One month packing list – Update

By Caroline Bujold

As you may know, all last month I was away for work, living out of my suitcase in a hotel room.

The event is now done and people are back home after a week filled with activities.

I’m exhausted, but happy all went as well as it could and I take this opportunity to thank all that were involved and contributed to make this week a success.

The hardest part after such a rush is feeling a bit empty and coming back to a routine.  You know: laundry; grocery shopping; meal preparation; etc. I’m not quite there yet. I unpacked the night I came home, but I haven’t made my bed in two days and my clothes lie by the washing machine, waiting for me to muster up the energy to start a load.

It’s a normal process and I’m giving myself a break, knowing, as I rest, that things will naturally return to normal.

But how did I fair with my month worth of packing you ask?

Well I was very close to the perfect packing list, but I could have done with fewer items.

Here are the items I didn’t use/wear:

• 1 pair of pants; the dressy ones
• 1 short skirt: one didn’t get used and another I only wore once
  (note to self, skirts are not that comfortable when you’re running around and have to ”wear” a walky-talky AND a cell phone. Shorts with a belt are better!)
• 1 dress – I had planed to wear it a the Cocktail/Opening Ceremony, but never had time to change
• 1 bathing suit (emmm what was I thinking?)
• 1 hat (I always bring one, but rarely wear it, except on roadtrips in a convertible)
• 1 fitness kit (wishful thinking, I REALLY had NO time)
• 1 curling iron (as suspected, I didn’t use it)

My packing could have been even lighter and I’m taking notes for next time. But everything else got used multiple times and I even had time to go to the laundromat a couple days before the Games started so all my clothes were freshly washed and ready to go.

When you only get 4 hours of sleep per night for a week, having clean, organized clothes to put on in the morning is a great thing.

Now I have to think about packing for a 2 week trip to California coming up in a couple weeks. My goal is to go carry-on only.

I’ll let you know how I do.  If you have any advice, please write a comment below.

Caroline

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