on packing and luggage

I've been working on our packing list, and I think I've just about got it down pat. I assembled a few lists from various websites, copied them into an Excel file, eliminated the items that doubled up, and then eliminated the things we won't be needing. I've read packing advice from many, many experienced travellers. I've taken into consideration that there are washing machines in each of the three apartments we've booked, and that we're going to big cities where we can buy essentials if we choose not to take them with us (like shampoo - we're just going to buy it in London rather than lug it halfway round the world).

And I took my Excel file and divided it up into bags - two cross-body security bags (Pacsafe Citysafe 100 for Miss Tizz, and the 200 for me), a cabin bag, and a smallish wheeled bag each.

Today I did a rough test pack, and went shopping for the second wheeled bag. I looked at lots of bags - some way out of our price range (did you know you can pay $1200 for a suitcase?!), some too big (I'd just be tempted to take extra stuff because I had room), some too small (while it would be nice to get by with carry-on luggage only, I think having a little breathing space in the bag for things we pick up along the way is a wiser choice for us), backpacks and rolling duffels and some just plain ugly and flimsy.

Then I found it: a 53cm (21") wheeled bag, with an expanding section (which I don't plan on using, but it's handy to know it's there), an exterior pocket, internal straps to secure your stuff, sturdy padded handles on short and long sides, an extendible handle for wheeling, and slightly padded to protect the contents a little. I would have liked the purple one, but the shop only had it in black or grey, so I settled for black and a lime green luggage strap for easy identification.

And the best bit? It was on sale! Marked down from $130 to $55 :)