Packing for travel

I have always struggled with packing. I want to bring everything, for every contingency! Then, I inevitably get somewhere, lugging a too-heavy bag with me, and go home with several things I never even wore.

I am trying to overcome this. On a few recent weekend trips, I only brought one pair of shoes - the ones I wore on the plane. It was somewhat liberating not to cram several other pairs of shoes into my bag. Why do I feel it necessary to bring separate pair of pants for each and every day when I know darn well I can get at least a week out of a pair of jeans?!

So, for my upcoming ten day trip to France, I am trying something new with packing. Instead of packing a separate outfit for each day, I am simply packing a few pairs of pants and a few tops, all of which mix and match, and I'm going to go with it.

This is hard. I want to pack ALL THE THINGS. But I will not, because the carrot on the end of that stick is that by not overpacking, I will have room in my bag for all of the wonderful French things I plan to bring back.

Two cardigans, one long sleeved T, two 3/4 length sleeve linen Ts, a true t-shirt, and a fancy print cotton shirt with sleeves. That's it. I swear.

So, I have narrowed it down to two pairs of shoes, neither of which are "look at me, I'm a stupid American!" athletic shoes. One pair is a pair of "fashion" sneakers similar to Keds or Converse, and one is a pair of Dansko Mary Janes. That's it, folks. One pair worn on the plane, one pair packed.

I'm not bringing an umbrella because I hate umbrellas. I am bringing a waterproof windbreaker, because I like those. I was tempted to bring a trench coat and look all fancy and French, but who am I kidding, I'll never look fancy and French. So I'm bringing my fleece jacket because it's what I'm comfortable wearing.

I opted for the one on the left, at my friend's suggestion. It IS springtime in Paris, after all.