Pack It On Up

     If there is one thing that I truly pride myself on is my ability to pack a week and a half's worth of clothing in a very small bag. Now I know that when it comes to Twin Falls, packing is pretty easy because y'all spend a lot of time in official dress, but when it comes to Moscow, there is a lot of down time that is going on. With down time comes regular clothes, and with regular clothes comes more stuff to pack. So today I am going to lay some knowledge on ya and show all of you how I make it happen.
      So there are a few essentials that I insist on being on my packing list every time I go anywhere:

• one new pair of jeans
• tops for each day
• underwear
• socks
• sweats (aka pajamas)
• tank tops/ undershirts 
• sweatshirt
• jacket
• Official Dress....... DUH!
• outfit for the dance

     Of course there are some other important things, but these are my main needs. Now notice that I am only packing one pair of jeans. See, I believe that jeans are the best on the second day or so this new pair is for the dance or to bust out as needed.

      But as you can see, the basics alone is a hefty amount of clothing. Not to mention we haven't added O.D. and bathroom toiletries. So the trick is to roll all of the items up into little rolls. Now ladies, if you have a certain undershirt/tanktop that goes with a certain shirt, go ahead and roll those together, just makes it all easier.

     As you can see above, all the essentials are neatly rolled and can be placed gently into the bottom of the bag that you wish to take. I always use a small duffle back. And once I place those in a nice layer on the bottom of the bag, I usually create a layer of shoes. A lot of times I wear boots, so I will pack my tennis shoes, my official shoes, and my Sperry's (I honestly cannot live without those things). The shoes can also be switched with the clothing layer, as long as it is relatively flat. Since I carefully arrange the shoes so it is nice and even, I am able to place my toiletry bag and make up back right on top. And with enough luck, I will have enough room to place my official dress over the top of those two bags and very gently tucked into the sides of the bag. This not only makes it easy to unpack what you need to along the way or for bag checks. 

     Up next, my toiletry bag. Being away for a week means that there a lot of things that we need. 

     Now I will say, that this bag is nowhere near the capacity that I have had it at. This bag is one that I acquired at Ulta and I love it. I have my travel shampoo and conditioner, bath soap, shaving supplies, deodorant, toothbrush and paste, and other misc stuff that I have decided to put in it. I also like to put any of my jewelry in here. Both sides zip so I know that nothing will get lost. This bag then folds up and zips altogether. I will also place one of my make up pallets with all of my different eye shadows in there. I fits right nicely inside and then I don't have to worry about any of the shadows cracked or it getting lost in my unpacking. 

       Girls, if you are as into not rocking the natural look as I am, your make up bag is very important. My make up bag is one of my most packed thing that goes into my bag. I am a huge fan of contouring and layered eye shadows and all that jazz, and with that there are a lot of different products and brushes that are needed to pull off my look. 

     Again I bought this bag at Ulta. I know that there are ones similar at Target and Walmart. I just like this one because the top and bottom pocket zip and there is ample amount of space to put all my brushes. It is only a bonus that it matches my other one. If you are a make up nut like I am, I would so suggest getting one of these! The whole nonsense of digging through one black pit of make up supplies is complete insanity. 

     Well there you go people! All my packing tips are all exposed. I cannot wait to see all y'all up at Moscow. Good luck on all the packing that I know FFA has out there for everyone! 

Peace, Love, and FFA!

McKenzie