That Time I Packed for a Two Month Journey

(Apologies for the short entry!)

Countdown to take off: 4 hours.
Status: Packed, with the exception of a few items in the drier.

The question of the day: How DOES one pack for a two month adventure?

My mother once told me a story about her parents traveling to Europe: They each took only a duffel bag, and instead of folding clothes, they rolled them. Perhaps this isn't how they actually did it and the details have been muddled up over the generations, but ever since I heard the story, I've rolled clothes when I have to pack a lot. It really doesn't do much in the way of preventing wrinkles. If anything, it makes everything look worse. But it does succeed in making everything more compact, plus it allows you to easily access any particular item without disturbing the general layout of the bag.

MEET provided us with a packing list, which I more or less stuck too. Most of the items are visible in the picture above.

Big suitcase:
Out pouches: underwear and socks
Inner pouch: belts, bras, swimsuit, light jacket, laundry bag
Upper left corner: t-shirts, casual shirts
Upper middle: tank tops, short sleeve polos
Upper right: business casual shirts (mostly button-down collared shirts)
Lower left: sporty shorts, non-sporty shorts, fun skirts, towel (not currently pictured)
Lower middle: dress pants, casual dress, jeans
Lower left: dress skirts, nice dress

Smaller duffel:
Left pouch: shampoo, conditioner, other large toiletries
Center pouch: N95 phone, Sox hat!, dress shoes, casual shoes, tennis shoes, smaller toiletry items, "Atlas Shrugged", makeup bag
Right pouch: Sunscreen, lip balm, other small toiletries
Small front pouch: earrings, watch, hair accessories, etc.

Backpack (not pictured):
Laptop (and charger), MP3 player (and charger and headphones), "The World is Flat", journal, MEET guide, Jerusalem guide, glasses (and case), and of course, the infamous quart-sized bag with travel-sized toothpaste, deodorant, dental floss, and hand sanitizer.

Purse (not pictured):
Money, credit cards, passport, camera, etc.

Hopefully I've packed relatively everything that I'll need.

And now, I'll be turning off my laptop, and heading off to the airport in about an hour. The next time I'll post we'll be either from Zurich or Jerusalem. See you then.