Every time I pack a bag lately, I am mentally taking notes.

In some ways, all my summer packing has been preparation for packing for our upcoming trip to Europe.

I am looking to find a balance between a very minimalist approach and including enough ensembles to make it fun to dress for dinner.

I took this Eagle Creek carry on sized bag to Europe 8 years ago, and I would like to fit inside of it again this time.  I took it last weekend to a conference and made a lot of notes about what will and will not work about this bag for me next time around.

I used these cubes and folders from Eagle Creek, which they graciously sent me to try out on my trip to Europe.  I have read a lot of packing advice that recommends using packing systems like these, so I was anxious to try them out.

I divided my clothes into days for each cube.  Everything I needed for that day was in one little package.  I loved this for staying organized at the conference.

Dividing my clothes into days also helped me not to overpack.  I only took what I needed for each day.  I also used one cube for workout clothes and a swimsuit.

Little tiny pouches were full of extra underthings and headbands (I use a LOT of headbands for this crazy mess of hair).  Usually these little items are buried in the bottom of my bag on a trip.  I really enjoyed being able to get right to them instead of dumping out my entire bag to find one little lace headband.

I took two of these packing folders on the weekend trip because I was trying to look somewhat presentable.  These folders would be so great for business travel because they really do keep your clothes from having to be pressed.

They come with this nifty board that you fold your shirt or dress around. This floral dress was ready to wear when I pulled it out from this folder.  The white pants I packed in the other folder also did not need to be ironed.  I went ahead and folded my cotton shirt in with the pants so the whole outfit for that morning was in one compartment.

Probably my favorite packing system item was this Wallaby Toiletry Bag.  I hung it in the bathroom and had easy access to everything in it.  I kept jewelry in that little zip pouch at the bottom. I love to change earrings every day but I usually don’t bother taking extra earrings on a trip because I am afraid I will lose them. It was a happy shift to have all the jewelry I wanted and to know right where it was.

As we were leaving our cabin on Sunday, I did a sweep through the room and found one of Sarabeth’s earrings on the bed.  I think she needs one of these.

I will definitely use these cubes to organize as I pack for Europe.  They will probably be a little fuller this time around, but I will also wear the same things for several days in a row so I can try to keep to this smaller sized carry on.

I’m curious what others’ experiences with packing cubes and packing systems are, so please share in the comments.

Note:

Big thank yous to Whitney, who took all of these lovely photos for me of my luggage and to Eagle Creek for providing all the packing cubes and folders for me to try out.

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We really try to get out of the heat in Arkansas in the summertime.  (It was 107 degrees today!) So we’re headed to Colorado this year again.

Whitney took our pictures in Crested Butte, Colorado last year and we have them hanging in our living room, reminding us that soon we will be dancing among the Aspens in our long sleeves and jeans!

Our dear old camper is packed.  Bikes are loaded.  And Settlers of Catan is strapped on somewhere.  There won’t be any campfires this year due to wildfires and burn bans and such, but there will be s’mores, even if we have to toast marshmallows over the Coleman stove!

Happy trails friends!

Rocky Mountains, here we come!

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This summer has been a whirlwind of adventures.  In June, Cole went to discipleship camp with Taido and 80 other middle school students.  Mary Polly went to Chicago with my mom to visit my sister and her family.  Then she was home for one day before leaving to go on the College Backpacking Trip with Taido.   Soon after Mary Polly arrived home from her mountain adventure, Cole flew out to spend a week with my sister’s family at Castaway Club, a Young Life camp in Minnesota where my brother-in-law was speaking for the month.  Meanwhile, Ben headed to Kentucky with Taido on the high school mission trip.

We were finally all reunited in the Smoky Mountains for our first extended family camping trip in five years.  Seventeen of us huddled in the rain under my daddy’s “magic tarp.”  Whitney is currently posting pictures of this rainy adventure, so I’ll share the treasures Taido brought home from Mary Polly’s first backpacking adventure.

My daddy has been leading backpacking trips for longer than I’ve been alive.  Of course, Taido is equally passionate about the mountains, which has always made for a strong bond between the two of them.  Cole got to go on this trip several years ago and I was nervous about whether or not he would be up to the task.  Carrying your gear uphill every day for a week can be pretty rigorous.  He had a great week with his dad and Grandpapa though, so I was very excited for Mary Polly to get to have her turn.

Still I was anxious for her, especially for “peak day,” the day the campers wake up before dark to climb to the top of a fourteen thousand foot mountain.  It’s a huge accomplishment in my book, and I will never forget the first time I stood on top of my first “fourteener.”   I was 15.

Mary Polly will be 10 next week, and the first time we got to talk to my dad he said she was climbing like a mountain goat.  I love these pictures where she seems like she is right at home on the trail.

She looks a little tired in the next one.  She is actually on the top of Mount Blanca.  Woohoo!

This next one is a shot of the view from the camp at which they spent most of their time.  Looking at these pictures makes me wish I had gone.

The tent in the background is the little two-man tent Taido bought for he and Mary Polly to sleep in on the trip.  That man never misses an opportunity to acquire a new piece of gear!

Of course there are always a few overachievers who have to grab a second peak.  Mary Polly skipped out on the second peak day, while Taido, Daddy and a few others climbed Little Bear.

This climb is looking a little more technical to me.

From the top of Little Bear, you can see the camp by the lake.  So far away…

My husband and my daddy!  I love these men!

The climbers who wanted more!  All these guys climbed Little Bear.

Above is the view of Blanca from Little Bear.  This picture of Mary Polly and her daddy makes me feel like this is a memory she will treasure forever and ever.  I’m so grateful that she got to be a part of such a significant experience.

There were just a few brave gals on the trip.  I was thankful for each one of them!

Little Bear under a rainbow.

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