Packing!

I've been asked a lot of times this week if we have packed yet....um, no! I have done trial pack for both me and the girls and there are lots of little piles everywhere that form the start of my packing...but no, we haven't!

The trial pack was essentially to convince the chiropractor that, not only could I pack super light but, my back could also cope with a backpack on it... Surely a pack built specifically for petite women, with supports everywhere to redirect the load onto my hips, has got to be better than a pull along suitcase that twists and turns both itself and my back every time I walk over cobbles or up a kerb? Well that's my logic anyway...

All of the blogs that I had read advised to lay out all the clothes you want to take on your bed ... and then half it... just like that! But surprisingly, it was relatively easy and satisfying. If it only matches one thing, it got ditched; if it crumpled easily and was going to take an age to dry, it got ditched; if it was heavy, it got ditched! So all the pretty cardies, linen tops and heavy jeans are gone and the remaining stuff is on my list. 1 long dress, 1 long skirt, 2 short dresses, 3 shorts, 3 vests, 3 t'shirts, 1 long sleeved top, 2 lightweight trousers, 1 thin cardy, 1 hoody, 2 bikinis and a sarong, plus 3 pairs of shoes. All in, 6kg including the weight of the backpack!!

Clothes are the easy bit though. In this digital age then, between us and the kids I think there will be an army of I-devices, phones, e-readers and cameras attempting to get in the backpacks....not to mention all the charger leads, back up chargers, spare batteries and memory cards that accompany all this stuff.

They all serve their purpose, they all help entertain us all on hours of waiting at airports and long car journeys but they all weigh so much and they are all also something else to worry about and look after. Filtering these down is proving way harder than clothes! I'm just glad it's not all going in my pack hehe!

So this weekend we will need to stop sitting on the fence (what, us??) and make our decisions. Be ruthless but not scrimp, I am still very much a just-in-case person! The first aid bag will still be there (albeit pared right down and in a little ziplock bag) but the toiletries really do need reprioritising...good opportunity for the kids to learn to like other toothpastes! The name bands will definitely be in there to appease the worriers back home and no, there will be no crimbo pressies tagging along, Christmas will be a little bit different this year me thinks!