How to Pack Light

Remember when we went to Cleveland earlier this month?

I managed to pack only a single suitcase for the boys and myself. This was all that we took with us, except for another small suitcase that Connor packed full of his toys. Kevin packed his own bag, as he had to take clothes for his conference. I was so proud of myself, as this one suitcase held everything that Connor, Lex and I needed for five days away from home. Granted, we had access to a washer and dryer and I did laundry every day we were away. In fact, when we came home, I only packed clean clothes. That made unpacking a breeze. It was wonderful. So wonderful in fact, that I swore that I would pack light again when we went to Nashville a week later.

Fast forward one week.

I had checked the weather online every day for that week before we left. The report stayed consistent - we could expect sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s. I figured that we would be fine with pants and long sleeve t-shirts. Again, I managed to pack only one suitcase for the boys and I. This time, though, we had to pack a separate toiletries bag because I packed a few more outfits, since I didn't know whether or not we would have access to laundry facilities in our hotel.

Our first day in Nashville, we went to the zoo. Instead of partly sunny and 72 degrees, the day turned out to be 85 degrees and totally sunny! It was wonderful, but halfway through our zoo trip, I had to take off my long sleeve undershirt and tights. Lex got stripped down to his short sleeve onesie, and I had to buy Connor a short sleeve t-shirt from the zoo gift shop.

The weather continued to be hotter and sunnier than expected, so we ended up buying a bunch more warm-weather clothes while we where there. And, it turned out that Connor ran through his packed pajamas much more quickly than expected, so we had to buy more of those. Also, I had only packed my Ugg boots and a pair of heels, so I ended up buying some new flip-flops for walking around town.

In the end, I packed light on the way to Nashville, but that's not how we ended up coming home!

***Actual tip for achieving suitcase space maximization***

Pack clothes in outfits. Arrange the outfit together, folding the shirt and pants in half lengthwise, and then roll it all up, with the socks and underwear inside the shirt and pants. Place the roll in the suitcase. Repeat and repeat until you can't believe how many outfits actually fit inside the suitcase!