What I packed (and wore) during three weeks in Italy in May

I am a notorious over packer. Well I should say, before our trip to Italy, I WAS a notorious over packer. Our May trip to Italy saw me revolutionise the way I plan my clothing and pack for a trip – so let me share some of my learnings with you.

Clothes:
A huge tip that I had always aspired to, but never quite taken the leap on was planning my outfits for each day. So I got serious and installed the SmartCloset app which allowed me to photograph and catalogue individual articles of clothing (and shoes) and arrange them in a calendar view. When pulling my outfits together I looked at what tours or activities we were doing on a particular day and ensured I was dressed appropriately. This included ensuring I was in clothing covering my knees and shoulders when visiting the Vatican, or having comfy clothes for our huge day tour to Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius, for example.

Below are some screen shots of the calendar view, with the individual pieces planned for each day:

I especially enjoyed being able to plan for warmer days, with bike shorts under a dress/kaftan to ensure I packed enough but also to make sure each item was being worn multiple times, as to justify its inclusion in my suitcase. I loved this app and the planning process so much, I will use this on every single trip I take ever again – it was such a game changer for me and really helped to kerb my over packing ways!

A quick summary of the items I packed for our May trip to Italy (with a stopover in Dubai) includes:
– two pairs of jeans (one blue, one black)
– two plain t-shirts (one black, one white)
– three kaftans (mostly packed for Dubai but they were a life saver in Rome)
– two pair of bike pants (to wear under kaftan/dress on warmer days)
– three tops including a long sleeve top specifically to wear for our Vatican tour
– flight suit which comprised of a pair of black bamboo, wide leg pants, a black singlet top and black cardigan
– Kathmandu brand puffer jacket
– 7 pairs of underpants and socks (mix of black and white in both)

Shoes:
Another game changer for me was only travelling with two pairs of shoes! Eeiikkk! This was tough. But in the end I went for a simple white sneaker style shoe, which was an Ascent Stratus in white for its support and anti fatigue properties. The other shoe was a pair of Adidas sneakers with my custom orthotics inside (I will be doing a future post on the importance of having a travel pit crew, where my chiropractor – and person who recommended I get fitted for orthotic inner soles – will get some massive raps). As a ‘well into my 40’s woman’ I used to experience hip and leg pain from walking extended distances, so was really eager to limit discomfort and maximise my walkability on this trip. Most days we walked 25,000 steps and I did not have a day where I felt discomfort in my legs, hips or back – which was miraculous!

Toiletries and cosmetics:
I love looking and feeling ‘made up’ so my cosmetic bag was a huge source of rationalisation for this trip. I started by investing in a set of leak proof, squeezable travel tubes for my shampoo, conditioner, face wash and body wash. You can find these on Amazon via my affiliate link.
I also invested in a Nutrimetics cosmetic stacker containing creme eye shadows and blush (but as this was on clearance I have not included any links to buy). The shades were neutral which was perfect for a made up but not caked on make up look each day.

Laundry:
Not being too sure how readily available laundry facilities would be, we were prepared to do some hand washing here and there to keep our clothes clean over our almost three weeks. We packed a handful of laundry dry detergent sheets which smelled great and dissolved super easily for hand washing and worked equally as well in domestic and commercial washing machines. You can find these on Amazon via my affiliate link.

We also took with us some crease/wrinkle release spray. Amazon wanted about $10-$15 for super small sized spray bottles so we hit Clean HQ and purchased a 500ml bottle which we then decanted into a smaller spray bottle. I wasn’t super sure how well it would work but on everything from kaftans to t-shirts, it is super effective and keeps everything smelling nice too! I can honestly say I will not travel without a small bottle of this ever again. It is not that we dislike ironing, but this is perfect for pulling the fold lines out of tshirts in 30 seconds flat, meaning you always look your wrinkle free best. Affiliate link to the clear spray bottles from Amazon is here.

The last laundry item which I will not travel without were some clothes stain remover wipes. Super handy and like individually wrapped, single wet wipe sized, perfect for a trip to anywhere with great food that you are likely to slop on yourself (such as pasta sauce in Italy)! I love these so much that I always keep a pair of them in my handbag now – not to completely remove the stain but to minimise the opportunity for more permanent stain damage. Affiliate link to Amazon here.

The good news is that all of my belongings fit comfortably in a bag that was big enough for our trip, but also small enough to carry up stairs and steps but I will share more about the luggage we took in a future post!

Happy travels! Let’s go!