My life is surrounded by suitcases right now. And duffel bags. And toiletry bags. And bedding. And egg crates. And sleeping bags.

I’m not only packing up myself and the girls for a month (!!!) in Africa, but by the time we leave on June 18, I’ve also go to have them fully packed for their month at sleepaway camp later this summer. That is a lot of crap (labeled!) that needs to get crammed in to a lot of bags.

For camp, at least they are specific about what to bring. Like, really specific:

For Africa, packing is sort of a crapshoot.

-It will be hot by day (70s/80s) but cold at night (50s).

-We have to dress modestly (no shorts/tank tops) when in villages.

-We will be doing manual labor (helping build homes at the orphanage), as well as hitting the beach on the east coast of South Africa on the end of our trip. We need clothes for both.

-We want a well-stocked first aid kit and medicine supply.

– I need to pack in sufficient diabetic supplies and medicine…for two months! And,  still fit other stuff in my bag.

The biggest challenge is that I’ve told the girls that (almost) everything we bring with us to wear, we are going to leave behind at the end of our trip. We don’t need to bring a dozen well-worn t-shirts home to throw into our already-crowded drawers. Whatever we bring will be left with kids at the orphanage, with families we meet along the way, with taxi drivers, with safari guides, etc. So we plan to start with a huge bag of stuff, but return with a small bag. (Ok, maybe still a huge bag – but filled with newly purchased souvenirs.)