Packing for Cape Cod & Boston

In case you haven't heard, I'm going to the east coast next week! Actually, I'll be home in New York tomorrow night and then come next Tuesday, my family and I will be moseying on over to Cape Cod and then Boston for the rest of week. Am I stoked? You betcha. I miss the east coast, even if Ohio isn't like midwest midwest. And in case you haven't heard this next time, I'm easily the worst packer in the entire world. I just...I overpack, okay? I severely overpack every time because WHAT IF?! God forbid I go a day without something miniscule.

I've gotten slightly better with time but I still would consider myself just an all around awful packer. I've tried to change, I really have, but I feel like it's just something that is part of me now. Luckily, I get to spend two days at home before we set off for our vacation, so my suitcase will most likely be repacked by my mother because she is the queen of all things packing, I swear.

I still don't know 100% what I'm bringing with me, but I think I've gotten it down to a T with my two lists. I swear, lists are the only thing that keep me organized. Without them my life would look somewhat like a project that was deserted halfway through with all of the tools and materials left askew and in disarray.

The first like I make is a list of the days that I'm going to be there. Next to each day, I list the prospective temperature, though it's summer so like...it's going to be hot. Then underneath I'll plan out my outfits based on packability (will it wrinkle? get dirty?), comfort, and just sort of weather/event appropriateness. We're not doing anything particularly special this trip, so I'm fine just dressing casually.

After I fill out that list, I'll then make a separate list with all of the essentials, even the things that seem like obvious choices. Funny story: when I was coming home for winter break my sophomore year, I forgot to bring bras with me. Over a month with no bras at home. I was not about to buy new bras, so I had to have my roommate dig through my drawers for me, pick out the bras that I would need and then I coordinated with the only person from my hometown that went to my school (that I knew of, at least) and she got the bag from my roommate and dropped them off at my house. Talk about lucky, right? Now I write everything down, straight down to underwear, pajamas, and a brush. My list for this trip has things like:

• Makeup 
• Curling iron
• Heat protectant spray
• Hairbrush
• Retainer
• Bathing Suit
• Two pairs of shoes
• The clothes from the first list (I do have them all written down separately but to save space, I'll just condense it here)
• Underwear + extras
• Bralettes
• Camisoles
• Sunglasses
• Regular glasses
• Pajamas

And even with that list, I'm probably forgetting things. I always bring my laptop because, well, this blog and I just need to keep up with stuff with work and what not. I'll always have a magazine or two for the car ride or hotel time. Then I bring between two to three different books. I won't read all three, but I like to have choices and variety and since we travel by car, it's a lot easier to bring extra stuff like this because it can just be left in the car if I need to.

The best packing tip I ever learned was to roll my clothes. Seriously. If you want to save space, roll those suckers on up and just enjoy all of the free space in your luggage. I also tend to wear a lot of white in the summer, but even for sanitary reasons, I wrap my shoes in plastic bags. I just don't need whatever is on the bottom of my shoes to get all up in my suitcase, especially since I'm walking around a lot of streets both here in Cleveland and I'll be parading around another big city.

Who knows what I'll end up actually bringing! I tend to wear the same thing for both car rides (usually just a Wildfox baggy beach jumper, they're my favorite), but maybe I'll bring both of mine since we're going to be gone for a decent amount of time and I want to be comfy during down time!

What's your best packing tip for road trips?