Packing Post: Family Reunion

It has been a while since I have written a post on packing, so I thought I would share my most recent feat of packing, all the more impressive given that I used to be the person who would sometimes take two giant suitcases for a one week trip. I am actually a bit embarrassed just thinking of it. Thus, I have worked to steadily improve my packing prowess. On a recent, long-weekend trip to Tennessee for a family reunion, I was determined to take nothing but a small Columbia bag and a purse. I carefully chose my outfits, which really means I carefully chose my shoes and then picked out clothing to match. I have priorities. I have yet to perfect a magic formula; I just sort of mix and match until I find a combination that works. This time, the end result was this:

The final list, including what I wore on the plane, was two pairs of pants, four tops (including a cardigan), pajamas, camisoles, two pairs of shoes, and a few accessories.

One of my favorite packing items, which I first used when packing for Europe last summer, is packing cubes. For this trip, I used two of the smallest sized cubes, which fit together easily in the bottom of my bag. Everything on the above list (except what I wore on the plane) easily fit into the cubes.

Once these were in my bag, I had plenty of room to add my cosmetics, including a bag containing liquids that could quickly be pulled out when going through security at the airport. There was even room to slip in a Mother's Day present for my mom.

So there you have it - an entire weekend's worth of stuff in one relatively small bag that can fit under an airplane seat if overhead space is full. Or if, like me, you just want to avoid putting stuff in the overhead bin because you are short and doing so is next to impossible without looking ridiculous and desperately in need of help.