One of the many tasks needed when travelling for 8 months is packing. It isn’t just throwing your life in a bag and hoping you brought enough underwear. It takes planning and a few tears.

We decided to rent our place as a vacation rental. There were many reasons for this, the obvious was to have income while we travel. Another reason was to simplify the packing process by not having to pay for storage of our entire home. What really sold us on the vacation rental was having someone fully invested in taking care of our home while we were away. Hiring a rental company meant that they would ensure if a pipe burst in the middle of the night, they are there to handle the repair. This peace of mind is a no brainer when you are on the other side of the globe.

But holy shit, getting a house ready for executive rental is a whole other ball game, let me tell you. There are rules (they say requirements – I say rules). Number of towels – colour of towels. Number of sheet sets per bed. Number of plates, forks, knives & spoons. The list was endless. We even needed a coffee maker! I have never been to the store that many times in such a short period.

The purging was tiring, but releasing. You know how much crap the average person hordes? Well, neither do I, but I am sure it is a lot. We had stuff we had been carrying around for over 9 years. I guess I was hoping for the day that I might get serious about the candle making kit and turn it into a full time career. Clothing was visited and revisited. Items were donated, while other items were sold.

On the flight from Phoenix in January, I saw an ad about ‘packing cubes‘ and how it helped with ‘suitcase creep‘. I was immediately sold – organization for travel – I’m giddy. Plus, I also go bonkers when my suitcase gets messy and it ends up across two thirds of the room. I needed these. So the next week was spend searching, comparing, and finally purchasing. Dirk was sceptical.

During our day of packing, I neatly folded and rolled all the chosen garments into my cubes. Pants and shorts in one. Tops and tanks in another. Wow, I have 8 of the cutest and organized cubes staring right at me and they all fit into my bag perfectly……

…….but Shit, I can’t lift my bag.

It weighs too much. My first thought was, maybe Dirk will carry my bag and I carry his little bag. It was quickly followed up with, better not chance that, so I go find a smaller bag. Purge the my clothes, and hand Dirk two empty cubes. So now I have 6 of the cutest cubes staring at me, neatly organized in my smaller bag that I can carry.

Travel Tip:

Packing is always the tricky part of any travel plans. How many shoes, pants, shorts, shirts, and underwear to bring overwhelms travellers that are moving around frequently. Remember, people around the world dress like us. So travel with jean, shorts, and lightweight shirts. There is always somewhere to do laundry, but no one knows you so you can wear the same thing over and over. Just pack what you would wear at home, then cut it down by half.

This is the first time Dirk and I have planned a long trip. We have discovered easier ways of doing things on our own, but we have also been given great tips along the way. This page is dedicated to helping out new and even seasoned travellers by sharing all these tips.

Please feel free to add to any of the tips I will be posting along the way.

I worked with a lady that used the word ‘literally’ in the entirely wrong context each and everyday. “”I literally have a million things to do”” was her favourite saying. Getting ready for this trip, I can see why she said it, cause I feel I too have literally a million things to do.

Once the decision was made to sell both restaurants and travel for the rest of the year, checklists were made, remade, and made again. Questions needed to be answered: How do we rent the house? What type of rental do we want? What do we do with all the crap we gathered over the years? When do we go? Where do we go?

First, the house. Since we didn’t want to move everything out, it was decided it needed to be rented as a Vacation Rental.  It looks great. I say that now, because it took about three months to get it looking great. Every cupboard, drawer, closet, crawl space, and bin was purged. Furniture was sold. New furniture was purchased. Walls were painted. Carpets were cleaned.

We did managed to have fun along the way. Hosting a silent auction to sell our more expensive items, while consuming copious amounts of wine and catching up with friends.

With the house now in shape, it was time to plan our travels. We knew four things: One, we needed to be in Disneyland on April 21 for Dirk’s sister’s stagette. Two, we needed to be in Edmonton for her wedding in August. Three, Dirk wanted to be gone by April 1. And four, we both wanted Asia as our overseas destination.

I am not sure how it all evolved, but it must of been over wine. I was to plan California and Dirk Asia. So, more checklists were made and remade, followed by emailing all our friends, and looking at travel options. We, well I, settled on the train, economical yet the best way to see any country. And really, we are in no hurry plus trains are pretty cool. I have planned great stops along the way to see great cities and great friends. Seattle, Portland, Chico, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Los Angles.

Of course, Dirk has centred his focus first on the technological needs of the family before we leave. New smaller camera, new smaller iPad, new perfect laptop bag, new security on the laptops, and finally, a new trip planning application. I am hopeful he’ll start planning our Asia trip soon, but at least my passwords are all safe.

Travel Tip:

When planning a trip, the first thing you are going to do is jump on the internet and hope for the best. Just remember to set your currency to Canadian (or your whatever your home country is). You don’t want to think your are paying a lower price and be surprised when the Visa bill arrives. Don’t hesitate to ask friends and family that have traveled about the best sites to search for the best deals.