I have never been this organized in my life.

I fly out of Atlanta tomorrow. 15 hours to Seoul, then another flight and a vague stretch of time I’ve mentally refused to quantify until I’m in Bangkok. I’m pretty calm, actually, which is surprising since I normally get pre-flight jitters when simply traveling from Pittsburgh to Chattanooga. (This is an irritating condition for someone who flies a LOT.)

I think the calmness has something to do with the obsessive amount of energy I put into organizing my luggage.

{haha, it looks like the suitcase has a hat. silly suitcase. you don’t get to wear hats}

No but really. I have never been this organized in my life. And when I want to be, I can be a pretty put-together lady. But this is a new level for me. You know that blog, Things Organized Neatly? It is 1) incredibly satisfying and 2) apparently what I was channeling while prepping for my year abroad. I was laying out my things on my bed to make sure I had everything — for the fifth time since I started packing — when it occurred to me that I should photo-document the crazy. For, you know, science.

So, for science and my obsessive documenting purposes, here is everything that I put in my checked bag (cat sadly not included):

• 1 large packing cube of clothes
• 1 medium packing cube of various objects (teaching supplies, some toiletries)
• 1 pair of sneakers
• 1 water bottle (of the foldable persuasion)
• 1 pair of flip flops
• 1 pair of Sanuk sandals
• 1 large bag of more toiletries aka sunscreen, bug spray, and all the murad I could hoard (even though they totally sell it in bangkok, whatever)
• 1 medium bag o’ meds
• 1 medium bag o’…toothpaste and some other stuff.
• 1 journal
• 1 Thai language book
• 1 set of travel sheets because you never know
• 1 packable duffel bag
• 1 manicure kit
• 4 clif bars

and my carry-on backpack:

• 1 medium packing cube of clothes in case my checked bag is lost
• 1 small packing cube of everything electronic and cord-needy
• 1 neck pillow for the plane that the cat wanted to make her own
• 3 (more) pairs of shoes because I believe in quality footwear and also because I wear a size 8.5 and I’ve been warned that those are monster feet in Asia and I will not be able to find shoes.
• 2 belts
• 1 shoe oil sponge
• 1 tiny bag of jewelry. (Only two necklaces, two pairs of earrings, and a watch. Who said I couldn’t be a minimalist?!)

aaaand my purse:

• 1 bag of trail mix (obviously)
• 2 small bags of make-up and other sundries
• 1 pair of compression socks
• 1 pair of sunglasses
• 1 hat that I’m still not convinced is coming with me, but it’s pretty and I like it
• 1 camera
• 1 box of ZzzQuil because FIFTEEN HOUR FLIGHT PEOPLE
• 1 bag of airplane appropriate liquids and gels
• 1 year’s supply of contact lens
• 1 computer
• 1 journal
• 2 pens
• 1 mini box of altoids because ew plane breath
• 1 set of colored flags for reading and stuff because this is who I am
• 2 packs of tissues
• 1 wallet
• 2 pairs of glasses questionably shoved into 1 glasses case
• 1 copy of Name of the Wind, which I can’t imagine being without for a whole year
• 1 copy of Lighthousekeeping, which I can’t imagine being without for a whole year
• 1 loaded up kindle
• 4 (more) clif bars
• 1 passport
• 1 iphone aka Audiobook Listening Device
• 1 ipad, aka Tangled Watching and Candy Crush Playing Device

My mother just looked at all of this and said, “I have no idea where you came from.”

Yeah well….it’s, um, a study. A study in…packing. And obsessive organization. And…excuse me I need to go triple check that I packed everything.