Where to put what...

After a few days break from the trip preparations, I'm now back in the game again. I have entered the “sort and remove” state. This means that I put out all the things I want to pack in one room (the guest room), sort them in different piles and then remove all the things I think I can live without or buy later.

The ONE thing to consider when you are travelling with a back pack is where to put what. I don’t want to end up unpacking everything every time I’m looking for something. Each piece that I bring needs to have its’ special place. Like Feng shui for the back-pack. :-)

So the first thing I needed to decide is which bags to bring besides the back pack. Above you can see that I have chosen to bring: (of course) the big back pack, a small foldable (red) day pack, a small computer bag and finally a small purse. All the smaller bags can be put into the big one to simply carrying while travelling.

Then I need to decide where to put what in the back pack. A few years ago I bough a packing system, see above. It is GREAT!!! Everything gets its own "bag": hiking clothes, evening/travel clothes, underwear, hiking equipment, First Aid, valuables and so on. I don't know how I could live without it.

BUT I'm worried. The amount of things in my "packing room" is widely exceeding the space in my bags. And that is even before I have bought some of the stuff I need for my winter hike in New Zeeland. Btw - these things will be bought in California. I noticed that hiking clothes cost 40% less there. The only problem is that I probably end up buying too much. But I can always send some things home.:-)

Is there anyone who doesn't think I'm a bag/packing freak by now?? ;-)