All of the following posts were originally posted on my other blog: Fabulously Broke in the City.

I am re-posting it, because it’s a helpful series that I put a lot of work into creating and thinking about.

This week, I will be covering what I pack for three types of trips:

• Short Weekend-like Getaway
• A Week-long Business Casual Trip
• Overseas 3-week long Vacation

In separate posts I will talk about the following:

• Wardrobe portion for the three trips
• Toiletries & Makeup
• Electronics & Other

5 things to consider when you pack:

1. Think about where you are going & the purpose of the trip

If it’s a business trip, I am clearly going to bring mostly business casual items.

If it’s to a family member’s home, I think ahead of what we might possibly end up doing.

2. You can always borrow or buy what you need in a pinch

This stops my overly paranoid side from thinking: but what if I NEED this when I get there?

More often than not, I packed the item in question and never used it once.

3. Wear things twice

No one will really notice if you pick neutral items rather than very recognizable patterns or colours, and wear them spaced out during the time.

Distract them with your smile.

4. Make things do double duty

Need to bring something that will go well with a dress for the night as well as business casual?

Think about bringing a pair of knee-high boots or a low pair of heels so you can wear the shoes with both outfits.

And if you bring a wrap dress, you can wear it with boots for a dressier outfit, or ballet flats for a more casual feel.

5. Be willing to go a bit natural

I never bring my whole makeup stash for example.

What’s the point? Just bring the essentials, and keep the entire paint kit at home.

Sacrifice a bit of “beauty” and live a little.

Quick shots of the hotel before I swept in with my stuff and dropped it everywhere.

I use the second bed as my “wardrobe” area to lay my clothes flat.

I also use the other bed as my “filing area” because it’s so big, I only use half of it to sleep on.

I’d sleep on the floor here, but there’s no freaking space except in the hallway, so I’m sticking to the bed for now.

I do yoga in the kitchen, and I eat on a desk to the right of the TV.

My aesthetic for general hotel/apartment living is pretty scattered. I’m organized, but everything is laid out and nothing is put away.

This is a good example, my vanity:

Nuts right?

But I have little “areas”….

Jewellery area…

Makeup area…

YOUR QUESTIONS

1. Why am I living in a hotel again and is BF living with me?
2. How living at a hotel works & the cost of it (cooking, laundry, rates, mail, apartment hunting)
3. Purging my wardrobe (again) — this one is very difficult for me because I love wardrobe variety
4. General re-purging process — what did I allow to pass the test and what have I decided is not worth it any longer?
5. How to handle sentimentality — photo frames, sewing machine — would it all fit into one suitcase?

How to handle sentimentality when you’re in a hotel room

I am not the best person to answer this because I  don’t get sentimental, but I shall give it a shot.

I am attached to my clothes, shoes and jewellery (only because I paid good money for them, they’ve been tailored to fit me perfectly and I’ve spent hours breaking them in!)… but as for photos or things like a sewing machine given to me by my grandmother, I don’t feel a need to keep it, if it is too bulky or heavy to move with.

Eeeep!

My own personal rules:

• If I don’t actually use it, I don’t keep or take it just to be sentimental.
• If I can’t pack it away without it taking too much space, I don’t take it
• I digitize everything: I take photos of things like sewing machines or big items to remember them
• I give them to other family members to hold & keep, so I can visit/cherish them on THEIR space
• Home is where the heart is — I am more attached to having BF around in person, or seeing my family in person

Suggestions for others:

• Take ONE photo frame and rotate the photo(s): Umbra makes a nice big collage-like frame you could try that with
• Ask yourself why you’re keeping it — if it’s for the memories, but you don’t use it, photograph it
• Digitize all your photos: I never print photos for myself any longer, I keep them all digitally stored
• Prioritize your space: Is that desk from your Aunt Betty more important to you than a cabinet from Uncle Mike?
• If you haven’t touched or seen it in more than a year, it isn’t really that important to you.

I’m not really into decoration, souvenirs or gifts I don’t use, and I’ve gotten a lot more ruthless over the years as I keep moving and packing, unpacking, re-packing and shifting my things.

It takes a toll on your psyche and I’d rather just let the things go.

But if you stay in your home a long time, I wouldn’t sweat it too much, unless you’re a Secret Hoarder, who keeps old tissue boxes because you can’t let them go.

Other than those tips above, I can’t help much other than to really emphasize that de-cluttering and being a minimalist is a never-ending process and journey, not a project with a deadline.

Take it easy.

Take one room at a time.

Don’t stress out about it.

Be ruthless.

YOUR QUESTIONS

1. Why am I living in a hotel again and is BF living with me?
2. How living at a hotel works & the cost of it (cooking, laundry, rates, mail, apartment hunting)
3. Purging my wardrobe (again) — this one is very difficult for me because I love wardrobe variety
4. General re-purging process — what did I allow to pass the test and what have I decided is not worth it any longer?
5. How to handle sentimentality — photo frames, sewing machine — would it all fit into one suitcase?

What did I allow to pass and what have I eliminated?

PASS

Rice Cooker: Still comes with me. I hate cooking rice on the stove and I eat a lot of it.

My own Iron: After the last rusty-water-on-white-top debacle, I’m bringing my own.

My hard drives: Every time I think I can leave some at home, I end up needing it. They don’t take THAT much space.

Futon/Sleeping Bag: Mostly for BF. I can sleep on a bed, but he can’t.

Tupperware: I need to bring food to work, and store it in the fridge as well.

My own towel: I need it. The hotel towels are bleached within an inch of their lives & I prefer mine

Knives, Grater, Peeler, etc: SOME places have them but if they have them, they usually suck & I prefer my things.

Soap, Dish soap, Own Toiletries: They aren’t eco-friendly and mine are. I just set their supplies aside.

2 laptops: I have a PC for work on the desk and my Mac for stellar videos & sound.

I can’t do both functions on one laptop, as the PC only works on my clients’ networks and the Mac is the only laptop that is amazing for video and sound.

FAIL

Printer: I can print things at work.

Networking hub/router: We just swap internet connections as we need it, because BF is not a web hog like I am.

Entertainment system: I find other things to do. It’s too bulky and delicate to travel with.

Extra pots & pans: I just don’t cook those meals that need extra things, or find other creative ways to do so.

Ironing Board: Seriously, some places don’t have one. But now I just call ahead & check.

IN TRIAL MODE

Immersion blender: I’m making hummus and sauces, but I need to see if I really use it a lot in 5 months.

That’s all the major stuff.

The rest, such as pots, pans, cutlery, plates, hangers and towels are already provided in the hotel.

Other than that, the internet is either wireless or with a cable, and there’s a TV provided (not that I watch much of it), as well as a telephone.

Then I just have my cellphone, camera, GPS, iPod, toiletries, makeup, clothes, shoes.

YOUR QUESTIONS

1. Why am I living in a hotel again and is BF living with me?
2. How living at a hotel works & the cost of it (cooking, laundry, rates, mail, apartment hunting)
3. Purging my wardrobe (again) — this one is very difficult for me because I love wardrobe variety
4. General re-purging process — what did I allow to pass the test and what have I decided is not worth it any longer?
5. How to handle sentimentality — photo frames, sewing machine — would it all fit into one suitcase?

Purging my wardrobe… AGAIN

I hate to disappoint you lovely readers, but I am AWFUL AT THIS.

I love clothes. I do. I love clothes and accessories. Mostly wrap dresses, tops and necklaces.. but I like having a wild, wide variety of colours, fabrics, shapes and sizes.

In fact, 2 out of the 3 of my suitcases, are just my clothes, shoes, purses and accessories. I’m an awful, bad minimalist, right?

Actually, not really. I’ve cut down on so much else (books, picture frames, DVDs, CDs and so on) because I’ve prioritized what is more important to me (clothes ).

So living out of a hotel again, for at least 5 months, means I need to make some choices about what to bring and what to leave or purge.

WHAT I BROUGHT

Click on the photos to make them larger

The rest are just accessories & shoes (not pictured)

Mostly business casual items

I work 5/7 days in a week, and it makes no sense to bring the same amount of clothes for the weekend.

Who’s REALLY going to check to see if you entered Starbucks in the same dress as before? No one, that’s who.*

*unless they’re creepy stalkers, in which case I’d suggest you carry some mace & be more careful.

I also like to wear business casual on the weekends, just with jeans.. so it’s not that far of a stretch for me.

I could most definitely wear the same 5 tops every week, alternating with 2 pairs of pants and NO ONE WOULD BLINK AN EYE.

But I’d get bored and want to shop for new things… so this is my way of curbing my appetite for variety & colour.

I also brought a pair of dark rinse, straight-legged jeans, and a couple of casual items as well (for the grocery store or just walking around downtown).

Accessories & Shoes

Lightest, and I daresay also the cheapest way to spice up any outfit.

If you wear a plain black t-shirt and some jeans, but throw on a chunky red necklace, or a pair of earrings with a belt, it instantly makes it seem different and new.

It basically tricks me into thinking it’s a new outfit, and it helps me stave off fashion boredom.

As for shoes, I brought 5 pairs of low heeled shoes *guilty face*, but I’ve left them at work so they don’t really count….

As for my hotel room shoes (hah!), I have 2 pairs of sandals, 2 pairs of ballet flats, pair of knee-high boots and my winter boots.

All in all, 11 pairs of shoes, but they don’t take up a lot of space in the suitcase, and if I traveled/moved, I’d wear my knee-high boots instead of packing them.

Winter stuff

Winter jacket, earmuffs, scarf and winter boots. That’s all I use and all I need. Not pictured.

Items I wanted to purge

So I could sell them on consignment or donate them to charities.

The funny thing (or not so funny..) is that when I went through my things again, I ended up keeping a couple more items, because I realized I loved them, and I’d probably buy their substitutes if I purged them from my wardrobe.

WHAT I LEFT IN STORAGE

Everything else.

I have 4 more pairs of shoes/boots, and a suitcase more of clothes, and most of my purses left in storage.

I actually have 2 suitcases that are half empty at my parents that I have yet to fill up.

BF always gives me this worried look when I go back to Toronto and says any OR ALL of the following:

• Are you sure you really need ALL of those shoes and purses? You know they don’t pack neatly..
• OK, how many bags do you have? (Running joke, because there’s always an extra little bag somewhere)
• Are you sure you are going to be able to fit everything into your suitcases?
• Do we need another car to move your clothes? (Yet another joke. Har har.)

But he knows that being a girlier girl, I can’t help myself, but I know I have my limits in space for packing items to move… and he trusts my judgment for the most part.

P.S. I am not paying for storage — my parents have kindly let me keep my room for that.

WHAT I PURGED

About 4-5 things. Out of the 30 I packed.

The problem with purging is that you want to do a mix of sell and donate, and when you look at the stuff you want to get rid of…. you get lazy or you want to keep things again.

My goal is to get EVERYTHING into this 1 big suitcase and my 2 carryons.

If I can’t make it, I have to give away things, purge or hide them in my office…. heh heh.

So far, I’ve made two piles in the room.

1) SELL ON CONSIGNMENT

My rule was: anything that looked new-ish, stylish and/or has a brand name on it (Jacob, Banana Republic, etc).

2) DONATE

My rule was: anything they probably wouldn’t take to sell such as simple Smart Set tank tops, old t-shirts, old dresses, or anything not “current”.

You can check out my more detailed guide on how to purge & sell your stuff online from my main blog: Fabulously Broke in the City.