I’m going on two trips back to back so I need to be extra organized about packing. The first trip is on the train, so I try to be very streamlined. The second will be by car, so number of bags is more flexible.

It seems my best option is to pack enough up front, make sure I launder while visiting my daughter so (most) everything is clean when I make my quick stop at home, and then grab my dressy outfits and maybe an extra set of jeans and top, which I will have prepared in a garment bag. That way I won’t have any question about forgetting something, or unpacking-repacking during my hour long home stop.

Here is my travel capsule beginning. Photo 1 is what I plan to wear traveling. Black jeans, blush l.s. tee, gray patterned wool zip cardigan, with socks and scarf. I’ll wear black NB city tennies. This outfit has to be layered for unpredictable temperatures, soft and stretchy and dirt resistant for spending the night on the train.

Photo 2 is my additional items planned for 6 days, from the top: Green jeans, dark blue jeans, dark abstract patterned fringed scarf, burgundy cardigan, black/white patterned cardigan, gray tee, navy/black tee, green/cream tee, burgundy print tee.

I’ll also take a coat with hat and gloves, low cut hiking shoes, and pretty much an all season assortment of running clothes, as she and I are running a 10K race and Colorado front range weather is crazy. It could be 25 degrees and snowy, or 85 and blazing sun, and has been both there within the last two weeks. If I didn’t need to reserve the space for running shoes, clothes and jackets, it might be easy to just throw in enough outfits that I wouldn’t have to wash.

Enough blabbering, thanks for listening!