Should you escape the uniform?

Both in Alan’s and my career, the uniform has developed from something you were given to wear (like a branded tee in a barjob) to something you put on because you are told to do so by dresscodes and policies (like only wearing denim on a Friday).

When we first explored the idea about putting our current life on hold to discover the rest of the world, we thought about things like if we can sublet the apartment, when to sell the car, what furniture to store and when to organise a garage sale. Visas, vaccines and insurance were also on this “exciting” (or should I say terrifying?) list.

Dissecting each of our travel bucket lists and deciding how to not only merge them but create the ultimate trip-of-a-lifetime took courage and a lot of wine and the itenerary is still nowhere near ready (but hey, we have 1.5 months to go) Thinking about the places we will go and the things we will learn and see and taste is worth every second of planning and research.

So how do you manage to journey from being a city dweller with a walk-in-wardobe and a 9-5 to spending 7 months on the road, stopping for roughly a maximum of 5 days at a time? While carrying all you can wear on your back  through more than 20 countries?

Thinking back to the times where you only had to rock up to work to change into what you were required to wear, I am hoping that creating a “capsule wardrobe” (what an excellent buzzword) will make it easier to spend more time exploring and less time worrying what I look like doing so. So while we are escaping the ordinary, we are embracing the uniform – this time not because some HR person thought it might be inapropriate to wear flip-flops in the Sydney summer heat, but because it will allow us to focus on soaking it all in.

If you are also setting off for a big trip, we hope Alan’s packing list can help you [mine is a bit of a disaster right now, but he has even done a “mock pack” to see if it all fits!!] He made sure that everything goes with everything; all tops are OK to be worn with all bottoms and he can layer if we get caught in cold weather.

Check out our instagram, we have posted a picture of the final result and will document the stages soon as well!

Lastly, if you shop for clothes, try using Good On You; an app that tells you if the brand you are after is doing their part to support our beautiful plant. Otherwise, getting second hand things from ebay is great- you can save money and expand the item’s lifespan 🙂

Alan’s packing list

• • FOOTWEAR:
• 1 x comfy sneakers (Alan got a pair of Simple)
• 1 x flip flops for showers and the beach
• 1 x hiking shoes (Salomons X Ultra)
• 1 x Birkenstock sandals
• 2 x Merino hikin socks (MacPac)
• 5 x normal socks
  • BOTTOMS
• 7 x pairs of undies
• 2 x pairs of long pants (1 x denim, 1 x slacks)
• 2 x shorts (1 x cargo MacPac hiking shorts, 1 x smart boardshorts by Billabong)
• 1 x Lululemon track pants (ebay is your friend!!)
• 1 x Speedos
• 1 x Merino thermal pants (currently hunting on ebay)
  • TOPS
• 1 x merino vest
• 2 x merino tees (MacPac)
• 2 x merino polos (MacPac)
• 2 x cotton V-necks
• 2 x button up shirts
• 1 x jumper
• 1 x hoodie
  • OUTER
• 1x fold up down jacket (MacPac)
• 1 x fold up rain jacket (Kathmandu)
  • GADGETS /OTHER (mostly via amazon)
• gopro camera
• Steripen
• budget travel laptop (Lenovo “idea pad 100 s”)
• tiny, foldable picnic mat
• silk sleeping bag
• budget mini speaker (logitech “x 50”)
• waterproof document bag (thanks to Mum in Germany)
• mini wet bags (as above)
• foldable water bottle
• stojo coffee cup
• global adaptor
• noise cancelling earphones
• money belt
• earplugs, travel pillow and eye mask
•  travel cubes to compartamentalise all the stuff above (worked super well)
• mini washing line
• USB power bank – 10’000 AMP (by in the states)
• Scrubba washing bag
• …

via Daily Prompt: Uniform