A few people have asked for a bit more help with
packing, so in light of upcoming holiday traveling I'm dedicating another post to it!
I hate over packing, mostly because I feel so silly when I look
at my over packed suitcase next to my minimalistic husband’s tinnnyyyyy little pile of stuff.
(He even said yesterday, “I don’t want to own
more than 3 pairs of pants. I just don’t
like having more than I need--and even 3
pairs isn’t necessary." Not OWN more than 3? I can hardly pack less than 3 pairs, let alone only own 3!) But I also
secretly love over packing because
like I mentioned before, I love to have
options! Otherwise I feel a little claustrophobic. (Drama, much? #firstworldproblems) My goal these days has been to find a balance of not over packing while allowing myself to have a lot of options. My suitcase is where
all my learning to remix is put to the test, for sure.
Anyway, for my last 3 trips I've loved what I've packed, and my secret weapon has been
Go Chic or Go Home. I know I talk about GCOGH a LOT, but it's because I really use it that much and find it that helpful!
Here's how I use
GCOGH to help me pack:
Brainstorm: "Create" Tool
GCOGH has a "Create" tool that is supposed to be for you to create and save outfit ideas with your own clothing, but I also use it when I pack. In brainstorm mode, I drag a bunch of pieces that I'm thinking about packing to the bottom like so:
Mix and Match
Then, since you can move the pieces around in the brainstorm section, I start mixing and matching to see what I can come up with! I move pieces next to each other to see potential outfits and then I take screen shots of them to log for later. Eventually I'll end up with a handful of outfit ideas from those pieces. Here's my collection of outfits with this trip:
Thanks to the screenshots I get a bird's eye view where I can see which items will be used often, which can only be used once, and which ones are really similar to each other and not worth bringing. I continue working on the puzzle of editing the list, swapping out items, and paring things down.
Get Ideas & Inspiration
Sometimes in my brainstorm process I have major brain farts and realize it's easier to repeat outfits I've worn in the past. (Duh!) I love that with
GCOGH I have a "My Outfits" board that quickly lets me see all of my uploaded outfits and an "Ensembles" page where I can see a list of outfits I've created in the past, either that I've already worn or that I was planning to wear someday. I'll sift through all that inspiration looking for outfits that use common items and drag them into my brainstorm list.
Explore Feature
As I packed for Chicago yesterday, even though this will be like my 10th time there, I'm there so infrequently that I forgot what it's like to be in 26 degree weather.
GCOGH's "Explore" feature came in handy because I could filter the Fall and Winter outfits and see what other people on GCOGH wear in cold weather.
It feels like a big puzzle, but
GCOGH helps me get my head on straight and get organized. I love that I can see all my outfit options as I take screenshots because it gives me a clear view of what will be used more than once and what won't be. It also helps me to see that, in this case for example, I will only be gone for 5 days, but I easily have at least 8 outfits with me. Options for those moody days!
All in all, I packed 9 pieces (besides my boots and accessories) and I have 8 outfits. And it all fits in just ONE
packing cube. Feels pretty good!
And the best best best part is that I was able to do it all without having to rip my closet to shreds or having to clean it up later!
