Faroes: Keep Calm, Carry On

After months of planning, it was time: our trip to the Faroe Islands and Copenhagen was just around the corner! As soon as we'd booked the flight, I started hitting the "end of winter" sales and gathering sweaters, picking out the perfect outfits to look fabulous for the 'gram while hiking mountains. There was also a long quest for hiking boots, as I was determined to get a pair of highly recommended (but discontinued) boots (long story short: I got em!). Every bit of my gear was slowly and meticulously planned out.

That's when, a week from our departure, the beau sprung on me that he had thought we weren't checking bags. Just carry-ons, he said. For seven days. Of sweater-weather. Shouldn't be a problem, should make things much easier.

... And with that, all my carefully laid plans imploded.

There I was, standing amongst my stack of sweaters, buried in stress from work, having a mild anxiety attack, staring at my two suitcases. The one I had planned to bring, and the infinitely smaller (per my mind's eye) carry-on.

After a come-to-Jesus moment with myself (read: sobbing, clinging to my Insta-worthy sweaters), I was ready and determined. A carry-on it was. I could do this. I ran off to buy organizer bags, because everyone said that was the trick... Most were totally unnecessary and I returned them. Here is what I DID do to save space, and what I brought along in that tiny bag for our voyage.**

Let's do this, little red!

To save space:

• Streamline shit:  Duh. Best way to save space is have less stuff. So, I laid everything out to decide what was really necessary and what wasn't. I also made a firm "maybe" pile of stuff I could add back in if I had room. I laid out every single thing, so there would be no surprise items to squeeze in last minute (this was the night before we left #nopressure).
• Roll with it: You'll always hear people talk about rolling their clothes to avoid wrinkling and save room. This is infinite wisdom, always. Just, do it. 
• Suck it up: Vacuum seal compression bags. I've heard rave reviews, I just didn't get how to pull that off. TURNS OUT that there are some that require no equipment. It's like a jumbo ziploc bag that you seal up, and then roll the air out. The air can only go out one way. It. Is. Magic. That magic bag is how my sweaters went from taking up 3/4 of my carry-on to 1/3 of it. [Price: $5 at TJ Maxx and I now use them to store blankets under the bed, dust free!]
• Bag it: Organization is key to space saving. While I returned most of the little organizer bags, I did keep one "cube tube" to keep my socks/panties/PJs/misc in order [Price: $10, Container Store travel sale]. I had my makeup bag to org toiletries, the compression bag to keep my sweaters together, and then a shit ton of ziplocs to org anything else (seriously, no need to buy something fancy, these work fine). 
• Splitsies: I split up the liquids and had the beau take some of the shared items, like shampoo and nail clippers, to save me a little room. (That bag was lost going through security so... hit or miss on that decision.) 
• Disposable: Since I wasn't sure what I might want to buy to bring back, to make sure I had room for later, most of what I brought with was also "disposable." Snacks would be consumed, tissues used, my face wipes tossed, etc. AND a lot of my clothing could get tossed if I was in a real bind for capacity (see ratty shoes and free sweaters below - plus, TMI, but I brought my least fave panties - they take up space, too! Toss if needed!) 

Flatlays confuse me.... 

What I packed.... 

• On my person
• My badass waterproof, wind resistant, lightweight, 3-in-1 coat (that I've worn every day since I bought it) - the HFX performance Kingsley 3-in-1 jacket - it has a black rain jacket shell and teal puffy insulated jacket liner, they  easily zip apart if you want to wear just one part - it's the probably best coat I've ever owned 
• Price: $112 (originally $220) - this was my splurge item since I haven't gotten a new winter coat in six years. It's even MORE on sale now, so GET IT!
• My bulkiest blue-and-white-stripped sweater [Price: free* - Old Navy]
• A black undershirt/tank 
• Black scarf
• My comfy black "jeans" - Rockstar 24/7's (that my sister tried to convince me are jeggings but, I swear, they're not - they're just soft denim!!) [Price: free* - Old Navy] 
• Semi-ratty black sneakers (since I just wanted comfy plane shoes and a hiking boot alternative if needed for dinner or something)
• Mint green watch - which I didn't change the time on for our whole trip
• In my backpack - we flew SAS which had size limitations for your "personal" item, which meant my backpack was a bit of a stretch, so I made sure not to pack it TOO full, just to avoid conflict. I specifically packed my most important items, just in case something happened with my carry-on though.
• Nautica waterproof cross-body purse that I wore the whole trip and that has the best pockets (for the flight, it was hidden in my backpack since it's a "personal item" in itself) [Price: $15 - on sale, Boston Store RIP]
• My purse had my wallet, glasses/contacts case, regular camera, passport, Field Notes, and phones in it
• Waterproof hiking boots - which, despite the struggle to find a size for a discontinued style (Ahnu Sugarpine), were so worth it [Price on eBay: $100 - my second splurge item, but invaluable to my happiest on the trip, since I fucking hate wet socks]
• Hats - vital with the wind #becausebigears  [Price: $6 for two, thanks seasonal H&M clearance! I bought new ones because my others are a bit loose on my head and I was worried about wind - I was right]
• Snacks, sudoku, music, hairbrush and face wipes: aka stuff for the flight
• Inhaler, digi chargers, meds, tissues, hand sani, extra socks: aka my vitals
• A large reusable grocery bag - which was our trip snack bag and meant I could sprawl my shit out when we weren't hopping on planes
• One outfit, just in case
• Plain black long sleeve shirt 
• Black waterproof lightweight pants, that also button up to be capris [Price: $10 - Eddie Bauer outlet]
• In my carry-on bag 
• Various organization baggies (see above)
• Makeup bag and liquids bag
• Curling iron (from my study abroad days - thanks, France, for your two pronged European standard plugs!)
• Compression socks (#cuzim90), PJ shorts, panties, bras, gloves, etc.
• Tops:
• Light grey cable-knit sweater [Price: free* - Old Navy]
• Raspberry v-neck sweater [Price: free* - Old Navy]
• Cupio black, blue and white turtleneck - block colors [Price: $4 - Goodwill]
• Cupio black, blue and white turtleneck - zipzagging colors [Price: $10 - Boston Store. Yes, I found the same turtleneck in a slightly different pattern and I got it #noregrets]
• Maroon long sweater [Price: free* - Old Navy]
• Black with white stripes, 3/4 sleeve thin tunic 
• Plain grey v-neck t-shirt (worn for PJs, but not a "PJ shirt" - so I could wear it out as well)
• Bottoms:
• My standard pair of black jeans that I always wear
• A pair of black tights (with footies)
• Black activewear pants (Calvin Klein performance - a workout pant with butt pockets so I don't have to feel like I'm wearing legging as pants) [Price: $30 - way more than I'd normally spend on pants, but they were great for hiking]
• Pair of grey flats (that could be tossed if needed since I've had them forever, and they were only $3 originally lol)

So - why babble all that off?  Because that list encapsulates some of my fave packing tips:

1. Oh, yes, you can bring all that shit. Where there's a will, there's a way. Jenga that junk in there! (And that compression bag = life for me now!) Don't be afraid to go small,  having a carry-on only really is way easier, plus saves time / the annoyance of hauling stuff.
2. DON'T forget to budget for those "I need this for my trip" costs. Could I have gotten fewer sweaters? Sure. But, I'd have been miserable without those good hiking boots, and without that coat. And those two things, even though I got them on sale, just cost more. So, when you're budgeting for a trip, don't forget to factor those purchases in! 
3. Keep to a color palette so clothes can be easily intermixed. Notice all the black? Yeah, that just works always. (And, then you don't have any visible sweaty pits when hiking!)
4. Split your stuff up between your allotted bags. If one goes missing then, it's less detrimental. Always keep the most important stuff with your person if you can. And having more bag options means you can divvy stuff up differently as you're travelling (the ziploc that organized my snacks later kept my dirty socks from stankin' up my bag).

There's always a tipping point when packing for a trip where you have to decide: is this the stuff I actually need and am I could toting that crap around?? And that's when you have to dig deep, get rid of that fifth pair of pants, and say, "Not today, pack rat. Not. Today." Godspeed, travelers. Keep calm and carry... on...  (See what I did there???)

Where's my plane again?

Also, if you're thinking "I don't give a fuck about luggage, where's the adventure??" 

You can go check my other travel tips post (that's less luggage-centric), these Copenhagen highlights, or these play-by-play posts about our days in the Faroe Islands!

* Ready for some footnote inception?? Go see my footnote in my post about becoming debt-free to hear me rave like a lunatic about that Gap Card I have and love.  
** I added prices for things I bought new "for the trip" - I got a lot of great stuff that I'll use all the time, so, though the trip inspired the buys, I'm totally happy with the purchases! Another note: the weather in Copenhagen was set to be 70s and sunny, the Faroe Islands between 50 and 60 with the constant potential for rain/wind/mist - REALLY easy weather to pack for....