The move: packing

PACKING! Honestly who likes to pack when you have to try and fit your whole life into 1 large and 1 small suitcase for a year. What is necessary to take? What do I leave behind? Can I live without it? All the question going around in my head. Not that it will be the end of the world and I will have the opportunity to shop whilst I'm there!! But still it's not a fun process. 

The agency Cultural Care AuPair that I'm going through suggest that you lay out exactly what you want to pack, halve that amount and then halve that amount again! Ahhhh honestly I'll end up with nothing. But all I know is that it is freezing in America at the moment try up to -15 degrees celsius.  So I guess it's all winter stuff for me. 

Here are a few of my tips for packing for a year:

1: pack only what is absolutely necessary, don't go packing your favourite party dress because you think that you can't live without it for a year! I promise it will be there when you get back.

2: pack appropriately for the weather, as it's snowing and winter in the US I'm not going to pack all my summer clothes, you will have the opportunity to shop.

3: pack for your situation, I'm going over as a nanny, not a fashion model! I need clothes that are comfortable and practical, not high fashion.

4: pack all your underwear, underwear is the thing that you will want to change daily, for the first week I won't have access to a washing machine, so I'm going to need to take as much underwear as possible. Remember things like your jeans can be worn for a week without a wash. 

5: pack sample sizes for your toiletries: pack what you will need for the first two weeks in terms of shampoo and soap, after that you will have an opportunity to head to a supermarket and buy the essentials in full size. 

So there are just a few tips that I have found helpful in trying to pack. 

Hopefully I have packed all that I need, if not I'll be hitting those shops hard!! (What a shame ;p)