As I mentioned in my last post, packing was anxiety-inducing for me. I read every piece of advice I could find on how to pack for Remote Year or as a digital nomad. Overall, I feel like I did a pretty good job but I have a few regrets.

Read on to see the top 5 things I regret packing for my year abroad.

5 Items I Regret Packing

1. Amazon Echo Dot – I used this a ton at home, but it didn’t always connect to networks very well abroad and wasn’t as useful outside of the US. While it was small and fairly lightweight, it wasn’t something I used often and I could have used the additional space.

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2. Nomad Lane Bento Bag – I loved the idea of this bag when I got it on kickstarter. In practice, it was a terrible item to travel with. The bag was incredibly heavy and carrying it on your shoulder through huge airports was not fun. I sent it home in month 8.

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3. Suitcase locks – I’ve never in my life used suitcase locks before, but for some reason, I thought I might suddenly need them on Remote Year. The first rule of Remote Year is: if you didn’t use it and love it before Remote Year, you don’t need it. These were unnecessary weight.

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4. Turkish towel – this was highly recommended in various packing blogs. While it was occasionally nice to have the extra towel for swimming or outdoor activities, for the most part, it was just wasted space. This towel doesn’t do its primary function, which is to dry you off. If I were to purchase a towel to travel with, I would purchase a microfiber towel instead.

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5. GripTight GorillaPod Stand PRO – Somewhere along the way I became convinced I needed this item because it would help me take photos for my blog, or selfies for social media, or something. I don’t know. I used this not even once and shipped it home after month eight.

There you have it. The top things I most regretted packing. Do you agree with this list?