Toss it, Chuck it, Bin it!

So, the sorting has begun. I've gone through all my guidebook pages and ripped out ones that I don't need. I ended up throwing away nearly 200 pages! It's great! I went through my Ireland book the past week and determined that a rough plan would give me 27 days in Ireland, plus another week for Northern Ireland. A little longer than I initially thought, but there's a lot more to Ireland than I thought there was. I'm very excited.

I just got back from a load of returns to REI. I love REI! Great return policy. I order a lot of stuff online and have it shipped to the store (free!) and then return the sizes of clothes that don't fit. They're quite nice about it (most of the time).

I'm house-sitting this week and next and have packed me bag with everything I thought I would want/need on my trip. I've eliminated my sweater-vest, a pair of walking shorts and a pair of pants. It's nice to have a little more room there, but I know I'll be filling some of it with things I forgot to pack or will be buying there (shampoo, small souvenirs, heavy coat in the summer, etc) so hopefully I can eliminate more space and weight before I go.

I've ordered free business cards with my email, blog address and couchsurfing page address on it to give to people here who want to follow my adventure and for people who I meet there who want to stay in touch and/or have connections for me in Europe.

A lot has happened the past week and a lot more still needs to be done in the next few weeks!