach towel into my suitcase – yikes!) I guess I figured I wouldn’t want to get my bath towel [the Rick Steeves travel towel mentioned below] sandy & possibly not have the chance to wash & dry it before showering!)
- Rick Steves quick-wick travel towel
- Small travel hair towel
Of course I brought the usual toiletries: Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Shaving Cream, Razors, Lotion, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Floss, Mouthwash, Face wash, Moisturizer, Contacts, Contact solution, Brush, Hair gel, Deodorant, Sunscreen & a few other odds & ends.
I even brought along a “laundry bag,” which was just the cloth drawstring bag that held an old air mattress I had at home – hahaha! Dryer sheets came in handy to keep my suitcase smelling fresh as I was traveling, but haven’t been needed so much now as I don’t have a dryer in my flat. 😦
A mini flashlight was my mom’s idea (good one mom! :)) & it definitely came in use while camping, as well as in the hostel – if I was coming or going while roommates were sleeping, I didn’t need to disturb them by turning on the overhead lights.
A mini umbrella . . . which has since broken. I am now on my *third* umbrella in Oz, but this one (*knock on wood*) seems to be holding up.
A travel alarm clock – which has also since broken. I now use my Aussie mobile as my alarm.
Whew! I think that’s about it for what was in my suitcase & I probably couldn’t have fit another thing in there if I’d tried!! Now onto the items I originally packed either in my backpack or purse:
- Important papers, such as my flight info, visa info, initial hostel reservation details, travel medical insurance information & Aussie bank account info
- Passport, License
- Credit card, Debit cards, Aussie cash
- Travel pillow (makes long/overnight flights so much comfier!)
- Laptop & Flash drive
- Camera
- ipod
- Adapter
- Jewelry: A watch, 3 necklaces, 3 pairs of earrings, 2 rings (I now have 3 rings since I bought an opal ring at Coober Pedy :)), Anklet
- A journal & 2 books: an Australia guidebook & Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love (I’ loved it so much I figured I wouldn’t mind reading it a few more times if reading material was scarce during my travels. Fortunately I was able to borrow books at various hostels & I now have a card from my local library – just like a real Aussie resident! ;))
- A Planner – which has come in handy to help me remember birthdays & such, plus I now use it to keep track of my work schedule, bills I have to pay, etc. (yeah, I still have to pay bills on “holiday” :()
- Glasses & Sunglasses
- Medications
- “Earplanes” – I always use these on long flights now as I get terrible sinus pain from the change in altitude. 😦
- 2 small locks (for my suitcase & backpack &/or to be used on a hostel locker)
chasingwonderlust 