After you’ve gotten up the courage to leave your job, sell your house and other worldly belongings and say goodbye to friends and family, it might seem like packing a bag or two for your RTW trip would not be the tough part. But for some people, getting everything that you think absolutely must make the trip with you into the bags you’re planning to take is the biggest challenge of all. You may find yourself wondering why you thought that bag was big enough in the first place, and whether it shrunk overnight. The good news is that you’re not alone.

Of course, letting the packing process be the thing that keeps you from taking the trip at all isn’t an option, so one way or another you’ve got to whittle down your “must-have” items to a reasonably sized pile so you can get it all into your bag. But how do you know what you really must have and what’s really not necessary? BootsnAll member Malena is packing for her RTW trip and she’s having a hard time with it.

What sort of things do people tend to think they need when they should just leave them at home? What did you pack and never end up using? Where should I be looking to cut weight first? How few shirts can I live on for 18 months?

There have already been lots of people who have chimed in with their words of encouragement and support, as well as suggestions for Malena. If you’ve got a tried-and-true packing trick that you think could help either Malena or any of the other folks in her situation, or if you’re looking for some of those suggestions yourself, check out what everyone else is saying and contribute your voice to the conversation!