Issue #04: It's Go Time
Everything I'm packing for my year on the road
🎥 Biggest Little Farm: This short and uplifting documentary was captivating from start to finish, and exactly the light and uplifting watch I needed to start off this week of trip prep. Never did I think I’d be so invested in the story of a LA area farm, but here I am fully invested in the future of this small but mighty ecosystem!
🥂In Good Spirits: All of the love that I once had for Foxtrot has quickly been replaced by my affections for this local Chicago n/a bottle shop located in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago. Not only do they carry all of my favorites (Ghia, Phony Negroni, Lapos, For Bitter For Worse & Brez to name a few), but they’re consistently stocking their shelves with new items, making every trip an adventure.
📖 How (and Why) I’m Building a Life Around “Enoughness”, Leslie Stephens (Morning Person): I’ve been a big fan of Leslie’s work since her Cupcakes & Cashmere Days, and her newsletter “Morning Person” has quickly become one of my favorite reads each week. As I’ve been faced with the impossible task of downsizing, her recent reflection on “letting go of fantasies of idealistic fulfillment…and accepting that I have enough - even when I still feel like I want more” could not have come at a better time.
✨ The Saudade of it All: Moments & musings from this bittersweet moment in time
After months of eager anticipation, the week we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. In just 2 short days, we’ll be all packed up and ready to hit the road; kickstarting our adventure out west.
As I’m sure you’d imagine, navigating the decision of what to bring on this adventure has been the biggest biggest challenge of this whole process. While I sometimes like to think of myself as a pretty low maintenance person, the act of holding each item that I own under a very practical lens has forced me to get really clear on what I need to live a happy and fulfilled life (something that I’m sure I’ll be exploring in a future post).
As we meticulously prepare for the year ahead, we can’t help but joke that the past few weeks have felt a lot like getting ready to head off to college for the first time. Should we bring dish soap? Do you think I’ll need another pair of hiking boots? What about our beloved cast iron pan? While the excitement and thoughtful preparation does carry similar undertones, this time around, we’re both fully functioning adults who no longer need to rely on our parents to supply our essentials.
Reading about the packing process of other “digital nomads” was incredibly helpful in my own packing journey, and although I’ve definitely made some mistakes (I’m still not sure why I packed up my winter coats when the first stop of our trip will be Colorado…in February…), I’m pretty pleased with how things have turned out.
To my fellow long-term travelers, what did your packing process look like? I’d love to hear what's worked well for you in the comments!
The thought of packing for a trip with an open itinerary, was confusing at best, and at worst? Completely overwhelming. Drowning in the stress of it all, I brought this to my therapist, who suggested that we sit down and craft up a out a trip “Mission Statement” to add some clarity to an otherwise deeply ambiguous plan. By getting specific and discussing things like intentions, our ideal routine, what we wanted to accomplish, priorities, etc., we both realized that we wanted to prioritize time outdoors over going out, and wanted a taste of what “real life” would look like in each city vs experiencing it through the lens of “vacation mode”. When I was able to picture what our lives would look like in each city, I was able to pack with more conviction, filling my bag with items that I was confident I’d wear on a regular basis, vs the many “just in case” options I had originally been trying to include.
Since we’re going to be traveling across multiple different climates, I’ve packed a smaller bags of “warm weather essentials” (i.e. shorts, sandals, etc.) that I’ll be asking family to mail so that we can swap out some of our cold weather gear (i.e. snow pants, heavy winter jackets, sweaters, etc.). Knowing that we only need to transport the items that we actually need, has allowed us to majorly save on space, and bring things that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.
As someone who typically packs for vacation a few hours before my flight (and usually forgets something of key importance), I knew I would have to find an alternate method when planning for this trip, which is why I’ve gone through about 4 different packing “edits” before landing on the final outcome. With the help of packing cubes and efficient folding, you’ll be shocked at all that you can fit in a bag, but at the end of the day I’ve had to keep reminding myself that I will be the one responsible for unpacking…and repacking everything I bring at every Airbnb we stay at.
Do I really need to pack 5 pairs of light wash jeans (all with slightly different fits/lengths/rises)?
I’ve gone through many waves of downsizing these past few months, slowly parting with more and more of my closet until I’ve been left with the most loved and most worn items in my closet. Although anxiety inducing at times, it’s been a great exercise on channeling “enoughness” from within rather than from the external validation that comes from having a head turning outfit.
Ah, yes, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! After all of that talk, here’s everything that we decided to bring with us on the road.
I was given the advice to pack for 10 days, but of course knowing myself and my indecisiveness, that was near impossible. I was however able to limit myself to one bag (the 70L Away Outdoor Duffle) by prioritizing basics and athleisure that could easily be mixed and matched across different outfits and occasions.
While I’ve been working from home for a while, my old desk set-up was clunky and in need of a major mobile upgrade. Trading in my traditional monitor for a portable one, has been a game changer, and my new set-up can be easily transported in a single backpack.
Rather than stock up on our outdoor adventure gear before leaving for our trip, we decided to purchase items as needed to maximize space. We’ve got the basics, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this will grow with every month spent on the road.
Because a majority of long term Airbnb’s do come stocked with kitchen essentials, this was an area that we went back and forth over, opting to only bring along the items that we reach for on a daily basis so that we don’t need to re-buy them in each city (i.e. my beloved Chili oil, Coffee/Tea, some condiments, etc.).
This ever evolving category has already grown quite a bit since I took this photo. While we can’t anticipate every potential need on the trip, we’ve dedicated a reusable Trader Joe’s grocery bag to be filled with our varied collection of “essentials”. This includes but is not limited to: Pillows & a favorite throw blanket for camping trips, a Big bottle of Dr. Bronners, Concentrated Laundry Detergent, Palo Santo/a few bottles of holy water to fend off any bad energy along the way (duh), extension cords, games, workout gear, and more. If you have any ideas here for things we may be missing, please let us know!
Say what you want about millennial dog owners, we care a lot about our pets. I’ve done a decent amount of traveling with Violet over the past two years, so packing for her bag was one of the easier pieces of this road trip operation.
What are your adventure dog must haves?
I’m sure this list of essentials will ebb and flow as we get our bearings on the road, but for now, this is everything we’ve packed for our adventure out west. Hopefully this helps anyone who might be considering or planning a trip like this in the future.
Do you have any other packing tips and tricks (especially with a dog), or “must have” travel essentials? Let us know in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading Sincerely, Soph. If you’d like to follow along on our adventure, subscribe below. Anything you want covered? Questions? Reply to this email or leave a comment to let me know :)
30 pound dumbbell makes me proud! 💪
Does this mean the cast iron pan was left behind
YES!!!