Today I decided to inventory my belongings and the outcome: I need to downsize MORE! The picture below shows only my clothes and shoes. I still have tech and toiletries which really adds up.
The Inventory
2 - jackets (1 is a rain jacket with hood)
1 - light sweater
1 - scarf
13 - every day shirts
2 - tank tops (beachwear)
2 - polo shirts
4 - long sleeve shirts
2 - lounge pants
2 - pants
4 - dresses
1 - dress pants
1 - leggings
2 - dress shirts/tops
3 - shorts
1 - jean skirt
1 - skort (skirt/short combo)
2 - pj's
5 - bras (2 regular and 3 sport)
14 - underwear
3 - trouser socks
5 - no show socks
7 - ankle socks
4 - bathing suits
2 - microfiber towels
5 - shoes
2 - flip flops
1 - slippers
1 - Mr. Snuggles (My 30 year old teddy bear)
2 - purses
1 - day pack
1 - backpack for my mobile office
1 gallon bag of medications
Other Stuff
I absolutely need to downsize my toiletries and backup tech stuff. As a planner, and someone who can think of the worst case scenario, I am carrying items that I may or may not need ever. I have an abundance of band aids, lotion, an ankle brace, a variety of medications (to treat: traveler's diarrhea, malaria, UTI, etc.), extra batteries, extra charging cables, a second wireless mouse, multiple chap-sticks, two purses, small day pack, sewing kit, powder laundry detergent, yoga balls, small hair dryer, bendy straws, bath loofa, jewelry, extension chords, and I'm sure a lot more of random things.
As individual items, they are small and light weight. However, once you start packing them into bags and arranging them into a suitcase, they fill up a lot of volume and it's just heavy.
100+ lbs to 70 lbs of Luggage
When I left Arizona for Mexico in June 2019, I had a much larger suitcase that weighed 70 lbs and my carry-on weighed around 35 lbs, then I still had my backpack with my mobile office that was definitely around 20 lbs. Geeze, was it a lot!
Mid-stay in Mexico I was ready to pair down. I had some family and friends visit so I donated some items to them. During my last few weeks in Mexico I donated clothes and other items which helped a lot. And one of my visiting friends took a bag full of items back to Arizona for me, of which I picked up from her while I was back for Thanksgiving and stuck that stuff in storage at my dad and step mom's house. Now when I go back to see them, I'll have some nice clothes ready for me.
The results of downsizing from June to November, 2019
I ditched the large suitcase for a medium one that weighs 50 lbs, carry-on suitcase is 20 lbs, and I'm pretty sure my mobile office backpack is still around 20 lbs.
How will I downsize more?
I really need to figure out how to dump half this stuff. One tough part is varying climates. Here in Ecuador, it's cool at night and in the morning so the 2 pairs of pants, leggings, 4 long sleeve shirts, trouser socks, and 2 jackets have come in really handy. When I leave here in March, I will be headed to warmer climates for 5 months (Florida, Belize, Hawaii, Dominican Republic, Kansas). With this in mind, I hope to leave behind a few of these items to reduce the load.
After laying everything out and writing down the inventory, I can easily say I have too many pairs of underwear and socks. I'll be more than happy to part with half of those stashes. Also, I have two favorite KU t-shirts however I don't wear them much. Because I had spent and will spend so much time in very hot and humid climates, wearing 100% cotton shirts is gross. They get sweaty super fast so I just don't want to wear them. However, when I leave Ecuador, I'm going to ditch my long sleeve fleece pj's and use my KU t-shirts as nightwear moving forward. That way I can still enjoy the sentiment and have use for them. There's a few clothing items/outfits that I would only wear for certain occasions, and those are the hard ones to let go because I can rationalize having them, but I know deep down I don't need them. Worst case scenario, I buy an outfit in a new location or order something on Amazon and have it delivered to my lodging when I arrive. It really is all that simple.
For now, I start working on my pile of stuff I want to part with when I'm done with Ecuador.
Picture below is my current stash of clothes all packed nicely in their packing cubes and 2-gallon bags.
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