There is a vast difference between packing for a weeklong vacation and packing for an entire month living in an Airbnb in a foreign country.

It’s easy to wrap your head around what you need for just a week: an outfit for dinner, a sundress, a couple of bottoms, a few casual tops, maybe two pairs of shoes and a small amount of travel toiletries.

But a month away, especially when you don’t exactly know what you will be doing, is another story.

My clothing needs to perform double duty, work cohesively and move from day to night with quick changes—otherwise, I will be forced to bring my entire wardrobe. I need to pack for sunny Mediterranean weather, museums, day trips, beach visits, upscale dinners, long lunches and casual strolls.

And that’s just the clothing! There are accessories, shoes, toiletries, travel necessities and other comfort items to re-create a sense of home.

There is a delicate balance between overpacking and leaving yourself underprepared.

And, if you know me, you know I like to shop! I am bound to make a few purchases over the course of a month and want to leave some room in my suitcases.

I plan to strategically divide everything between two pieces of luggage: a large checked suitcase and a smaller carry-on.

Now let’s talk about what they will contain!

The Clothes

It’s inevitable. Clothing will take up the majority of my precious luggage space. There is no way around it. You need tops, bottoms, socks, underwear, sleepwear, bathing suits and loungewear.

The key is making sure that all your carefully selected items are interchangeable. This is not the time to showcase your “stand-alone” pieces. Rather, commit to a complementary color palette and pieces that are versatile in style and place.

My Barcelona Color Palette

Beige — Black — Coffee — Olive — Rust — White

Tops

This is where I expect a lot of my outfit variety to come from, but at the same time, I don’t want to bring everything I’ve acquired over the past few months. I am hoping the curated list below will give me enough diversity to sustain an entire month.

• Abercrombie Essential Body-Skimming White Tee — I hate to admit that I got this at Abercrombie, but it is absolutely perfect. There is a reason I listed this simple item first. It will, without a doubt, be utilized in more ways than any other article of clothing on this list.
• Fitted tees: white, black and coffee
• Fitted tanks: white, mocha and black
• Lulu’s Beige Linen Vest
• Commense Sheer Ribbed Brown Tank Top
• Aritzia White Basque Sweater Vest
• Express Olive Body Contour High Compression Tube Top
• Black and white knit cross-neck top
• Green ribbed casual spaghetti-strap tank
• Leather brown corset top — Okay, so I probably will not wear this, but you never know if a club opportunity will present itself.
• Black ribbed halter top

Bottoms

I am really resisting the urge to bring two more pairs of jeans—I already know the ones I would take—but I am trying to remind myself that I do not need to bring my entire closet.

• Aritzia Effortless “Metropolis” Crepette Mini Shorts
• Aritzia Effortless “Rich Mocha” Crepette Mini Shorts
• Aritzia Effortless “Tan” Crepette Mid-Thigh Shorts — These will be great for more cultural sites, like Sagrada Família.
• Tan trousers
• Paige dark-wash straight-leg jeans
• Black silk mini skirt with lace trim
• Black Aritzia linen midi skirt — I think this will be a sleeper pick! I wore it to a birthday party recently with a simple tube top and got a lot of compliments on the outfit.
• Rust silk midi skirt

Dresses

• Naked Cashmere “Jenna” Silk Midi Dress — No really, it’s actually called the “Jenna” dress. I purchased it for $100, marked down from $375. Felt like fate.
• Linen striped maxi dress
• Calvin Klein black T-shirt dress
• Calvin Klein Cotton Contour Ribbed White Maxi Dress

Layers

You may notice there is not a heavy jacket on this list. The weather in September should still be favorable, and a large coat takes up a lot of space for something I more than likely won’t need.

• Madewell The Mercer Relaxed Linen Blazer
• Quince “Tan” Lightweight Cotton Cashmere Cardigan
• Quince 100% European Linen Long Sleeve Shirt — Funny story: I bought this a couple of months ago, left it on a boat, got it back, left it at a bar, got it back, and finally lost it at a wedding and had to buy it again. But if that doesn’t speak to its versatility, I don’t know what does!
• Cream knit shawl

Unsexy Stuff

• Three bathing suits – So this one might be kind-of sexy, but it didn’t cleanly fit into another clothing category
• Fifteen pairs of underwear
• Three pairs of socks
• One nude bralette — I don’t plan to wear this. Frankly, I never wear a bra and I hope Spain isn’t nip-a-phobic!
• Five pairs of cotton pajama shorts
• Five pajama tops

The Shoes

It didn’t dawn on me until recently, but my shoe collection was seriously hindering my ability to create outfits that made sense for the occasion. I looked either too dressed up, too casual, too feminine, too masculine or, at times, just downright uncomfortable.

My footwear mainly consisted of excessive pairs of Doc Martens, a pair of white Nike Air Force Ones, which I replace yearly, assorted black boots, chunky-heeled tan sandals and my obligatory wedding heels. Not a single flip-flop or flat sandal in sight—an interesting choice for someone who lives in Southern California.

With this trip in mind, I recently changed that.

• FitFlop Tan GRACIE Leather Back-Strap Sandals — I’ve taken these for a spin over the past month, and they are comfortable and yet still stylish. These will definitely be one of my main walking sandals for long days of sightseeing.
• Calvin Klein black flat sandals — Lightly cushioned and good for minimal-walking destinations or just around the house.
• Quince Black Italian Leather Lug Sole Fisherman Sandal
• Michael Kors pointed black flats — These will be great for nicer dinners and upscale places.
• Calvin Klein kitten heels

Bags & Accessories

The goal is to bring accessories that are interchangeable and will allow me to make small edits to add more versatility to my travel wardrobe.

• Waverly Olive Coach Bag — This bag inspired me to purchase a Coach bag after more than a decade of losing interest in the brand. It is a top-zipper crossbody that also came with two other straps: one to turn it into a shoulder bag and a small gold chain for an evening bag.
• INICAT Lightweight Large Crossbody Sling Bag for Women — I researched a bag that would be good for longer days when I want things like sunscreen, a book, portable charger, etc. This one is anti-theft with locking zippers, can be worn in the front, and it has pockets to organize everything.
• Gold jewelry — a couple of layering necklaces, a bracelet, watch and a couple pairs of earrings
• Quay “Anyways” Sunglasses — gold frame/green lens
• Quay “Felt Cute” Sunglasses — brown/brown
• Nordstrom Panama Hat — I don’t love hats, but I am no stranger to heatstroke and am willing to sacrifice fit for function.
• Gucci Interlocking G Logo Monochrome Black Belt
• Tan belt with gold buckle

Toiletries & Beauty

• Makeup: foundation, pressed powder, eyeliner, blush, contour stick, mascara and eye shadow palette
• Makeup brushes and cleaner
• Daily facial scrub
• The Ordinary Salicylic Acid Serum
• Facial sunscreen
• Facial cream
• Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue travel size
• Tampons
• Contact lenses and solution
• Eyeglasses — I pray my contacts are agreeable and I am not relegated to my glasses.
• Makeup remover
• Dual-voltage hair straightener
• Dual-voltage hair curler
• Paddle hairbrush
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Probiotics
• Hair ties, bobby pins and clips
• Ibuprofen
• Travel shampoo and conditioner

Books & Things to Do

• Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
• Summer of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand — Although too large to fit in my day bag, I am very invested and will read it on the balcony of my Airbnb.
• Bullet journal
• Black calligraphy pens
• Barcelona by Locals

Tech & Electronics

• Wireless AirPods
• AirFly Bluetooth transmitter — This will connect my wireless AirPods to the plane’s entertainment system.
• MacBook Air and charger
• Portable battery pack
• iPhone charger
• European outlet adapters — Shout-out to my friend Mickey for these!
• Small digital camera — Although this will not rival the quality of iPhone photography, I don’t want to constantly have my phone in my hand. My cell phone is arguably the most important thing I will carry with me, so there is something appealing about being able to keep it safely tucked away while still taking photos.

The Essentials

• Passport
• Photocopy of passport
• Travel credit cards
• Small amount of euros
• Copy of Airbnb reservation

The Random Stuff

• Ice cube trays — Laugh all you want but, I am not taking my chances.
• Small umbrella
• Mini portable rechargeable fan
• Full sized bed sheets — I will not justify this one.
• Band-Aids and blister covers — As confident as I am in my shoe choices, if I do get a blister, I want to be prepared.
• Small water bottle

What I Am Deliberately Not Packing

• A heavy jacket — If I find that I am freezing, Barcelona has plenty of stores where I can pick up a heavier layer.
• Nuts, dried fruit and beef jerky — The beef jerky really gets me, but apparently many countries are weird about bringing in these types of food.
• My work laptop — Not only will it not work outside of the United States, this is my time and I intend to disconnect from obligations and enjoy it.

This might look like a huge list, or maybe you are thinking, this girl definitely needs more than fifteen pairs of underwear.

Either way, the fact is, I might forget something. I always do—usually it’s my hairbrush!

Barcelona may be a foreign country to me, but it is very much on the grid. They have major retailers, drugstores and, if all else fails, Amazon.

If I realize I need a dressier outfit for a special occasion or, heaven forbid, a bra, I am sure I can pop over to a Zara or Mango and pick up what I need.

With this list, I hope that my tops, bottoms, five pairs of shoes and assorted accessories can equate to endless outfits—or at least enough for a 30-day stay.

Truthfully, I won’t really know how well I packed until I return home. Then we’ll find out which items became MVPs, which ones never left the suitcase and what I wish I had brought instead.