One Month and Counting

One month from TODAY (or 30 more wake-ups) we board our plane for China…YIKES! This weekend Tim and I tried to take care of some really important stuff. 

First on the agenda - visas. The last time I went to China, I was a student with no dependents, so the visa process was pretty straight forward. This time around that is NOT the case! Thankfully, we are pretty close to having all the documents together and should be able to submit the paperwork to VisaRite early this week. I used this company the last time I went to China and had no issues. Seven years later the service seems just as good.

Next on our agenda – toiletries. I know China has everything we need, but there are a few wants that will make this girl a happy camper - like COVERGIRL® Natureluxe gloss balm in hibiscus, so we went shopping. We have about 24 sticks of deodorant between the two of us and bought enough Q-tips® to last till our 50^th wedding anniversary- OK maybe not, but we bought a lot.

Last but definitely not least - packing. Well, we STARTED anyway. Once we fly up to Pennsylvania to visit family, we have to re-pack. My parents were down here when Kaitie Bug bought her home, so they were kind enough to take two suitcases full of our belongings up to PA so we could avoid paying extra fees on the domestic flight from Greenville.

I have some concerns when it comes to suitcases and traveling. First - leaking toiletries. Tim and I double and even triple bagged some items. Hopefully nothing will leak between here and China AND if nothing does, we won’t need to buy gallon Ziploc bags for a long time.

 

My second concern is losing a bag. Thankfully, I have never lost a bag, but I know people who have. I am trying to think about packing strategically – coordinating the clothes in a suitcase, so that if we lose the big blue suitcase filled with blacks and grays, we can still survive on the big red suitcase filled with blues and neutrals. 

My third concern is weight. Between Tim and I, we are permitted four suitcases, 50 lbs. each, for a total of 200 lbs. Yes, that is a lot, but when you are packing for an entire year, those 200 lbs. go away pretty fast! Tim is pretty confident he won't be missing much as China has peanut butter. As long as there is room for a year’s supply of Wawa’s Hazelnut Coffee, I’ll survive!

What is YOUR best packing tip?