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Published: November 6th 2021
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The most frequent question I've gotten from people is "what do you pack" or "what do you have with you" and it's really difficult to answer without visualizing it. I usually say "the basics" but what does that really mean? I know people are curious. So I spent this evening packing and had some extra time and took pictures as I went. Normally I can't pack my car until the morning I leave since Copper's crate only fits in the car on the very bottom of my trunk and he sleeps in it. This airbnb actually has a provided dog crate so I was able to pack a lot of the car the night before starting with the dog crate and he slept in the airbnb crate. Woot!
Picture #1: A bag of shoes, my backpack which has all my entertainment in it- laptop, charging cables, a few puzzle books, stationary and copper's toy bag with his blanket on top of it.
Picture #2: in the duffel bag are dog treats, medication, supplies and dog bones. Brown box is dog poop bags (I accidentally bought a lifetime supply of dog poop bags when I adopted him lol) The green
bag is the bottom of a bag of dog food- yay for good timing this month! The 2 trader Joe bags here are kitchen. 1 bag is entirely dry food I bought and didn't entirely finish snacks, cereal etc. The other bag has a few kitchen basics I travel with- pour over coffee maker, plastic containers and plastic bags and overflow food. I usually try to get my food in 1 bag but didn't quite get there this time.
Picture #3: my work computer tower and all the accessories- mouse, keyboard, headset and wires all fit in the brown box. That was actually the box my employer gave me when I picked it up. Then I have my 2 gigantic monitors which are a pain to pack in the car.
Picture #4: Folding chair and folding table. I travel with these because not all airbnbs have a good desk and chair for me to work from and I'd rather not convert a dining table etc. Gives more flexibility for where I stay and I know I'll have a working table chair that functions. The folding chair gets really uncomfortable though working 8+ hours a day.
Picture #5:
hobby bags- my hiking backpack with water bottles, sunscreen etc in it. The blue bag in the middle is a swim/beach bag and has swimsuit and beach towel in it. The canvas bag is my not commonly used bathroom items- things that I've been forced to buy in bulk like razors, dental floss and tooth brush heads (seriously I couldn't buy 1 tooth brush head or 1 thing of dental floss if I had wanted to) and also less commonly used things like feminine products, bandaids, and over the counter meds.
Picture #6: Three duffel bags of clothes. I struggle between wanting to travel lighter and have fewer clothes and wanting more clothes so I don't have to go to a laundromat as often (about half the places I stay have a washer dryer and half don't). But it all fits in those 3 bags.
Picture #7: Dog crate before I collapse it
Picture #8: The pineapple bag is essential- I put the things I need for that night and immediately in it. In the morning it will get my daily toiletries, alarm clock, sound machine and alexa device. All the last minute stuff. The laundry basket
is the biggest pain to fit in the car but always sooo useful while I'm staying somewhere. Those boots wouldn't fit in the shoe bag and the orange bag has a couple days dirty laundry lol.
Picture #9: I don't like sleeping with sheets and blankets. I much prefer to just have 1 comforter on top of me. So I am traveling with my own favorite duvet and 3 pillows. It's a little bulky but it makes me a lot more comfortable. Plus they help with cushioning my work monitors usually in the car.
Picture #10: Dog crate is collapsed and copper is wondering what is going on with his stuff.
Picture #11: The random stuff that was hanging out in my car lol. Blanket for impromptu picnic, hammock for impromptu hammocking along with laundry detergent and the "copper vomit kit". If you have the kit in the car he won't vomit. 100% success on that... so I'll stay prepared and never need it!!!
Picture #12: starting to load the car. Dog crate on the bottom- it fits absolutely perfectly on the floor of the trunk area. 1 seat folded down and the folding chair and
table on top.
Picture #13: creating a base with the duffel bags on the right. Added the hamper early this time so hopefully it won't be such a pain?
Picture #14: Copper gets the 2/3 portion of the back seat but luckily he doesn't need any leg room so I pack lots of stuff in that area. I then cover up everything within reach with his plastic blanket just in case that kit fails me.
Picture #15: That's copper's spot. He gets a little more room than he probably *needs* but the car isn't packed to the gills. I also like having him on the driver side instead of the passenger side even though it gives him the 2/3 rather than 1/3 split. My car has a right side camera that shows me what's on the right side but doesn't have a left side camera. It was something honda did before they did the full on "honda sensing" light up warning. So I don't mind packing the right side to block the window as much. Having the driver side back window clear (because dog doesn't block it much) makes driving safer and easier.
Picture #16: A
struggle with this life is that every month I need to eat my fridge and groceries down. This food will all be packed into a tiny cooler. I think the only thing I didn't do well in using up was the pack of truly I bought lol!
I've still got my computer monitors and nightly things to pack in the morning but hopefully I'll get a quicker start driving off.
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