Words and photos by Anika Woelffer, our Jetsetter Journalist who is studying abroad in Sorrento, Italy, during Spring semester 2024.
Studying abroad can be scary, but one thing you can do to lessen the stress is to plan a lot beforehand! Thankfully, this was pretty easy for me because I am already a very organized person. Some of the best tips I have are as simple as using Excel or Google Sheets. For starters, it's really important to keep track of everything you plan to bring on your trip abroad. Keep in mind the weather of the places you’ll be visiting and make sure to only bring what you absolutely need.
The spreadsheet I had was broken down into six categories; clothes, electronics, paperwork, toiletries, travel, and other. This helped me stay organized and aware of how much I was bringing/wanted to bring. Even before packing, my biggest tip is to lay out all of the clothes you want to bring and then sort out two piles; a pile for “need” and “want to take if there's room”. This will help you be more mindful of things that are necessities versus another cute dress when you already have five!
Once you have everything accounted for in your spreadsheet, then you can make another one and organize it into a checked bag, carry on, and backpack! This helps you plan out what you are going to put into each bag, so you can come up with a strategy of where to pack heavier items, and keep a list in case you lose luggage. Once everything is organized into those categories, you can officially start packing. As you go, I recommend highlighting things you have already packed so you don't have to keep double-checking. I was able to pack all of the things I needed plus more in one checked bag, one carry-on, and one backpack! Staying organized will only benefit your packing experience and lessen the stress on your upcoming semester.
Here is a list of everything I packed and the categories I had!