Packing What You Need vs. Packing What You Think You Need

Getting the Most Out of Your Suitcase While Only Packing the Necessities:

a) Lay your suitcase open. It’s good to see how much space you’ll realistically have to work with (unfortunately, not all of us can have Mary Poppins’ carpet bag).

b) Slowly add-take away-add-take away various items necessary for your journey with whatever pre-travel time you have. I go back and forth between packing what I really need vs. packing what I think I will need in my travels, but it’s a great exercise to make sure you only bring the necessities!

c)  I feel more prepared taking time with packing, rather than rushing everything the last minute. I know that I’m more likely to forget things, yet overpack all the same.

d) Making a list always helps me remember the essentials (important documents, prescription meds, underwear, etc) and by keeping to that list, unnecessary items are less likely to end up in my suitcase.

e) Sometimes you have to pack for a trip while packing up your entire bedroom too. Sound familiar? Oh, I see… yeah, this would just happen to me. It was a lot of work, but having to go through everything made me feel more confident that I wouldn’t forget anything I would need… I really wish I had had enough room for my Adventuring Backpack :C

I can easily live out of a suitcase when I travel, yet have an entire closet and a room full of possessions at home just waiting for me. Coming home to the rest of my belongings whenever I return from traveling is incredibly overwhelming. This time around, I took my travels to Beijing and my parents’ move as the ultimate exercise to part with a good deal of my belongings.

If you’ve been keeping up with my posts, you’ll know that despite my efforts to carefully pack, I did forget to a toothbrush of all things (I know, I know). I also packed so lightly in terms of clothes, thinking that I would pick up some pieces here, but clothes are either as expensive or more expensive as things back home. What can ya do. It’s probably a good thing…

Looking back, I also wish I had packed more snacks. While China is probably the last place on Earth you could starve, as there is so much food everywherrre, I find myself homesick for things like Blueberry Pop-Tarts, Quaker Oatmeal, and Chick-Fil-A Honey Mustard to name a few. While I’ve tried a Chinese brand version of oatmeal, ketchup, Chips Ahoy cookies, and Lay’s Potato Chips, they just don’t taste the same.

On that note, in case you would like to send a gal some necessities, that would be pretty cool.
Copy+paste+print out my address in both English and Mandarin:

•••
Jacqueline Bantad
MaxEn International Education
XinDu Building 1, 4th Floor
Crossroad of WeiJin Road and WanDeZhuang Street
Nankai District, Tianjin, China
300073
天津市 南开区 卫津路与万德庄大街交口 新都大厦1号楼4层 迈格森国际教育
•••

Cheers to Cucumber Flavored Chips! Hope y’all have a super weekend. TGIF!!!
Love from Tianjin ♥