Am I overly enthusiastic?

Relax. Everybody does that. For our third trip, we had packed more than a month before leaving

How is this for insanity: Our ride to the airport arrives in 2 hours and I'm typing this instead of finishing my packing ... The earliest I have ever packed might have been 4 days before departure.

better go!

Regarding having enough clothing, let me tell you why I can do this with the kids: I buy their new clothes for the trip (they look cute in the photos) and let them live in their oldest/smallest/worn-out clothing at home until the trip. Then, those old clothes get donated or chucked and when we get home, they keep using their "new" clothes.

We do this every summer. It works because we live in the tropics and wear summer clothes for 10 months of the year. The other two we wear summer clothes plus a cotton cardigan. ;o)

I, on the other hand, do not have what to wear as it is, so I will have to wait a bit!

That is so good you are already packing! My husband and I are leaving in less than 4 weeks and I am totally stressed that I'm not packing yet! It is insanity!

I don't have enough clothes to be able to pack that far ahead and not unpack it in the meantime. :) But it's great that you can, especially so that you can check to make sure everything makes the weight limits.

Since you're done, can you come and pack mine? ; )

Cecily and others, thanks so much for this post. We leave here in 3 wks for 7 wks in Europe and I am feeling insane too. It is sooo nice to not feel alone. I really can't say anything about the stress of getting ready to any of my friends (well, I have once, but that's the limit!) because they would be very happy to trade places with me and be able to go to Europe themselves. They're happy for us but also envious. Thing is, we have worked and saved every penny we could for the past 2 yrs to be able to go, so it's not like we won a free trip :) Anyway, hearing others talk about this is so helpful, thank you!

Cecily, Don't worry, your not alone when it comes to the insanity that accompanies traveling. My husband and I tend to try on all our outfits that we plan on taking with us weeks in advance. This way we know exactly what to wear when and what it will look like. I try not to pack too early, but always have a thorough checklist of everything I need and check our packed luggage atleast 3 times to make sure nothing is left out (although I always tend to leave something behind).

Susan, Its great that you had the will-power to save for 2 yrs for your trip. That will make it even more better! My family tends to complain about the amount of traveling my husband and I do, but they do not understand how cheap and easy it is for us to travel while stationed in Germany. We stick to extremely tight budgets and save up for months before taking a long trip (although we do several day trips). Family and friends will always be envious, all you have to do is bring them something back and move on :).

For family trips in the U.S, I pack about 2-3 days ahead of time. Shorter or work trips, I pack the night before or sometimes the morning of.

For trips out of this continent? Let's just put it this way- we are going in December, and I am already stockpiling special clothes for the trip. ; )

Must be something wrong with us...we usually pack the morning we leave....from SF to Europe, we usually try for afternoon flights arriving in Europe around noon.

WAY TO GO BEATRIX!

My first trip to Europe is in September and I already have lists going... I don't know if they are any good... I have actually been looking at what i need to take and looking at the packing lists on this website and the many suggestions made as well.

I have actually lost quite a bit of weight over the past year (15kg - no idea what that is in pounds... about 33 pounds i think), and I still have a little bit more to lose, so I now have no clothes that fit me, however I am going shopping in August to buy all new stuff with my bestie, so that I will have some new clothes for when I go to Europe. So I am also keeping an eye on what clothes are appropriate (I am 24)

I am so enthusiastic about going that my friends are tired of hearing me talk about it, so I love coming on here to keep the excitement going, but I cant wait even to be just sitting on that plane!! Even though I will actually be travelling for about 27 hours to get from home to London!!

Leanne, congrats on losing all that weight, you deserve some nice new clothes, and I agree wait a bit as you will likely lose even more and no one wants to spend that much on a new wardrobe twice! I too lost some weight, but I plan on enjoying myself on the trip,, LOL

Bill, that is insane, if I did that my favorite tops would no doubt be in the laundry hamper,,

I totally understand everyone else, we are leaving in 24 days and I have got a spare room set up as command central.. the clothes arranged in piles by function, tops, bottoms, warm , cool, etc.. I will not actually pack bags till a day or two ahead so the wrinkles will not be too set in . I like doing it this way as I can " eyeball " the piles to see if the piles are getting too high( how many times have I seen a shirt or something and though wow, I must have that for the trip,, ) and I "edit" my piles.

Talking to friends about the excitment is very risky, some think you are bragging, some are sick of hearing of it, some are jealous, some are happy for you but you don't want to hurt them since they can't afford nice trips, there are a million reasons its best to go online to share trip excitment!

Not overly enthusiastic... just perfectly excited.

I leave on 22 June and I am packed. All I need to do is add my hairbrush (as I only have 1).

I'm already on vacation mode at work... totally not interesting in starting anything new.

Bill,
You are a packer after my own heart. I hate packing early, whenever i've done that I always think i've forgotten something and end up going back thru everything and re-packing at the last minute anyway.

Have a great trip Cecily. I don't think there is anyway to be overly enthusiastic about traveling to Europe. The weeks before we left I was thinking about it non-stop, not worried about anything, just anxious to go. Our 2 weeks was a great mental release that was long overdue.

Oh man, I am behind schedule! We leave in 9 days and I am still shopping for travel clothes! I will start packing this weekend, roll and tuck overnight, then retry on when they come out of the bag in the morning, lay all outfits together, making sure to have at least two tops for every bottom, couple of cardigans, light hoodie and I am good to go. Oh did I mention I have to pack for an 11 yo boy and "help" a 14.5 yo girl pack too? eek!

Good grief! I can't believe how many responses you have solicited. You've obviously touched a nerve - including in me. I started planning this trip back in December and January. Since then we have been on a cruise to the Bahamas, been to Disney World, New Orleans and New York. But I found all those trips to be distractions from the "real" one coming up in (YIKES!!!) 11 days, which doesn't seem possible. I rarely pack more than a day or two in advance (and always just in carry ons), figuring if I forgot something - like, oh, I don't know, to bring socks for my son (who, me?) - there are always stores where we are going. Besides, I ALWAYS overpack or bring clothes that don't match the weather - even after checking the weather before I pack.

However, this 21-day trip to Europe, we are packing ala Rick Steves just in backpacks with two pairs of pants each and a few tops. That's it. I am hoping this will make the dash through airports and train stations a little easier.

And I am going to celebrate July 4th by packing it all up a full week in advance. I hope.

PS: I am planning on burning the clothes we are taking when we return.