the art of packing light

i dread packing
i mean, who doesnt?
the act of picking your things.. one after another.. is soo.. ermm, head-aching? confusing? daunting? heartwrentching (over tak haha)? decision-making-thingy?
yeah.. i hate that last one the most
i always always put the packing at the very last, because i wil always always repack and repack, or take out some of the things (because i need to use them NOW) and put them back, and repack, and reorganise everything every half an hour!

to woman, packing is a kind of art that u MUST master
it require some sort of psychic ability, to some extent.
one need to know (exactly) what is going to happen in the next future, so that we can pack accordingly, or not correctly.
if packing for holidays, then we need to know what is the itinerary, at least a list of plan what we are going to do, in order for us to know what is appropriate clothing we might need. and not forgetting the tiny winy chances it might go the other way, so we will need tha 'other' sets of clothes? hmmmphhh..
but atleast i can relax a bit, since its a holiday so i can wear all those 'easy' things - simple t-shirts, jeans that i can always re-use, light sandals, again, simple tudung and simply can throw in my big bulky bag that can double as take-all handbag

but when it comes to pack for business trip.. aiyyoooo.. if its a 3-day meetings trip i need at least 3 good business shirt and 2 black pants. or whatever color that will suit my shirts.. normally i'l take the black ones, its the safest choice. easily can go on with other color.. but the shirts will need good ironing and all..arghhhh so must choose the ones with easy iron character. but then comes the tudungs.. must bring the perfect tudung for each suits.
and now that we malaysian women are wearing that tudung with awning, i need to give them special care pulakkk..
and then must bring that busines-frenly handbag.. different sets of shoes..
at least i can always go with a nice pair of black office shoes and black jacket, that saves a lot!
now, with two little princesses in tow, i admit we hardly pack light anymore
the least we'l need 2 luggage, one dedicated to the girls alone.
infants wll never have enough clothes, do they? tu pun mesti ada yg tertinggal
the other luggage will be for mom and dad. well, like i say before, me will always had this trouble picking up my things. always dunno whic is the best to take along *sigh* and i already drained my energy thinking hard deciding and doing the packing for the girls, so it always a tangkap-muat for me
for TB, well, i always let him do his own. kalau ku yg pilih karang adaaaaa je tak kena, ini takde, itu tak bawak.. byk ckp kalu.. sila pack brg anda sendiri ya!
and since he'l always be the last to dump his things inside the bag, he'l often have the least space left for him.
but i always prefer it that way, since he'l be doing the pushing and zipping all, whic i could never get around to do myself.they simply wont close on me!
then, it'l be lots of plastic bags or extra bag to host the milks formulas, the diapers, extra shoes, towel set, another set of diapers and wet tissues and spare clothes, and another spare of everything..
easily the trunk will be overfilled with our luggage alone. and that doesnt even include stroller, payung..
arghh.. i dun even mention all those skincares and makeup!
glad i dont put on much makeup but my mineral powder, deodorant, talc already take much of the space already! and the girls own sets of soap, shampoo, lotions, minyak yuyi and all.. sometimes i even forgot to take them all..
ahh and the toothbrushes too!!
still, we always end-up buying more things during the travel, so the chances is, we'l take home more of it!

so, i would suggest,
1. if you can afford it, take cash with you! it's lightweight and doesnt take much space in your bag, unless you'r taking the whole lot or taking rupiah with you *grinn* or better, take your credit card - it only take ONE slot inside your purse! buy everything you want over there.

2. for muslim, or atleast to those wearing tudung,a good pair of abaya will never go wrong anywhere, anytime. so pack one! just slip it on top of watever underneath and you'r all set! its the best bet when u'r in hurry, like bangun pagi malas nk mandi and tukar baju, just put it on and tadaaa..reade to dash the breakfast ... yepp ku selalu buat, even without the abaya haha

3. always have a pair of black tudung, black pant, black jacket - u can just pull out the look easily. and black underwear also will be useful haha. the otther alternatives is the whites, of course! u could never go wrong in simple white shirts

4. if possible get those skincares in travel sizes - samples are great, because they'r free,if not cheaper than large real size bottles. if u can, just bring the basic - cleanser, moisturizer, sunblocks or maybe that 2 or 3-1 things, u know
(but again who know i might have the chance to lounge in the bathtub, so it'be great opportunity to use that spa-soap and bath foam and those scrubs that you hardly use at home? tell ya, this is stricky!)
for makeup, i would never be able to use that sample sized yg kecit tonet tu!! so i'l stick the the usual.
and remember, pack them in separate palstic sheet, in case they broke or tumpah, it wont stain your clothes.
5. go for light shirts so you'l have more space. glad hubby loves his pagoda so much
i can even borrow them as my nightshirt hehe. and chose the easy mantainance ones. left those silk shirts that easily get crinkled. if possible, bring along a nice cardigan so you can update new look easily

hmm what else?
its no easy okay
its not like u can just open up the wardrobe and kaut everything nad transfer them into a bag.
i had lots of thinking to do
so dear hubby, please pleasee dont expect me to know everything, to pack everything perfectly! its so damn daunting and tiring task okay!

then come the unpacking part
oh NOOOOOOO!!!!
i just hate it
H.A.T.E
double HATE when hubby simply scout the bags and put them inside the trunk
at least, do the courtesy call and ask me first, wether or not i have DONE the packing? will ya?

NOtes: pictures are googled. tak koser makk nk pakai kasut kaler gold gituu!