Adventures in Packing

Well, you should be all proud to know that I have officially started packing. With just 10 days to go, it is imperative that over the next few days I train myself to become an expert at cramming things into little spaces and at letting go of things that I do not need. Being a self-proclaimed hoarder, I admit that this is going to be no easy feat.

Luckily, I'm moving into a furnished apartment so I (probably) won't need about making a trip to out to IKEA. That means the bulk of what I'll be bringing is clothes... which doesn't sound that intimidating until you realize that I have a LOT of clothes.

So the other day, as I'm talking over the logistics of the move with my mom, she says something that totally changed my life.

"Vi, do you know about those vacuum-suck bags for packing?"

GENIUS!!, I thought, as I sent up a quick prayer that I inherited my mother's wisdom and critical thinking skills.

As I started my search for said bags, I quickly realized that I basically had two options: 1) invest in the OG brand (SpaceBag) which certainly came with a premium on the "brand" or 2) find knock off products. In the end, I actually didn't even have to worry too much about this decision as I randomly found some knock-off products one day while walking through Big Lots (a discount store). At $3 a box (which included 4 bags), it was hard to say no (Space bags are typically about $6-10/each according to my research). Option #2 ftw!

In the end, I've found that the bags have been a mild space saver. They definitely help compress and remove the "fluff" from your clothes (though I'm anxious to see what the clothes will look like coming out of the bags). As can be expected, they are most effective with things that have a lot of air in them, which explains why in the commercials, they always demo the packaging of a down blanket. Because honestly, down blankets are 50% air anyway and feathers basically have no dimension.

At this point, I'm expecting that my total move will amass to 4 suitcases (3 carry-on, 1 large) and 1 box (full of shoes!). This puts me between the two benchmarks I had -- two of my friends also moving to business school (2 luggages vs. 6 large luggages and a few duffel bags... take a guess at which one is a guy!). I'm planning on moving everything by air with my parents (i.e. as checked bags for our flight), so hopefully everything works out as planned! I think Virgin America offers each person 1 checked bag without fee so maybe I'll be able to ship everything over for free. Which would be awesome because that means... more money for FOOD!!!!

Till next time!
xoxo