I remember the times when I used to panic over what could I possibly need for a week of traveling. Oh boy, those were the times. I now am thankful for already having the experience of moving to another country (even if this time I can only take one suitcase and not my entire room on the top of my car). Another great knowledge came from those three months I spent across the Atlantic, right on the East coast of North America.
Just from the latest experience I can say that we might think that we need more than we actually do, but on the other hand if you like to express yourself through fashion just as much as I do, it can get real monotone real soon.
Packing varies on destination, on personal needs, on every little detail we can think of. For sure you won't pack as heavy for hot weather than for northern lands. In my case, I had to cover warmer months with a chance of rain so after a lot of varying I decided to bring:
4 tank tops
4 short sleeve shirts
5 long sleeve shirts
3 sweaters
5 dresses(they're an easy option when you just don't want to put an outfit together)
5 skirts
5 pants
5 shorts
2-3 jackets
To be totally honest, I think I overdone it a little bit. You totally can manage to bring less clothing and maybe stack up on it there if you need to. A hack was that I mainly packed neutrals and earthy colors - colors that I can mix and match and everything would go with everything. There's no purpose for an item that can be only worn in a certain way or with a certain pair of jeans - especially not when building a necessary bullet wardrobe.
I am thankful that I will live in a fairly warm destination because I won't have this big contrast between the seasons. I personally don't know what would I pack to equally cover the snow and the sun rays but I read that you have to think on the percentage. For example, if you will have ten days of cold and 5 days of warm that's easy math: you just have to pack twice as much sweaters as graphic tees. Doing this math with a longer time is much more complicated, I think. If you have 3 months of cold weather, 1 month transition and 1 month hot sunny days than you still have to pack as many summer clothes as can cover at least one or two weeks.
I have to admit that I added one or two just in case items, but I will admit it so you can either learn from it or accompany me through it. I added a little black dress that is way too revealing for every day use, I could only use it to dress up for a party or for bar hopping - which let's face it, is a part of being a student, especially an Erasmus student. I added two boho chic maxi skirts because I plan to visit Morocco at one point and they are good solution for the heat but still are modest. And the last one - this is hilarious I don't even know why I'm doing this - I added a cute green dress that I absolutely love and adore but with the main intention to wear it when I travel to Ireland. Sometimes I just have weird fantasies I have to stick to.
At first, I planned to take a backpack with me so I can't overpack and I can easily take things with me if I decide on further travels. My plans got crossed when I got a brand new suitcase for Christmas and I instantly fell in love with it. It doesn't seem big but when I filled it with everything I initially wanted to bring and was still halfway empty - not to mention my moms worried voice repeating that I will be gone for almost half a year - I kept adding more items I might regret when I get there.
By the end of the day you do you and you have to figure out what works and what doesn't work for you not matter how much youtube videos you watch about lifehacks and packing lists (believe me I watched many)
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