6 Months, 3 Seasons, 1 Suitcase

Alysa Tarrant King's College London, England

Date

December 19, 2017
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Hello all and welcome to my first blog post! My name is Alysa and I am currently a sophomore at The College of Wooster, studying communication studies, French, and elementary education. I will be studying at King’s College in London, leaving January 2nd. I’ve never been to London before, but I have been to China and France, so I like to think that my packing abilities are growing. However, this trip will be my longest yet – and that being said, I still will only be bringing one main suitcase with me. So, the question is – how to pack for six months and many different weather conditions in one suitcase!?

It’s been trial and error so far. For clothes, I was confident in myself, thinking that I would have plenty of room left over. But oh, how I have deceived myself. As I get closer to the New Year my tactic will be to take everything I have already put in my suitcase and lay it out on the floor. I want to make sure that every article of clothing can be paired with at least two others or else it doesn’t make the cut. Someone once told me, “Lay out everything you think you have to have, and cut it by half.” I have yet to attempt this, but the day is soon approaching! I do know that the key is layers. I have several dresses packed already that can be worn in the summer by themselves, or with leggings in the winter. When I visited China, my green dress (which can be seen in the picture above) was my go to! I will be attempting the same technique for London but just on a much larger scale.

Shoes. Oh, how I love shoes. You would think that because of my love of shoes and the fact that I have at least 12 pairs in my closet, would lead this to be a hard packing feat. But I have decided on the three pairs I am bringing. First up – my Teva sandals. I absolutely love my Teva’s because they’re immensely comfortable and double as shower shoes, but they can also be dressed up. Secondly, my Sperry rain boots that are a simple pair of black, waterproof boots. We all know London has a reputation for being incredibly rainy so I knew rain shoes were a necessity, but I wanted a pair that would keep my feet warm, would be comfortable for a lot of walking, and didn’t necessarily look like rain boots. My Sperry’s were the perfect answer! And finally, a pair of tennis shoes for exercising and days where you just want your feet to be that extra level of comfy.

The countdown begins! In just around two weeks I will be heading to the airport and jetting off to London. We shall see if my packing skills are up to par. As always, to read more visit my site Voyaging Herbivore to read more about my adventures and see my photography.