So this weekend one of the other fab things I engaged in was a test pack of my clothing to see exactly where I was weighing in on my luggage before I did my real packing to leave.
I was so anxious I asked my mom to sit and iron clean laundry and talk to me as I packed.. so I could battle down the butterflies and actually pack my clothes.
My mom also came up with a great suggestion – to pack my clothing as complete outfits instead of just as pairs of items which I will do.. once I actually have everything clean and ready to go.
I will also be packing clothing with dryer sheets to make sure they stay nice and fresh if I leave decide to leave some clothing at the central hub instead of hauling it all with me during training.
I was 14lbs over the 40lb weight limit for my bag of clothing. So although not on target its not to bad either. I mean.. especially given that I am trying to prepare for the possibilities of a cold environment and an extremely hot one at the same time.
My mom is the most concerned about me being cold during my time in Morocco. Where as I am most concerned about the heat. I can take cold.. because you can always get warm. But have you tried getting cool in 100F heat?! Not possible without some serious A/C and/or a large body of water with some shade.
I am also worried about finding plus size clothing in Morocco after my good friends who are married to Moroccans and have travelled to Morocco have said how difficult it is to find items in plus sizes unless you go to a tailor and have clothing custom made.
So I would rather pack more clothes.. and be creative with my left over space than try and figure out how to get a custom pair of pants sewn in Morocco. I don’t even want to think about purchasing underwear or bras in Morocco – if its like Saudi Arabia where men sell women’s underwear – thats not going to happen – NO FREAKING WAY.
My mom can always ship more clothing to me – so I may pack less clothing and have her ship me extra pants etc if I find myself in need.
Its also a question of how is laundry done in Morocco? If its by hand then I want to make sure to pack things that dry quickly and are light weight – which means its less of a hassle to clean usually. This just in – yes I will be 100% washing my clothing by hand in Morocco. YIKES – Thank you R. Rubinski for the heads up.
Makes me rethink my twill pants that I packed 5 pairs of – : / hmmmm..
After reading another packing list by a current PCV in Morocco – its also clear the guys are able to pack a lot less clothes than the women because they can get away with shorts! Le Sigh.
I didn’t even try and pack all the other items I have purchased.. just the clothing because that is what is going to weigh the most. I also used my newly purchased Eagle Creek Packing Cubes to tame the mountain of clothing. I am not sure if they significantly add to the weight of my luggage but I will also be using Eagle Creek Compression Bags to try and make the load less bulky if not lighter when I do my final pack for the trip.
Ugh.. packing confusion abounds – still even after the test pack!
American Muslimahs Musings 
Have you thought about the plastic bags that you suck the air out with the vacuum? I used them for shipping my clothes to Hawaii and they worked great-really could pack a lot more than normal. I still use them, without the vac, just to have a clean storage option under the bed.
Yes.. those are the Eagle Creek compression bags that I have already!!
I’m impressed by how much packing you’ve already done. So far I have a bag of stuff piled in the corner of my bedroom. I really need to look into buying compression sacks or packing cubes.