September 27, 2015

UNICORN TEARS & TWO 50 POUND SUITCASES



Before I started packing for this trip I researched Pinterest , blogs and reached out to friends who had studied abroad before to get insight on what/how to pack.

my mom and I spent Saturday packing up two 42 inch suitcases with the aid of vacuum bags and packing cubes.You can find these items almost anywhere but I purchased mine HERE and HERE. I also found some extra at TJ Maxx.

Things were looking good, my suitcases were underweight and I was sitting pretty. Well of course I added a few more things and everything got shot to hell, I went from 48 pounds to 55 (I don't understand how a 16 oz shampoo does that but look I went by the reading on the bootleg scale). So Wednesday morning my mom and I unpacked both suitcase and I started chucking stuff. It went a little something like this:

"Do I need this velvet burgundy dress for a date? maybe? ... Laughs out loud! NO!, toss it!"

"What about this pair of keds for walking .. You have your Sperrys and toms.  Leave em!"

and so it went for about an hour until both suitcases were comfortably at 46 and 48 pounds. When I got to the airport and lifted those bad boys onto the scale my heart was in my throat ; I had already paid for the extra bag, I didn't want to pay overage either. I don't know what unicorn fairy shed its tears on my bags but the nice Air France attendant didn't even bat an eye as she hoisted my bags onto the conveyor belt. In the end all was fine and went super smoothly.  I am glad my mom was there to help. I thought I was an expert packer but wow that lady is a pro. She travels often internationally and fits 7-10 days worth of stuff in a carry on suitcase. 

Those space saver cubes are amazing. I would highly recommend them. Also going through Charles de Gaulle in Paris I had to go through security again and they had to check my bag. I was just able to pull the cubes right out so they do their thing and then popped them right back in and was on my way. If I had to do it all over again I would use strictly packing cubes and skip the vacuum bags; they got to be too heavy. If you want to use them I would recommend the ones you can roll and press the air out versus the actual vacuum ones. 


No comments:

Post a Comment