Long time no write ey?
I've been away visiting Australia and New Zealand for the past month (I'm struggling to find a more worthwhile reason for taking a hiatus and frankly I can't) and whilst this trip has fuelled multiple blog posts (all to come) it kinda threw my blog timeline out.
(Photo: Oxfam)
Before Oz (I'll hilariously refer to it as B.O from now on) I'd taken a trip to Bristol with the boyfriend. We planned to go away for a long weekend, that's four days and three nights. Comparatively speaking, packing for this should not have been an issue, after all for the next month I was planning on living out of a 60 litre rucksack (you know it's hardcore when bags are measured in litres FYI). But if I'm honest it almost broke me.
I don't like to think of myself as hard work. I live in a world where I would describe myself as low maintenance, fuss free. I have now recently come to realise that this is a delusion and I am in fact utterly deluded. I would love to be care free and live by my mother's rule: "all you need is a toothbrush and a couple of pairs of underwear", but I can't. I have a wardrobe full to the brim and as much as I would love a curated wardrobe of staples, I cannot lie anymore. The 'less is more' philosophy just ain't me honey. (Side note: I recently spent more time than I'd care to admit, transporting my clothes from plastic hangers to thin wire hangers in a bid to fit all of my clothes into one space. Some would say I have a problem. I would say that I have a fabulous wardrobe.)
When it came to whittling my wardrobe down to a weekender bag I did the thing that I always do. The same thing that I vow to never do again. (I've made this vow countless times.) I packed outfits. I have very few rules but this one is a biggie. NEVER PACK IN OUTFITS. I dress based solely upon how I feel. One day I might be feeling my legs so daisy dukes are the perfect idea, however one forgotten razor or a rain cloud and my stems aren't seeing the light of day. And this is the thing, no matter how good you are - and you could be really really good - clothes are an outward sign of an inward feeling, a means of self-expression, how on earth can you know what you want to express or how you're going to feel days in advance?
Bristol was great, however an impromptu heat wave was not so appreciated (I'd packed for wind and rain. How was I to know the great British weather would desert me so heinously?) Drastically reducing my wardrobe to the size of a carryall already imposes serious limitations so why on earth do I further limit myself with ready made outfits that I most definitely will not be ready or willing to wear come a few days time. Yes that top looks fabulous with that skirt today, but tomorrow that might not be the case.
Even after living out of a rucksack for the last few weeks I still don't know the magic formula to a well packed suitcase but going off from the wise words of my mother, a toothbrush and underwear (preferably clean) seems like a good place to start.
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