Dear Future Racer: Packing Advice That Isn’t a Packing List

So you’ve committed to the Race, and you’ve done the fundraising, and you’ve sold the T-shirt’s, and you’ve made the church announcements, and you’ve started to say goodbyes, and you’ve bought a backpack and now you’re at the most daunting moment: packing. 

All your stuff. For a whole year. Into a 65 liter backpack. Are you sure you’re still up for this? 

You can do it. It’s difficult and also not impossible. 

You’ve probably read over the packing list, and you’ve gotten advice from people in your life, and now you’re thinking, what else? 

Well, here’s a packing blog that isn’t a packing list. Just my experiences of the best things I brought, the worst things I brought, the things I wish I’d brought, and the things I’m glad I didn’t bring. But, this is also only my experience. If you have different priorities when it comes to Race life and packing–do you, boo. 

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The best things I brought: 

• my $10 Target knock off black Birks — the best slip on, house shoes, shower shoes, church shoes. Easily rinsed off and looking brand new all over again, and so light weight. So useful and an excellent last-minute addition I made. 
• a tiny mirror — I relied solely on this for a total of 4 months on the race when we didn’t have any other mirror. 2 months in the mountains of Honduras. 2 months in the sticks of Peru. It cracked in my big pack on the first flight of the year, but it also was a tried and true and well-used item all year long. But if you’re ~lower maintenance~ you can also use your phone front camera as a mirror, that’s just not my preference. 
• a foldable, reusable bag — I’ve had the same black BAGGU reusable tote for years and it was one of my “of course I’m bringing it” items when I was packing. It folds down to fit anywhere, but is the most handy travel-day-snack-bag, grocery-day-extras-bag, shower tote, laundry bag, anything-you-could-ever-need-to-carry type of bag I could have ever wanted on the Race. Would bring again and again. 
• a collapsible bin — when packed down, it’s approximately the size of a folder in my bag. But it pops up and becomes my makeshift closet/catch-all box when I get to unpack. I think it was $5 at Walmart when I was in college, and it traveled with me to Ethiopia and back, and now it’s been all over the world again. Truly one of the simplest, best additions to my pack. And if I was doing it all over again, I’d bring two of them. 
• Blundstones — my friends back home would call these my signature look, so it seemed completely reasonable to bring them for the year. Granted, they’re boots, so they’re on the heavier side–but I got plenty of wear out of them in multiple countries to make the weight worth it. They’re great slip-on travel day shoes, hiking boots, work boots, walking shoes, really anything shoe. BUT they were something I wore all the time at home, so my advice is don’t go out and buy expensive boots to match some made up “World Race aesthetic” you’ve seen on Instagram. 

 

The worst things I brought: 

• extras of anything — hear me clearly when I say, ALL of your routines will change. I brought an extra razor and toothbrush (useful items that I did end up using), as well as an extra SPF and moisturizer (useful items that I never got around to using and dropped halfway through the Race). Anything “extra” is just extra weight. You’ll find sufficient products and brands in just about every supermarket you go to (brands like Dove, Herbal Essence, Colgate, Head and Shoulders, Gillette, St. Ives, Pantene, etc. were all shockingly easy to find). Don’t waste your money on extra stuff, save for a toothbrush. Always carry an extra toothbrush. 
• Chacos — my squad collectively threw away SO many pairs of Chacos this year that just seemed to fall apart. Mine bit the dust before the beginning of month 4. I’m convinced they’re just not made the same as they used to be (*shrugs shoulders*). I DO think a sturdy pair of waterproof sandals is essential, but I don’t think Chaco is the best choice anymore. I had a pair of Tevas brought to me at month 5 debrief. Oh well. 
• clothes I wasn’t okay with sharing — eventually, the sharing of clothes WILL begin. For the girls, it’s a lot of swapping skirts and dresses when ministry requires it 5 days a week and you only brought 2 options for yourself. But even for the guys, they’d share T-shirts or sweats or hoodies if someone needed one. I shared socks this year, for goodness sake. If you’re not okay with sharing an item, leave it at home, or expect to never borrow items from your squad mates. Expecting to borrow your friend’s clothing without ever lending your own is a great way to stir up frustration. 🙂 

 

Things I didn’t bring and wish I would have: 

• a lighter tent — my tent was over 5 lbs of weight I had to carry all year. And it was SO bulky in my big pack. I wish I would have invested more in a lighter, smaller tent to make packing and traveling even just incrementally more enjoyable. 
• a blank journal to make a scrapbook — one of my squad mates started the year with a blank leather bound journal, and week by week collected stickers, ticket stubs, boarding passes, pressed flowers, leaves, sand, notes, candy wrappers, coins, money, and anything else that would make for a good memory and put it all in a scrapbook as the year went on! It is hands-down the coolest thing I’ve ever seen someone do to record the Race. She writes little notes to describe things and explain different experiences, and it’s the cutest walk down memory lane to look through. I like that she gets to choose who she shares it with (it’s not her personal thoughts on the internet forever) and that it’s a physical keepsake without being a bunch of little trinkets or souvenirs to keep track of. 
• more of my own clothes — I was told by an alumni to bring “two of each thing” when picking clothes to bring. She said two pairs of long pants, two short sleeve shirts, two shorts, on and on. I tried my best to abide by that, but found myself even at the beginning of the year starting with 4 pairs of long pants, 3 pairs of shorts, 3 t shirts, 1 casual shirt, 1 tank top, 1 long sleeve… you get the point. And truthfully, I wish I would have brought MORE of my own clothes. More casual clothing that I could mix and match, prioritizing those items over some others that I brought and barely used. 
• a travel mug with a lid — I borrowed my teammates on more occasions than once, and also spilled coffee on myself more than once trying to use a real mug in a moving vehicle. Being able to take your coffee to-go is such a convenience when mornings fly by too quickly or your break is simply too short. Plus, it would have cut down on all the single-use paper cups I paid for from coffee shops this year … big yikes. 

 

Things I’m glad I didn’t bring: 

• a fancy camera — an iPhone camera is completely sufficient for all your photo/video needs, unless you’re trying to go pro. I have squad mates who brought nice cameras that rarely used them but lugged those heavy things around all year simply because they were too expensive to drop in a random country. 
• a laptop — I brought an iPad to read/draw/research/watch videos on, and found myself blogging mostly from my phone. Laptops are heavy and expensive, and take a long time to charge. I think I borrowed a teammates laptop once, just to be able to type a long email more easily. I don’t regret leaving my laptop at home at all. 
• shower shoes — shoes to ONLY wear in the shower? A waste of space. I used my plastic Birks for any shower that was a little too sketchy to go barefoot. 
• a full sized pillow — some squad mates brought theirs and loved it. I brought a travel pillow and used it for 4 months, and everywhere else had a pillow included with our bedding/linens when we showed up. I loved having my small travel pillow on buses and planes, and was thankful to not be a person with one hand always occupied by my pillow on travel day. 

 

And the list could go on and on. My best advice about packing: don’t stress, bring whatever you want and just accept that you might drop/lose it all at some point. You can buy clothes, toiletries, and yes, even shoes, in every country around the world. (Remember, other people live there all year!! For their entire lives actually!! And they manage just fine. You’ll be okay too, I promise.) 

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We are in the final week of ministry of the World Race! Pinch me, am I dreaming? In less than 2 weeks, we’ll begin the trip back to the good ole U.S.A. 

Please pray: 

• for traveling mercies as the squad travels first to Cape Town, and then eventually on to the USA. 
• for our final debrief to be helpful and encouraging and actually allow us to debrief and process well. 
• for grace and mercy in the season of transition.