50 Outfits + 1 Carry On = Mad Packing Skills

Last week I came to Texas to visit my Dad!

Yep...That's us. 

I brought one carry on sized bag and a backpack for three weeks of fun in the Texas sun! 

While here, I came across this photo and was inspired to make a "Mission Capsule" suitable for myself, and all us soon-to-be Sister Missionaries.

Now we can't exactly wear tank tops or short shorts on the mission so I had to throw in some more skirts and tops to make it all work out. 

In the end I used 15 pieces for roughly 30 outfits. 

Some...not so super cute, but I made it work! 

Excuse the mess... you know how it is ;)

Some times I find myself getting super jealous of the Elders. They just have to worry about white shirts and that they alternate ties every day. Wouldn't that be great if we could just wear the SAME thing EVERY DAY? 

Yeah, it would...

But it would also be pretty boring. 

We, as Sisters, get variation (to the MAX). Shoes, skirts, belts, tops, cardigans/sweaters, and jewelry make it all possible to create a wardrobe out of virtually nothing. 

But here's the reality of it all. 

1. It's hard to think of a new way to mix it all up sometimes

2. It's easy to wear our favorite outfit once a week without even noticing.

3. Repetition happens

                                           ...although there are some of us out there who are genius about this stuff and work REALLY hard to keep it fresh every time.  Kudos to you ladies!

I've noticed that a LOT of us tend to over shop for the mission and end up having to sell our extra clothes online to other soon-to-be missionaries. 

SO before you go spend your life away on Modcloth.com (which is FANTASTIC by the way) 

 here's my tips for making the MOST of what you've got already! 

(and if you literally don't have ANYTHING keep these things in mind while purchasing clothes) 

• Black and white/ivory basically go with everything! Neutrals are your friend! 

• Solid skirts or skirts with lots of coloring (not necessarily bright though) make it easier to mix and match too, skirts that have just two colors often become what I like to call a "one trick pony" and don't make the mission wardrobe very efficient or versatile.

• Ideally you'd have pieces that are all in the same color palate which makes it WAY easier to mix and match. Having a color palette wardrobe takes a lot of time and work to get right, as you get older and your body is constantly the same size you'll probably notice your wardrobe leans towards a certain group of colors, for me it's almost always been blue. But if you keep this in mind as your shopping for clothes I PROMISE it'll make it easier to mix and match your stuff. 

• Think of the two or three colors or tones you wear the most and then pick an 'accent color', try your best to build your wardrobe around that and the neutral colors like black, grey, white, and tan. 

(You may vary in color every now and then and that's ok...but be careful! 

 I bought a grey and yellow skirt once thinking it would be a GREAT addition to my mission closet. Only...I don't wear yellow...EVER, so that caused me to buy a yellow cardigan to wear with it- and I cant mix and match ANY of that with what I already have- my "One Trick Pony.")

Speaking of ponies, here's mine! :]  His name is Zane.       

My compilation of outfits used 4 skirts, 7 tops, 3 cardigans, and 1 dress. 

30 outfits. out of that. 

What's more, is that it can all fit into a carry on bag!  

Well, that and WAY MORE. Here's the list of EVERYTHING I was able to fit inside that baby bag:

15 Tops

8 Cardigans 

5 Skirts

1 Slip

1 Dress

7 T-Shirts

3 Pairs of Yoga Pants

3 Sweatshirts

1 Pair of Jeans

a TON of Socks

7 Sets of G's 

7 Undershirts 

Nylons and an extra bra. 

AND 

A Full bottle of: Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Face Wash, Contact Solution

Toothpaste and a toothbrush

Glasses

Makeup

Shoes (came with one pair, going out with 4...yikes.) 

OH! And a hairdryer and straighter. 

BOOM.

Impressive, right? If you're interested to see how in the WORLD I managed to fit so much into such a little space...let me know! I leave Texas in two weeks and will be packing all that (PLUS MORE) into my suitcase.

Anyway, I figure with everything that I have, I could probably do at LEAST 50 outfits maybe more, which pretty much covers one transfer. Now that is a beautiful thing! 

Getting tired of the clothes we have on the mission is pretty much unavoidable. But it's not about us. It's about the people we're going to be teaching. Let's do our best to look approachable though, yeah? 

I have a feeling we're going to be the cutest Sister Missionaries the world has ever seen (me being at the bottom of that spectrum ;]) 

No more of that Pioneer/Grandma looking missionary stereotype! (no offense grandma :]) 

I am so proud to be one of the tens of thousands of missionaries serving the Lord. 

MTC bound in 43 Days!!